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Lexcel is a prestigious quality mark for legal practices in the United Kingdom, demonstrating their commitment to high standards of client care, operational efficiency, and risk management. Developed by the Law Society of England and Wales, Lexcel provides a framework for legal firms to enhance their practices and gain a competitive edge in the sector. Lexcel accreditation can provide a range of benefits to a legal business - 93% of firms with Lexcel describe the standard as ‘useful or very useful’ - but what are these benefits?

As law firms navigate the complexities of regulatory compliance, the role of the Money Laundering Reporting Officer (MLRO) stands as an anchor to verify the integrity and security of AML controls. Frequent reporting to the Board by the MLRO is an essential tool that supports monitoring of trends for risk, as well as providing an understanding of the efficacy and suitability of controls for AML, allowing the Board to make better informed decisions in real time.

Money laundering, or even the potential risk of money laundering remains a very real risk for firms operating within the legal sector. As you may have seen in the Law Gazette, in November 2023 Ashfords LLP (Ashfords Solicitors) were fined over £100,000 by the SRA for money laundering compliance failures, making it the fourth largest fine ever imposed by the SRA.

In the information age, the importance of safeguarding personal data and ensuring transparency in data processing has never been more critical. For law firms operating within the United Kingdom, appropriate handling of Data Subject Access Requests (DSARs) has become an integral part of their legal responsibilities. DSARs provide individuals with the right to access their personal data held by organisations, and failing to handle them correctly can result in substantial fines, penalties from the SRA and the ICO, and reputational damage.

Launched in 2010 by the Law Society, the Conveyancing Quality Scheme has been widely adopted with many solicitors and law firms adding the CQS accreditation to their branding and marketing material. In fact, we reached out to the Law Society who advised that as of November 2023, they have 2,686 firms accredited on the scheme.

Firm-Wide Risk Assessments (FWRA) are a common area of regulatory non-compliance in legal practices. Many law firms draft FWRAs that fall short of the level of detail required, data sets and topics that need to be included. So widespread is the problem, that the SRA is including particular scrutiny of FWRAs as part of its ongoing campaign for AML thematic review visits to law firms around the UK.

Introduced in 1998 to the world as a response to the growing need for consistency and quality in legal services, the Lexcel standard has become a beacon of legal best practice. Inspired in part by ISO standards, this framework, developed by the Law Society of England and Wales, aims to empower legal professionals to enhance their operational efficiency, regulatory compliance, and client satisfaction, whilst reducing risk and nurturing innovation, growth and performance.

Compliance with PECR (the Privacy and Electronic Communications Regulations of 2003) requires that Cookies on websites are deployed appropriately.

The SRA Code 2019 for legal practices, paragraph 2.1a, requires for practices to comply not only with SRA regulation, but also other regulation and legislation which apply to them.

By chance, I was contacted yesterday with a query about the use of apps (like WhatsApp) and ‘basic’ text messaging as a form of general communication between clients and service providers. I had intended to produce an article on this very subject in any case, but yesterdays’ enquiry accelerated the process!

I’m frequently asked by organisations about the appropriate person to appoint as the individual responsible for data protection. By the time they ask me this question, many have already appointed a senior person in their organisation, usually under the banner of Data Protection Officer.