Welcome to the Regulation & Compliance Office’s fortnightly roundup, where we look at all the latest stories to keep you ahead and informed in the world of law and compliance.

The RACO roundup is just another way in which we keep the solicitors and other law professionals we work with in the know, so we can ascertain that you are never missing the vital developments occurring in your profession.

Below, you will find the most recent headlines selected by our compliance experts, followed by a Security Section, where we will also give you an overview of the latest scams currently impacting solicitors and their clients.

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PARTNERS INSIGHT – MAY 2025

RACO’s latest Partners Insight Newsletter has landed, wherein we showcase our current partners, their services and other essential insights.

FEATURED IN ISSUE:

• FireTap Marketing
• PracticeEvolve
• LegalKeepers &
• Aquarius Reporting.

Featured also are article previews, including from David Green of RACO (see below), tips for law firms, service guides, and lots more… To read the newsletter in full, click here.

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Is Your Firm Ready For Its SRA Equality, Diversity & Inclusion Submissions?

– David Green

It is time to start preparing for the submission to the SRA in relation to Equality, Diversity and Inclusion.

The last time the SRA requested Firms to complete the equality and diversity questionnaire was in 2023. As it is performed on a two-year cycle, the SRA has now confirmed that all firms will be required to make their submissions in the summer of this year.

To assist with preparation, the SRA have released the questionnaire and additional guidance notes here.

Alternatively, see below for a summary of what is most essential.

How Can Regulation and Compliance Office Help You?

Regulation and Compliance Office has worked with multiple Firms in the past to assist with the preparation and submission of their response. This year, to assist and support Firms, we are able to perform the following:

• We have designed an interactive online solution that your firm can access to provide your staff an easy way to complete the questionnaire. The system will allow the firm to upload its employees, engage with them to complete the questionnaire and chase them if necessary. When completed, it will pool the data, ready for submission to the SRA.
• We will assist you with engagement with staff; generally, by encouraging them to complete the questionnaire and ensuring all data is protected.
• We will work with you to analyse the output, identify any issues that may arise, and work further with you on solutions.

To finish reading article and the full newsletter, please click here.

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Industry Update: SRA Propose New Conduct Rules Around Complaints

Under new proposals unveiled by the Solicitors Authority Regulation (SRA), solicitors will be obligated to inform their clients on how to complain. This will include compulsory and thorough explanations, both at the beginning and at the end of their matter, made to the clients concerning what their options are for complaining.

The consultations on changes to the code were conducted on 2 June, where it was also proposed that solicitors should provide complaint details if a complaint was made throughout the course of a matter. The consultation is open until 25 July. For more information, click here.

The SRA is also making further plans to enforce the current expectations for solicitors to publish details of their complaints procedure on their respective websites. Throughout the course of the consultation, further concerns have been made regarding whether more need be done to encourage solicitors to publish complaints in a more “prominent and accessible” sense. As most readers will likely be aware, this too is the case already for costs information, resulting in many law professionals believing the regulator will do the same for information regarding complaint procedures.

Complaints Support for Law Firms

Surveys carried out by the SRA recently discovered that only 68% of firms publish their complaints procedures online, in spite of it being a requirement. The regulator has also expressed concern around firms that do publish complaint procedures, but in a fashion wherein their location isn’t immediately clear to the website navigator.

“Solicitors shouldn’t be afraid of encouraging complaints,” said the SRA’s Chief Executive. “They are an opportunity to identify areas for improvement and ways to deliver more effectively for clients. Our research suggests that there’s no negative connotations around firms being so open about their complaints process.”

“The rule changes we’ve suggested should help firms to help their clients by having clearer triggers for when complaints information is provided and having a clearer definition of what a complaint is. The changes would also provide us with a better idea of how the profession can improve customer service overall.”

It has furthermore been made public that the SRA is looking to expand the information on complaint handling – the reason being that the regulator can identify and better understand specific complaint trends.

The SRA also wish to closely examine the time it takes for complaints to be completed. This information will likely be collected in the future during practising certificate renewal.

The regulator also spoke at length concerning the increase in complaints law firms have received in recent years. From January to March of this year, the SRA visited 25 firms and surveyed as many as 750, finding continual variations in how firms defined and handled complaints.

Source: here.

Complaint Management Service

Regulation and Compliance Office’s Complaint Management Service is an outsourced solution that enables firms to pass any complaint received from a client or other party for independent investigation, response, and resolution. This will include:

• Complaints made against the Firm by clients.
• Complaints made against the Firm by other parties.
• Legal Ombudsman Complaints about service.
• SRA Complaints made against:
  • The Firm.
  • An Individual in the Firm.

Whether handling a complaint as a one-off solution or as part of an ongoing contractual relationship, RACO is able to provide support.

For more information and costings, download our full-service brochure here.

To read the article in full, please click here.

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Survey Reveals Extensive Rise in Anxiety of Compliance Officers in Wake of Recent £77k Fine

According to the Law Gazette,  “around half of compliance officers in law firms have admitted to feeling overwhelmed by the demands placed on them, as news emerged of another significant fine for breaching money laundering regulations.”

The responses to a survey by client due diligence platform Thirdfort came following the Solicitors Regulation Authority’s announcement that it had fined a London/Guildford-based firm for £77,784 for failing to comply with the rules on client checks for three years.

The latest sanction continues a trend of the SRA issuing frequent and severe penalties for breaching AML regulations.

On all six of the files reviewed by the SRA, the firm had failed to complete an adequate client and matter risk assessment. Investigators also discovered that the firm had also not carried out an independent audit and had failed to maintain fully compliant policies and procedures. 

