It seems that the SRA sent out emails en mass on 2nd July 2024 informing many, if not all, law firms that it regulates that they will be sending out to them a Financial Crime Questionnaire in early August that they will want completed by mid-September. Here is a link to the Sample of the […]
We are delighted to add this service to the suite of services we provide. It complements other support for the people delivering legal services, such as mentoring, business review, review of cashflow, compliance policies & procedures and training. For a long time we have been looking for the right person to launch this service. Vicky […]
We support for those firms using the Clio case management system. Help with: Review of your firm's Usage of your Case Management System Do you review usage of your case management system? A suggestion - to do so perhaps a year out from implementation or now if not done at all. To measure what you're […]
We have seen some confusion amongst aspiring solicitors when completing the form for applying for exemption from the SQE2 exam. So, we thought it best to seek clarification from the SRA, as it did not appear that that there was anything clear about this on the SRA website. (This is for people already qualified as […]
The SRA is turning its attention to this. It is anyway a sensible thing to do for any business - risk assess a client and a job before taking it on. This is referred to in quality marks across many industry and service sectors as well as the legal services sector. As well as this […]
The SRA has emphasised that compliance with the Sanctions regime applies to all businesses, irrespective of whether they fall within AML scope. They have issued fresh guidance about this. Here is the link: https://www.sra.org.uk/solicitors/guidance/sanctions-regime-firm-wide-risk-assessments/ At last year's COLP & COFA Conference the SRA gave notice that they would be starting to carry out compliance audits […]
We thought it might be helpful to bring together several themes and pieces of clarification from the SRA into one article. QWE Firstly, can Immigration work count as QWE? As always it depends upon whether the work done meets the definition of QWE: ‘the provision of legal services’. However, in most cases we have found […]
We have obtained clarification from the SRA on what evidence they would accept of the supervisor's qualification when considering an application for exemption from the SQE2 exam. Generally, it is only those who are already qualified as a lawyer in a jurisdiction who may apply for an exemption from the SQE2 exam. If you are […]
We have spotted that SRA have added in some new requirements for the content of the Letter of Reference from your supervisor. The new things are: To list ‘total hours worked per week’ and Referees must have read the aspiring solicitor’s application and reviewed all (any relevant) supporting evidence before confirming your experience and stating […]
The UK Government has announced the opening of a tender for Civil Legal Aid Contracts. Tenders must be submitted using the LAA’s eTendering system and must be submitted by 5pm on Monday 22 April 2024. Here is the link to make the submission: https://legalaid.bravosolution.co.uk/web/login.shtml The contract will run for 12 months from 1 September 2024 […]
