Articles
Trusts and Beneficial Ownership RegistrationMarch 24, 2021Following analysis in last month’s newsletter on the revised guidance in the 2021 Legal Sector Affinity Group AML Guidance we look here at the registration of trusts and their beneficial owners. The need for a record of such interests was set out in the Money Laundering Regulations 2017, and although broadly in line with the equivalent requirements in relation to company shareholders there is a much greater degree of confidentiality associated with the structure and operation of private trustsRead More
Recording Telephone ConversationsMarch 17, 2021Recording telephone calls is proving ever more useful to law firms – if only as a means of ensuring a clear record of what clients have said. However, such recordings are not without complications – technical and regulatory - and any firm thinking of doing so must consider the problems and pitfalls of doing so. In this article we look briefly at some of the legal and regulatory issues that firms need to be aware of and what steps they should consider before deciding to record calls.Read More
Changed “Tax Adviser” Status to be Notified to the SRAFebruary 23, 2021SRA stresses need for records to be updated for those already AML regulated firms now regarded as operating as tax advisers following MLR 2019.Read More
Regularising Home-WorkingFebruary 22, 2021The current COVID-19/coronavirus pandemic has undoubtedly affected the lives of most people. For many one of the most dramatic changes to their lives has been the need to accept, and make the most of, working from home and the pressures that this has placed upon employers, employees, families and relationships. In this article we look at some of the issues more closely.Read More
Solicitors and Negative Interest RatesFebruary 10, 2021A great deal of speculation is rife about the possibility of negative interest rates and the impact that this could have upon a range of services – those of solicitors included. In this article we look at what negative interests rates are, how they might impact upon solicitors' practices and what solicitors can do to protect themselves going forward.Read More
Increased Compliance Requirements for AMLJanuary 26, 2021The long-promised update to the Legal Sector Affinity Group AML Guidance was published on Wednesday 20th January which, at 212 pages, is more substantial and with more detail than earlier versions.Read More
2020 – That Was The Year That WasDecember 11, 2020For the vast majority of us, 2020 will be a year that we will not forget, and mostly for all of the wrong reasons. Here we look back at 2020 and at some of the key regulatory events that the year has seen including AML changes and the impact of Covid and Brexit on legal practices.Read More
Extensions to the Anti-Money Laundering Compliance RegimeNovember 12, 2020Ever since the anti-money laundering regime was first extended to the legal profession the scope of the regime has been defined by work type rather than professional status. For many years the areas of work that will trigger the need to comply with the regulations have remained broadly the same focussing on transactional work, the management of client money or assets, trust and company service provision and tax advice. Now, however, following a subtle change in the wording of what constituRead More
The Difficult Work of the LeONovember 11, 2020The annual report on the Legal Ombudsman service in September reported not only on those areas of legal practice where complaints were most numerous but also on the satisfaction ratings for the service itself - with an acknowledgement that the service does need to “rebuild confidence” with the public if it is to handle effectively the complaints that are made to it.Read More
Registering Beneficial Interests and the Trust Registration ServiceOctober 23, 2020The Money Laundering and Terrorist Financing (Amendment) (UK Exit) Regulations 2020 have, inter alia, made changes to the Trust Registration Service – requiring those holding beneficial interests in
certain trusts to be registered for inspection. In this article we look at those changes and at how they are likely to affect legal practitioners.Read More