Why should I?
Approximately £1.55million. That’s the total value of fines issued by the SRA from July 2022 until August 2024, according to its Professional Standards Annual Report published in December 2024. 96 fines were issued for an amount over £2000. See the full report here.
Against this background, it can be easy to think that compliance should simply be focused on avoiding fines from the SRA and be something to fear.
In fact, compliance is there to protect firms and clients from unethical and illegal behaviour. It's the backbone of a strong and reputable profession. Law is such a fundamental part of everyday life and everyone must have confidence in the profession responsible for explaining, interpreting and upholding those laws. Compliance is a vital part of enabling that confidence. As the SRA says in its report: “Making sure solicitors are working to high professional standards is fundamental to confidence and trust in legal services. Most solicitors deliver to high standards, but when they fall short, we will step in and take appropriate action to protect the public”.
A positive culture of compliance is vital to avoid compliance being seen by your teams as a blocker to work, or an unnecessary tick box that needs to be dealt with, without any thought being given to the reason behind it.
How?
Get in touch for more detail but here are some simple pointers:
What next?
Compliance measures can so often feel overwhelming, particularly for smaller firms who may not have an in-house compliance team. There’s no escaping that the same rules apply to all firms no matter their size. However, there is no one-size-fits-all approach and neither should there be. It's about finding out what works for your firm and providing consistent, reassuring messages to your teams. Let everyone see how you support compliance and the benefits it brings and it's amazing how quickly a positive culture of compliance can build.
I can help firms consider their existing compliance functions and make suggestions for improvements, including communicating with teams and helping to build a positive culture of compliance. For more information please contact me.
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