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 a focus on the prevention of financial crime. In July 2024 the SRA started to include a request to see this when doing AML Inspections.

In a webinar by the SRA in February 2024 the SRA said:

"Our recent thematic review of client/matter risk assessments found that less than half of those produced within firms were compliant with the rules. This led to us issuing a warning notice on the issue."

The SRA have created a template for Client & Matter Risk Assessments (CMRA). We have put a copy here which you may download.

https://hunningsconsultancy.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/cmra-template.docx

Here you may view the Guide the SRA produced in 2024 into Completing the Client & Matter Risk Assessments:

https://hunningsconsultancy.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2024/05/completing-client-matter-risk-assessment-a-practical-guide-from-the-SRA-2024.pdf

Here is a link to their web page from which this came and which has other information from them:

https://www.sra.org.uk/solicitors/resources/money-laundering/guidance-support/client-matter-risk-template/

Assistance with your AML & Onboarding Compliance

We provide a lot of AML support to businesses in the Legal Sector. Please see below for a summary and links for further information.

• Independent AML Audit
• AML Training
• AML Updating Retainer
• Office Procedures Manual (OPM) 
• AML Policy Documents & PWRA Review (PWRA is Practice Wide Risk Assessment) 
• SRA Audit or Inspection on AML - we help firms with this. Charged at £200/r. It is best to contact us as soon as you receive notification from the SRA. They will ask you to answer some preliminary questions and submit your policies for review. How you answer them can help or hinder how the audit or inspection goes.

Contact Us

Feel free to contact us, ideally by using the 'How can we help you?' form below.

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 for Sanctions regime compliance. We expect them to follow a similar format to those for AML compliance (with which we help on a regular basis).

Feel free to contact is for sanction compliance training, drafting or reviewing policies & procedures, our AML & Sanctions Manual of anything else linked with Sanctions compliance.

Contact Us

Fill in the form below

Or

[email protected]

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 that Immigration work DOES meet that definition and is QWE. This is the case whether the firm is in the UK and regulated by the SRA or the OISC or indeed the work is outside the UK. If there is an SRA regulated solicitor there you may ask them to confirm this to the SRA. If they are not willing to do so, or there is no SRA regulated solicitor there – you may reach out to an external solicitor to do the QWE confirmation. This is a service we provide:

https://hunningsconsultancy.co.uk/external-qwe-certification-service-2/

SQE2 Exemption

Can someone, who is not qualified as a lawyer but is regulated by the OISC apply for an exemption from the SQE2 exam as a qualified lawyer? Sadly the answer is ‘No’. We received the reply below from the SRA in March 2024 to an enquiry we made on this point:

“No, OISC-regulated individuals are not eligible to apply for exemption under SQE. This is because OISC is not covered by the Legal Services Act and the qualification does not grant practice rights.”

If you already qualified as a lawyer, for example in another jurisdiction, can Immigration work count as legal work experience for an application for an exemption from the SQE2 exam? In our opinion it can. We have helped people with such experience make such applications. Sadly, few tell us of the outcome of their application, so we cannot quote any feedback after the application.

What if the applicant’s supervisor is regulated by the OISC? One is required to submit, with the application for exemption, proof of the supervisor’s admission to the OISC such as a Certificate of Good Standing from the regulatory body of the supervisor. The OISC state that they refuse to do this as a matter of policy and that the SRA are well aware of this, but that the SRA may contact them direct for information. We made enquiries of the SRA and received the following reply with clarification in February 2024:

“In the absence of a certificate of good standing we can use other resources to confirm the qualification of the supervisor. In this instance it may include using the OISC Adviser Finder and/or contacting the regulator directly.

As we consider each application case-by case, based on the evidence presented to us, we may take a similar approach for applicants qualified in other jurisdictions.”

For advice & assistance with applications for exemption from the SQE2 exam:

https://hunningsconsultancy.co.uk/sqe2-exemption-for-foreign-lawyers-review-advice/

Contact Us

Fill in the form below OR email:

[email protected]

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 completing sections 7b or 7c you will need to submit, along with the other items, proof of the supervisor's professional qualification. (If they are not a lawyer, then you will need also, in the Letter of Reference, need to set out why they are suitable to supervise your work.)

