Articles
Legal Ombudsman – Early Resolution Through Effective Complaint HandlingJanuary 26, 2026The Legal Ombudsman (LeO) has highlighted the critical importance of robust, first-tier complaint handling by legal service providers in its latest Spotlight on Early Resolution guidance published on 19 January.Read More
Document Certification – Practical Compliance for Solicitors’ FirmsJanuary 22, 2026Document certification is a task that many solicitors regard as routine, administrative or low risk. In practice, however, it is an activity that engages core professional duties relating to integrity, public trust and regulatory compliance. Here we look at some of the issues that arise.Read More
Source of Funds and Source of WealthDecember 16, 2025The SRA’s latest findings underline that firms must take a genuinely risk-based approach to source of funds and (where needed) source of wealth checks, backed by clear evidence and file notes. Weak documentation and superficial scrutiny remain common failings.Read More
Strengthening Safeguards for Client Money: A New Chapter in Regulation?December 13, 2025SRA’s December 2025 consultation proposes tighter safeguards for client money across the profession, focusing on stronger accountants’ report reporting, annual declarations and improved data flows, plus clearer COLP/COFA separation to build internal checks. It also reopens questions about the client-account model and Compensation Fund sustainability. Read More
Towards FCA Controls of AML for SolicitorsNovember 24, 2025Here we look further at the government’s plan for the FCA to assume responsibility for AML supervision of the legal profession, highlighting concerns about increased regulatory scrutiny and uncertainty for law firms. It explores rising compliance costs and questions over privilege and future enforcement approaches and concludes by urging firms to strengthen their AML policies controls and procedures.Read More
After-Mazur — What is the Position Now and What Should Firms be Doing?October 27, 2025The High Court decision in Mazur & Anor v Charles Russell Speechlys LLP has triggered a flurry of panic and anxiety within the legal profession and caused the need for a sweeping re-assessment of how UK litigation practices must be structured and supervised. In this article we look at some of the reactions and responses from regulators, some of the issues that arise and at steps that firms can take to address issues.Read More
The Rising Threat to UK Solicitors: Cyber Risk in 2025 and BeyondOctober 24, 2025Cyber risk has become the most immediate and serious threat to the operation of law firms. Yet many practices still treat it as a technical issue rather than a board-level priority. In this article we look at why that approach is no longer tenable and at some of the steps that firms should be taking to address the issue.Read More
AML Reform: A Backward Step for the Legal Profession?October 24, 2025The government’s decision to strip the SRA and other professional bodies of their AML supervisory roles and hand oversight to a single regulator has been met with widespread concern from across the legal and accountancy sectors.Read More
Mazur v Charles Russell Speechlys: A Turning Point for Litigation Teams?September 25, 2025The High Court’s judgment in Mazur & Anor v Charles Russell Speechlys LLP has been described as a “bombshell” for the profession stating that an unqualified employee cannot conduct litigation simply because they are under the supervision of a solicitor. In this article, Infolegal looks in more detail at what are likely to be the practical repercussions of this decision and at how firms can address their practices so as not to be in breach.Read More
Why Every Law Firm Now Needs a Data Protection Complaints PolicySeptember 22, 2025Among the provisions introduced by the Data Use and Access Act 2025 is a requirement placed upon all organisations, including solicitors’ firms, to establish a clear and effective complaints-handling process in respect of data protection concerns. This article looks at that requirement and at what it means in practice for solicitors.Read More