The NCA has just issued (November 2025) updated guidance relating to SARs (Suspicious Activity Reports) and DAMLs (Defence Against Money Laundering) & DATFs (defence against terrorist financing) to help reporters seeking a defence under POCA or TACT. Here is a link to the relevant page on the website for the UK Finance Intelligence unit - […]
From the beginning of this month, October 2025, those holding & wishing to hold a Criminal Legal Aid contract MUST: a) register with the ICO as a Data Controllerb) Appoint a Data Protection Supervisor or Data Protection Officerc) Have in place compliant policies (see listed below)d) Train all staff on Data Protection obligations and information […]
It has long been our wish to provide short, to-the-point training courses that people may access at their convenience to upskill on the areas of compliance that we cover. We are at last able to do so. We have started with Data Protection. AML to follow. The course title has a link that takes you […]
On 21st October 2025 the government announced that the supervision of compliance with anti-money laundering and counter-terrorism financing (AML/CTF) requirements for the professions would be consolidated under one body - the FCA. Currently the supervisory system is made up of three public sector supervisors - the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA), the Gambling Commission and His […]
The decision of the High Court in late September in Mazur & Anor v Charles Russell Speechlys LLP [2025] EWHC 2341 (KB) has thrown into question who may conduct litigation. Can a paralegal, litigation executive, trainee, or CILEX Fellow without independent practice rights — conduct litigation under the supervision of a solicitor? Many litigation departments are […]
Aspiring solicitors looking to qualify through the SQE route are required to have a minimum of 2 years' full time equivalent Qualifying Work Experience (QWE) confirmed to the SRA by an SRA regulated solicitor (or a COLP). But - what does 'full time' mean? Hitherto we had always understood that the SRA did not want […]
When will you be exempted from the QWE requirement, which forms part of the steps to be completed to qualify as a solicitor of England & Wales through the SQE route? Until recently we thought this was pretty clear: all qualified lawyers were automatically exempt. However, recently we have learned that the approach of the […]
The Ministry of Law has published a "Guide for Using Generative Artificial Intelligence in Legal Sector" for consultation (closing 30 September 2025). The write that the purpose is "to set out general principles and good practices to encourage responsible, ethical and effective use of generative artificial intelligence (“GenAI”) in Singapore’s legal services sector. The aim is […]
On 31st July 2025 the threshold amount for submitting a defence against money laundering (DAML) has been increased from £1,000 to £3,000. Certain conditions need to be met. See below: In the context of the Proceeds of Crime Act 2002 (POCA), a DAML (Defence Against Money Laundering) is a mechanism that allows individuals and businesses […]
The SRA published this report on 31st July. Suprisingly it is written so as to be realtively easy to read. We recommend that all owners snd compliance officers of law firms do so. Here is a link to the document: https://www.sra.org.uk/sra/research-publications/aml-risk-assessment/ The document sets out information on money laundering, terrorist financing and proliferation financing risk […]
