What attitude does your firm have towards compliance; is it one that prefers to have a fence at the top of the cliff, or an ambulance at the bottom?
The ambulance at the bottom of the cliff analogy comes from a poem called “The Ambulance down in the valley” written by Jospeh Malins in 1895, and is used to assess whether people prefer to take precautions (install a fence) or risk falling over the cliff because they don’t think taking precautions is necessary or appropriate, and therefore need an ambulance when they fall to the base of the cliff.
In this blog, I'll delve into why compliance is essential for law firms and invite you to ponder: Are you proactively building fences, or merely relying on ambulances?"
- Topic:
- Legal
Environmental compliance is now a non-negotiable part of ethical business practices in today's corporate climate. Businesses of all kinds are forced to prioritise sustainability as consumer expectations rise and ESG regulations become more stringent.
The goal of this article is to give an overview of environmental compliance while also providing advice on how firms can successfully incorporate sustainability initiatives and environmental improvement plans into their daily operations.
With the new Data Protection and Digital Information Bill (DPDI) working its way through parliament, our Risk and Compliance Associate, Laura Wilkes thought now would be an opportune time to share a refresher on Information Security and measures that firms can take to manage their requirements.
- Topic:
- Legal
The rules about law firm referrals from third parties and how to avoid problems
Our recent webinar looked at a number of important topics related to the involvement of law firms and solicitors in referral arrangements with external third parties. In this article we cover the rules under which law firms have to operate, common issues found in referral arrangements and agreements, and how firms can avoid problems going forward.
- Topic:
- Legal
The Solicitors Regulation Authority (SRA) is focused on protecting consumer interest in terms of how the rule of law and the administration of justice is delivered. Any law firm or practising solicitor could appear on the SRA’s radar at any time regarding areas of compliance, which could result in a visit as part of the regulator’s Thematic Review programme.
Most law firms consistently do their best to ensure they achieve the highest possible professional standards, embed ethical values within their businesses and remain fully compliant with their regulatory obligations. Most of the people at the law firms we speak to, even if they haven’t yet had an SRA visit, know the SRA is a very active regulator, and taking short cuts or box-ticking is a very short-sighted approach to compliance management. But some firms are not so well-prepared and often reach out for help.
- Topic:
- Legal
Following the Law Society’s 2022 Risk and Compliance Annual Conference, Access Legal's Regulatory Director, Brian Rogers explores ethical issues in law firms and the solicitors' code of conduct, and some of the biggest scandals in the legal industry.
- Topic:
- Legal
We have all seen the headlines related to the invasion of Ukraine by Russia, which has bought about the implementation of the most severe level of sanctions levied on the country and associated people and companies.
To protect your firm you must ensure you implement appropriate policies, controls and procedures relating to sanctions, which must include making appropriate checks on all your clients to ensure they don’t fall within the sanctions regime. And if they do, making sure you obtain the appropriate consent before you start acting for them.
- Topic:
- Legal
If there could be such a thing as a positive outcome from Covid-19, it’s that workplace safety, health and wellbeing has been elevated to a tier one consideration for many organisations and its individuals. Which is really where it always should have been.
The key to creating a physically and mentally healthier workplace culture however, is to not treat responses to occupational health and safety risk with quick fixes, to try and plaster over specific challenges.
Health and safety training is often the biggest tick-box for compliance, but how do you embed training into the rest of your health and safety risk management processes to effectively manage health and safety risk and evidence compliance when it matters?
As solicitors, we are all aware of the importance of acting as upstanding, law-abiding members of the community and in a way that maintains public trust in the profession. This is something that is drilled into us at law school when we learn about the SRA Principles and Codes of Conduct, and which should not be taken lightly. Judging by several recently reported SRA and SDT decisions, the pervasive nature of this responsibility i.e. that it applies across all areas of your life and continues beyond the end of the working day, does not appear to have hit home, for some at least!
- Topic:
- Legal
The pandemic has accelerated the change in the employee/employer dynamic. Employees’ career development priorities and expectations of their workplace and employer have shifted, with many of us demanding more from our place of work, its leaders and decision-makers.
HR is juggling all the traditional challenges along with these new expectations. Dropping the ball can mean failing to attract and retain the top talent or keep existing employees happy, motivated and productive.