The application form makes reference to this evidence as 'their certificate(s) of good standing'. We have sought clarification on this as clients whom we have been helping through this process have, from time-to-time, been encountering problems with their supervisor being unable to obtain & supply a Certificate of Good Standing.

The SRA have replied to us that with regard to a supervisor regulated by the OISC: "In the absence of a certificate of good standing we can use other resources to confirm the qualification of the supervisor. In this instance it may include using the OISC Adviser Finder and/or contacting the regulator directly."

The SRA have also written with wider guidance:

"We have always been able to consider a range of documents to confirm the supervisor’s professional legal qualification. We do not limit this evidence to just a certificate of good standing, although this is generally the document most applicants and their supervisors will provide.

Our guidance was recently updated to better explain the types of documents we can consider. As such, the requirements have not been relaxed and continue to apply across all jurisdictions we assess.

We can therefore consider any evidence that confirms a supervisor’s qualification. The wording will vary between jurisdictions, but we can consider any document that confirms the individual is a qualified lawyer and the date they were admitted/qualified in that jurisdiction. This can include admission/enrolment certificates, ID cards issued by the regulatory body, and certificates of fitness/good standing. This list is not exhaustive.

We would generally advise against sending a practising certificate as this does not usually confirm the supervisor’s date of qualification. If the qualification date is confirmed on the practising certificate then we would be able to consider it on a case-by-case basis."

The general guidance on the SRA web page now reads: "an admission certificate or a certificate of good standing", although the application form itself still states only 'Certificate of Good Standing'. It is clear that, despite what the application form states, the SRA will accept a wider selection of proof with regard to the applicant's supervisor.

For general advice & assistance with applications for exemption from the SQE2 exam:

https://hunningsconsultancy.co.uk/sqe2-exemption-for-foreign-lawyers-review-advice/

For Videos about SQE2 exemptions:

https://www.youtube.com/@hunningsconsultancy999/videos

Copies of the emails from the SRA:

OISC Regulated Supervisor:

https://hunningsconsultancy.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2024/03/SQE2-Exemption-OISC-Supervisor-evidence-of-qualification-SRA-Guidance.png

General Guidance:

https://hunningsconsultancy.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2024/03/SQE2-Exemption-Supervisor-proof-of-qualification-SRA-General-Guidance.png

QWE - confirmation by an External Solicitor

If you are NOT qualified as a lawyer in any jurisdiction, you will have to have a minimum of 2 years' Qualifying Work Experience confirmed to a the SRA by an SRA regulated solicitor. If you do not have anyone in your company to do this, we can help.

https://hunningsconsultancy.co.uk/external-qwe-certification-service-2/

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:

1. To list ‘total hours worked per week’ and
2. Referees must have read the aspiring solicitor’s application and reviewed all (any relevant) supporting evidence before confirming your experience and stating that they have done so in their Letter of Reference.

We are writing to you as soon as we have spotted this change to their website.

With regard to the evidence that you are supposed to show to your referee - we are not quite sure what this means. The comment is relevant if you are having to complete section 8 of the application form, but not really that relevant if you are only having to complete section 7 - as you are not submitting any evidence, other than perhaps your Certificate of Good Standing or Admission Certificate.

Link to our services to help with the SQE2 Exemption Application

https://hunningsconsultancy.co.uk/sqe2-exemption-for-foreign-lawyers-review-advice/

Link to our service to confirm QWE as external confirming solicitors

(Only required where someone is NOT already qualified as a lawyer in a jurisdiction.)

https://hunningsconsultancy.co.uk/external-qwe-certification-service-2/

YouTube Videos on SQE, SQE2 Exemptions & QWE

https://www.youtube.com/@hunningsconsultancy999/videos

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 to 31 August 2025 with an option to extend the contract by up to a further 3 years.