Speaking on the issues identified, the SRA commented that the misconduct had the potential to cause “significant harm” as the firm undertakes up to a third of its work in scope of money laundering regulations.

“The firm recognises that it failed in its basic duties regarding statutory money laundering regulations and regulatory compliance, as identified during our inspection and subsequent investigation.”

The fine level was set at between 1.6% and 3.2% of annual turnover, resulting in a basic penalty of £111,000. This was reduced to take account of mitigating factors. Remember: the SRA is able to fine above the £25,000 limit because the firm in question is an alternative business structure.

150 senior compliance leaders took part in the Thirdfort survey, which reflected the pressure felt by those tasked with safeguarding their respective firms. Respondents said demands on them were increasing but that a lot of firms were devoting fewer resources to their regulatory obligations.

Around one in 10 said that their AML-related work negatively affected their mental health at least four days a week for the last year. More than two-fifths said this was happening two or three days a week.

40% of compliance officers said they had to work overtime at least once a week to handle AML issues, while 35% described their situation as “overwhelming”. 12% also commented that they found the work to be “completely unmanageable.”

Around half of the respondents also expressed feeling that compliance was not respected within their firm, while 38% of compliance leaders expect their firm to decrease investment in compliance as opposed to increasing it.

Source: here.

Compliance & Regulation Services for Law Firms

We at Regulation & Compliance Office sympathise greatly with those who feel underappreciated and overworked in their compliance roles. But it doesn’t have to be that way. Your firm’s processes for documenting and evidencing its compliance needn’t be a drain on your firm’s profits, nor a cause for drudgery for your staff. At RACO, we have a variety of tried and tested services to aid your firm with its compliance responsibilities and help accelerate its overall success.

Speak to our experienced compliance specialists immediately to find out how RACO can relieve you from the stress and culture of anxiety currently felt by firms nationally. To review our services, click here.

Alternatively, you can pick up on the phone and reach our consultants on 0203 985 8550 or email us at  info@regulationandcomplianceoffice.co.uk

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S CA M     A LE R TS

Misuse of the Slee Blackwell Solicitors LLP and Solicitors Regulation Authority Name

The SRA has reported seeing a document purporting to be a Legal Services Agreement that misuses the name Slee Blackwell Solicitors LLP.

The supposed agreement falsely claims to be sent from a fictitious firm called ‘TL Group Law Firm’. The supposed agreement provides an address of ‘Emperor Way, Exeter EX1 3QS’, an email address of ‘support@tl-group.co’ and the telephone number ‘+441133308709’, and signed Dilip Raj.

The SRA have also reported seeing a document falsely claiming to be a Certificate of Authorisation signed by Paul Philip. The supposed certificate purports that ‘Trust Legal Group LLP’ is the subsidiary of Slee Blackwell Solicitors LLP. The document also misuses the name of Paul Philip and the SRA. The document was not issued by the SRA.

Please note that the SRA do not authorise or regulate a genuine firm of solicitors called Trust Group Law LLP or Trust Legal Group LLP. Nor does the SRA authorise or regulate a individual called Dilip Raj.

Therefore, any business or transaction through Trust Legal Group LLP, Trust Group Law LLP or Dilip Raj, the address of Emperor Way, Exeter EX1 3QS, the email address of ‘support@tl-group.co’ and the telephone number of ‘+441133308709’ are not undertaken by a firm or solicitor authorised and regulated by the SRA.

Please note, however, the SRA authorises and regulates a genuine firm called Slee Blackwell Solicitors LLP with the SRA ID 00628016. Its office address is 10 Cross Street, Barnstaple, EX31 1BA. The genuine firm has confirmed that it has no connection to the documents referred to in the above alert.

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Website misusing the name of CMS Cameron McKenna Nabarro Olswang LLP

The SRA has reported that a website at ‘www.cms-law.co.uk’ has been operating whilst misusing the name of a genuine firm of solicitors.

It is now believed the firm’s website was cloned. Therefore, any business or transaction through the website ‘www.cms-law.co.uk’ or the domain ‘@cms-law.co.uk’ is not undertaken by a firm or solicitor authorised and regulated by the SRA.

Please note however, The SRA does authorise and regulate a genuine firm of solicitors called CMS Cameron McKenna Nabarro Olswang LLP.

The genuine firm’s website is www.cms.law. Please note the firm uses the email domain ‘cms-cmno.com’. The genuine firm CMS Cameron McKenna Nabarro Olswang LLP has confirmed that it does not have any connection to the scam referred to above.

BEEN CONTACTED?

Here’s What to Do…

When a firm’s or individual’s identity has been copied or cloned, due diligence is necessary. If you receive correspondence you believe to be suspicious, you should conduct your own due diligence by checking the authenticity of the correspondence by contacting the law firm directly by reliable and established means.

You can also contact the SRA directly to find out if individuals or firms are regulated and authorised by the SRA and verify an individual’s or firm’s practising details. Other verification methods, such as checking public records (e.g. telephone directories and company records), maybe required in other circumstances.

Compliance Support for Law Firms

We at RACO are always at hand to provide tailored guidance to help you make the most informed and beneficial decisions. We help you understand the recurrent regulatory shifts and work with you to provide solutions. With our team of professional specialists and our renowned legal expertise, we can work with your firm to ensure you are never left unprepared in the wake of legal changes or cyber threats.

For more information on how we can help, call our consultants on 0203 985 8550 or email us at  info@regulationandcomplianceoffice.co.uk