Articles
SRA Reports and PrioritiesAugust 23, 2021SRA issued its annual “Upholding Professional Standards” report for 2019/20 last month, outlining some of their more public activities and providing guidance on their main plans and concerns for the future.
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Will ConstructionJuly 14, 2021In this article we look at the timely warning as to the importance of some basic principles of the drafting of critical legal documents, and wills in particular, in the recently reported case decision in Eade v Hogg .Read More
Conveyancers Beware – Acting for Vendor and PurchaserMay 19, 2021News of disciplinary proceedings having been taken recently against a conveyancer who had acted for both parties in a conveyancing transaction has thrown back into the regulatory spotlight the circumstances when the same firm may act for both of the main parties to the transaction. In this article we look briefly at when acting for vendor and purchaser is allowed.Read More
Cyber Losses Cover and Money Laundering RisksApril 23, 2021Recent SRA announcements on the related topics of cyber-based property fraud and anti-money laundering checking reveal that keeping the profession free of money laundering activity is one of the main ways of disrupting serious crime and that having adequate controls in place is likely now to be something indemnity insurers will look at on renewals.Read More
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