The tender is for the following Categories of Law:

• Family.
• Housing and Debt and Welfare Benefits.
• Immigration and Asylum (including work at Immigration Removal Centres (IRCs).
• Mental Health.
• Community Care.
• Claims Against Public Authorities.
• Clinical Negligence.
• Public Law.
• Family Mediation.
• Education; and
• Discrimination

Help

Should you need assistance, we can help. Here is a link to our help package (or talk to us): https://hunningsconsultancy.co.uk/sqm-accreditation-assistance-package/

Here is a link to view the government tender document:
https://hunningsconsultancy.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2024/03/FINAL_-_Headline_Intentions_for_Civil_Services_from_September_2024_V2.pdf

Contact Us

Fill in the form further down this page or

Email us: [email protected]

We are accredited LEAP Implementation Consultants. We have implemented LEAP into over 700 firms since starting to work with them in 2015. We also provide training to many firms outside of the implementation. Ingemar, who leads on this, is a solicitor, was an equity partner & department head. HCL assist with a lot of compliance. He will bring all of this experience to the training.

Below are the main training courses we provide:

Pricing to be discussed when the training is more tightly scoped.

1. New Starter Training (case management) – this could be just the training on the case management side of LEAP which is usually 3 hours + a break [we could tag onto the end time & fee recording, but if you wanted more such as disbursements then we would suggest another session to cover the bookkeeping elements].
2. New Starter Training (bookkeeping) – how long this would last would depend upon what you wanted us to cover. Normally 1 hour to cover entries on the matters in both office & client, incl time recording & invoicing. If Legal Aid bookkeeping is to be covered as well then add on half an hour, again to be scoped.
3. Refresher Training – for people who have been using LEAP for a while. Usually quite interactive, with people asking questions, throwing their gripes at me. We would move between answering questions to training on topics as the need dictates. Very much driven by the participants. How long we would need would depend upon how many are attending and how many questions they have. Probably best to determine both these points and to have a list of questions & gripes. We may then assess how long we would need.
4. Reports Training – probably about half an hour, may be less may be more, depending upon what you want to know. We can make this quite interactive, indeed roll this into strategy as we imagine this would be at the partner/director level.
5. Compliance within LEAP – we have this as a package for about 1 hour to fit into a lunch break.
6. Precedent Creation Training – 20 mins
7. Review of staff usage of LEAP – Although not training, but can inform the training & indeed management on what needs improving. We do this remotely (using the login details of someone in the firm who has no limitations on their access to the system). We then provide a report to management of the firm. Here is the link to the service: https://hunningsconsultancy.co.uk/review-of-staff-usage-of-cms/

Normally the training would be delivered remotely using zoom. That allows us to have several people on the training session at one time, attending from wherever they wish to be. If you want us to come into the office, that is fine, but we would want to attend for a full day’s work and would also charge travelling costs.

We hope this is of some interest/help. Feel free to come back to us with questions.

Contact Us

Fill in the form below or

email: [email protected]

Please note that we also train on the Access Legal eclipse Proclaim software and assist with configuration and adaptation: https://hunningsconsultancy.co.uk/proclaim-support/

One of our clients has received a letter of a review with 2 weeks notice. The link below is to a letter they received from the SRA giving them notice of the review & setting out what will happen, the agenda for the review and what they will be reviewing. It includes all relevant policy documents, review of files and interview of staff. Nothing triggered this. The firm was picked at random. Shout if you need help - not with the law, but with the compliance policies.

https://hunningsconsultancy.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2024/02/Letter-from-SRA-re-Thematic-Review-into-Probate-and-Estate-Administration-for-a-law-firm.pdf

What will happen during the SRA visit?

They have written:

"During our visit we will:
1.
speak with the person with overall responsibility for probate and estate administration matters
2.
speak with a fee earner and review two of their probate and estate administration files
3.
review any policies and procedures relevant to how your firm handles probate and estate administration matters
4.
review any policies and procedures relevant to how your firm maintains the continuing competence of its fee earners
5.
review a selection of training records for managers and fee earners who do probate and estate administration work
6.
review the firm’s most recent accountant’s report and any letter of recommendations from the accountant.

We will randomly select the fee earner to speak with on the day and confirm them to you at the beginning of the visit.

