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Too many firms still treat their Firm-Wide Risk Assessment (FWRA) as a box-ticking exercise, and as expected, regulators are noticing. The SRA has placed significant emphasis and scrutiny on  FWRAs as part of its AML thematic reviews and inspections, and rising threats (such as proliferation financing) mean yesterday’s assessment may no longer be adequate today.

"Know Your Customer" (KYC) is an essential regulatory requirement for businesses, particularly within the legal and financial sectors, aimed at verifying the identity of clients to prevent illegal activities such as money laundering and terrorist financing. This guide provides a detailed overview of the KYC requirements in the UK for 2026, highlighting key aspects, regulations, and best practices.

The UK Government announced in October 2025 that the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) will take over AML supervision for all UK lawyers practising within the scope of the Money Laundering Regulations 2017 (MLRs). This change will alter the Solicitors Regulation Authority’s role and that of the CLC, but it does not mean lighter scrutiny. 

It is incumbent upon firms in the legal sector to ensure that staff involved in financial transactions understand not only as to where a client obtained the funds for a transaction, but also how this relates to their overall wealth.

Anti-Money Laundering (AML) compliance isn’t optional for law firms – it’s a legal obligation under the Money Laundering Regulations 2017 (MLR 2017). Legal practices must implement robust systems and controls to identify, assess, and mitigate money-laundering risks in every client relationship and transaction they handle. Regulators have made it clear that “not knowing” your obligations holds no legal weight, and firms can face significant repercussions when compliance standards are not met.

Anti-money laundering (AML) training is a frontline control for solicitors, helping fee-earners and support staff spot risks with the intention of avoiding their firm from becoming unwittingly involved in money laundering. The Solicitors Regulation Authority (SRA) and the Council for Licensed Conveyancers (CLC) have made clear that staff awareness and training are among the most effective AML controls, and that firms must be able to evidence how training is planned, delivered and assessed. 

Money laundering is a growing concern for governments, financial institutions, and law enforcement worldwide. In the UK alone, it costs the economy over £100 billion annually, highlighting the importance of vigilance, especially for those in the legal sector.

More than £100 billion is laundered through or via UK structures every year, a staggering figure that underscores why the legal sector remains under intense regulatory scrutiny.

Sanctions screening is a core element of due diligence for law firms - especially those advising regulated clients - because sanctions touch every area of practice and can make otherwise routine work unlawful.

The legal sector is classed as a “high-risk” industry, and therefore, law firms sit squarely in the crosshairs of cyber criminals, known as “Threat Actors” by the National Cyber Security Centre (NCSC); a 2024 study by Chartered Accountants Lubbock Fine shows that successful cyber attacks against UK law Firms rose by 77% from 538 to 954 in just 12 months.