HOW TO SET UP A LAW FIRM

HOW TO SET UP A LAW FIRMHOW TO SET UP A LAW FIRMHOW TO SET UP A LAW FIRMHOW TO SET UP A LAW FIRM
  • Home
  • Choice of structure
  • SRA approval
  • Ongoing regulation
  • Clients
  • Insurance
  • Essential tools
  • Partnership agreements
  • Colleagues
  • PR and marketing
  • Costs
  • Alternatives

HOW TO SET UP A LAW FIRM

HOW TO SET UP A LAW FIRMHOW TO SET UP A LAW FIRMHOW TO SET UP A LAW FIRM
  • Home
  • Choice of structure
  • SRA approval
  • Ongoing regulation
  • Clients
  • Insurance
  • Essential tools
  • Partnership agreements
  • Colleagues
  • PR and marketing
  • Costs
  • Alternatives

ONGOING REGULATION

ESSENTIAL READING

Law firms are authorised and regulated by the SRA and the subject of a number of Acts and Instruments. Prospective managers of law firms should ensure they are familiar with the following:

  • The SRA Code of Conduct
  • The SRA Accounts Rules 
  • The SRA Practice Framework Rules
  • The SRA Authorisation Rules for Legal Services Bodies and Licensable Bodies
  • The Legal Services Act 2007
  • The Solicitors Act 1974
  • The Money Laundering Regulations 2007


The Law Society provides some helpful guidance in this respect and in particular the note on law firm regulatory requirements is highly recommended: http://www.lawsociety.org.uk/support-services/advice/practice-notes/setting-up-a-practice-regulatory-requirements/.


Perhaps the best place to start would be to review Chapter 7 of the SRA Code of Conduct (the “Code”) which deals with the management of law firms and, in short, requires well planned and considered management designed to protect the interests of clients, minimise risk and ensure standards are maintained throughout the profession. Chapter 1 on client care should also be regarded as essential reading.


The Code refers to outcomes rather than rules. This move to results based regulation is welcome and provides law firms with more scope to take a proportionate view to the risks they face, but in no way should this change be considered a “light touch”. The SRA expects to see effective systems and controls in place to comply with the relevant regulations. This should include evidence that the material risks and duties have been considered, a plan has been put in place to address them/comply with them and further that such plan is effective. It is therefore a good idea to draft the following policies and precedents:


  • Anti-bribery Policy
  • Anti-money laundering Policy
  • Client Account Interest Policy
  • Complaints Policy
  • Client Care Policy 
  • Confidentiality/Information security Policy     
  • Document Retention Policy 
  • Diversity Policy 
  • Health and Safety Policy 
  • Precedent Engagement Letter
  • Supervision Policy 


Putting these policies together can be a time consuming business. Template policies which are adequate for most firms can be purchased online (see Compliance Office website). The SRA expect suitable polices to be in place, but that alone does not achieve the relevant outcomes. Instead every law firm must be familiar with and comply with the policies. Regular internal training is also a requirement.


However, help is at hand in the form of a number of external compliance consultants who can make the process of achieving proportionate compliance possible and retaining a compliance expert can be very cost effective. One such expert is Matthew Moore of Infolegal. Infolegal offers compliance support by way of a retainer or an ad hoc basis, it also offers packages of relevant compliance documents, guidance notes and factsheets.

Copyright © 2021 How to set up a law firm - All Rights Reserved.

  • Cookies Policy

Do you want to be your own boss?

There is an alternative solution if you seek all the flexibility and freedom of setting up your own law firm but wish to avoid the investment inherent in setting up.

Learn more

Our use of cookies.

We use cookies to analyze website traffic and optimize your website experience. By accepting our use of cookies, your data will be aggregated with all other user data. To find out more, click here.

DeclineAccept