On the day of the visit, you need to provide us with:
*
a list of all fee earners who work on probate and estate administration matters and their availability to meet with us
*
a list of all probate and estate administration matters opened since February 2022. For each matter, the list should provide:
*
whether the firm/fee earner is acting as an executor or acting on behalf of an executor of the estate being administered
*
the name of all fee earners who have had substantial day-to-day conduct of the matter
*
the date the matter was opened and/or closed
*
the amount billed or of work in progress
*
any policies and procedures relevant to how the firm handles probate and estate administration matters
*
any policies and procedures relevant to how the firm maintains the continuing competence of its fee earners
*
training records for managers and fee earners who do probate and estate administration work
*
a copy of the firm’s most recent accountant’s report (including the date it was issued), a copy of any accompanying letter of recommendations from the accountant, and confirmation of your year end date.
Please ensure that:
*
the person with overall responsibility for probate and estate administration matters is available to meet with us on the day of the visit
*
we can review your probate and estate administration files on the day of our visit. If you have electronic files, please ensure that these are accessible."

Visit Agenda

Approx. Time
Activity
11.00
Introductions and context.
Confirmation of fee earner we will meet with and files to be reviewed.
11.15
Interview with the person with overall responsibility for probate and estate administration team.
13.00
Interview with a fee earner and a review of two of their files.
15.00
Summary of visit with the person with overall responsibility for the team.
15.30
Visit concluded.

Help?

We cannot help with regard to the law.

But we can help with your compliance policies & procedures. We have helped many firms with SRA AML Audits. We expect the SRA will be look at your AML policies & procedures and your website for Transparency Rules compliance at the very least. They may also look at SRA Accounts Rules compliance and policies around managing Client Account, audits of these and possibly interest policies. We have experts who can assist with all of this. Feel free to give us a shout.

Do not panic. Unless there is serious wrongdoing, we suspect that the SRA will issue after the review guidance of corrective action they require with a time limit for you to show its been done. This is the approach that they follow with regard to AML audits. We will update as we get a better idea of their approach.

Contact Us

Fill in the form below OR

email us: [email protected]

Feedback from a firm after an SRA Probate Thematic Review

We spoke with 1 of our client firms who had just undergone the SRA Thematic Probate Review. The format followed what the SRA had written about (see above). They did also check their compliance policies in their OPM & procedures. They wanted to check that the firm had adequate systems in place & that they were being followed - as well as looking at the probate specific things. They chose our client at random. They are looking here at firms who have NOT had issues - the firms they do not normally get to see. Happy to report that our client passed with flying colours, but was told to update certain parts of his OPM - which we will help them with. https://hunningsconsultancy.co.uk/compliance-services/

The SRA has created a useful tool for finding the closest Pearson Vue Centre to you. The link to the SR page is below. One simply types in the same of the country or city in the box and it will show you a map. Annoyingly, you have to run the tool from the SRA web page. It may be found about two thirds of the way down the page.

https://sqe.sra.org.uk/exam-arrangements/dates-and-locations

QWE Confirmation

Should you not have a solicitor who can 'Confirm' your QWE then WE CAN HELP.

Here’s a link to our External Solicitors Confirmation Service: https://hunningsconsultancy.co.uk/external-qwe-certification-service-2/

Contact Us

Fill in the form below or email Ingemar: [email protected]

YouTube

You could visit our YouTube channel where we have many videos about QWE, the SQE & Exemptions. If you do, may we invite you to subscribe! https://www.youtube.com/@hunningsconsultancy999/videos

The SRA has upgraded the web page so that you may search on the jurisdiction in which you are qualified. There is then a drop down which summarises the SRA position.

Here is a link to the web page:

https://www.sra.org.uk/become-solicitor/qualified-lawyers/sqe-exemptions/

For example, if you search on Ukraine it will tell you what the situation is if you are just qualified as a lawyer through passing a law degree or if you are qualifies as an advokat through passing those extra exams.

Help & Assistance?

Should you want further information or assistance with an application for exemption from the SQE2 exam, then here is a link to more help:

https://hunningsconsultancy.co.uk/sqe2-exemption-for-foreign-lawyers-review-advice/

If instead you need an external solicitor to confirm your QWE to the SRA - we can help:

https://hunningsconsultancy.co.uk/external-qwe-certification-service-2/