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Acquisition of practices and transfer of instructions (Jan18)
We are often asked to advise where firms are acquiring all or part of another practice. As well as professional...
Conflicts of interests (Jan18)
We are often asked to advise on conflicts, and our clients include large City and US firms. Cases on conflicts...
SRA investigations and disciplinary proceedings (Jan18)
We have had several recent successes defending SRA investigations, including a ‘sexting’ case, a holiday sickness claim and a complaint...
Professional indemnity insurance (Jan18)
The SRA is continuing to review the Minimum Terms and Conditions (MTC) but the results of its work are still...
General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) (Jan18)
Firms should be well advanced with their risk assessments for GDPR compliance as the 25 May 2018 implementation date is...
Anti-money laundering (AML) and financial crime (Jan18)
Firms conducting business in the regulated sector under The Money Laundering, Terrorist Financing and Transfer of Funds (Information on the...
Non-disclosure agreements (Mar18)
These have been much publicised in the press recently. We have defended a number of SRA investigations where solicitors misguidedly...
Anti-money laundering (AML) (Mar18)
The anti-money laundering (AML) guidance produced by the legal sector AML supervisors, including the Law Society, has now received the...
Conflicts of Interests and Confidentiality (Mar18)
The Financial Conduct Authority’s report on the Royal Bank of Scotland’s Global Restructuring Group has led the SRA to seek...
General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) (Mar18)
Implementation on 25 May 2018 is now imminent. We have advised major US and UK firms on risk assessment and...
What is integrity? (Mar18)
Lord Justice Jackson’s judgment In Wingate and others v. The Solicitors Regulation Authority [2018] EWCA Civ 366, delivered as a...
Challenging opponents’ legal costs (Mar18)
As law firms either give up Personal Injury litigation (sometimes because the firm fails) or seek higher volumes to make...
Demolition job: SRA Consultation on Professional indemnity insurance (PII) (Mar18)
The Solicitors Regulation Authority (SRA) has launched its latest consultation aimed at reducing the level and breadth of compulsory minimum...
General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) (May18)
GDPR is now fully in force as of 25 May 2018, but with deference to Sir Winston Churchill, now this...
Sanctions – USA’s new drumbeat (May18)
The re-introduction of stiff sanctions by the USA against Iran requires firms to ensure that the appropriate checks are being...
Anti-Money Laundering – Westminster’s new mood (May18)
It may be the poisoning of the Skripals (coming on top of the Litvinenko case and other suspicious deaths), or...
Limits on ‘acting in the client’s best interests’ (May18)
SRA Principle 4 requires solicitors to act in the best interests of each client. But taking a myopic view of...
Jumping the gun – SRA’s ‘Innovate’ initiative (May18)
It is a mark of how far the SRA has come in its journey, to recall that in 2009, when...
PII Consultation: how to avoid nightmares like Dreamvar (May18)
The SRA’s consultation on Professional Indemnity insurance (PII) and the Compensation Fund closes on 15 June 2018. https://goo.gl/DreQc3. They may...
Dreamvar: solicitor as guarantor (May18)
Conveyancers’ worst nightmares have been realised by the Court of Appeal in P&P Property Ltd v Owen White & Catlin...
15 years of Legal Risk (Jul18)
When we established ourselves as a law firm in 2003, very few UK firms had a General Counsel, there was...
Referral fees (Jul18)
The SRA has fined a firm £2,000 plus costs of £1,825 for breaching the referral fee ban in section 56...
Cyber (Jul18)
The National Cyber Security Centre, part of GCHQ, and the Law Society have published a report highlighting the threats to...
Artificial Intelligence (AI): Supervision, regulation and ethics (Jul18)
Law firms are increasingly adopting AI. This may create significant benefits in terms of efficiency but also carries potential risks. ...
Professional indemnity insurance (Jul18)
The majority of solicitors in England & Wales still renew their insurance on 1 October. With possible changes in the...
General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) (Jul18)
There have been three reported decisions under the Directive 95/46/EC which are of relevance to GDPR. Secretary of State for...
Anti-money laundering (AML) (Jul18)
The first anniversary of The Money Laundering, Terrorist Financing and Transfer of Funds (Information on the Payer) Regulations 2017 passed...
Professional Indemnity Insurance (Sep18)
There are very many large, multiple claims or potential claims arising from failed investment schemes, including hotels and student accommodation,...
Conflicts (Sep18)
US conflicts rules increasingly affect law firms in other jurisdictions, either because they have US offices themselves or, rather more...
Border searches (Sep18)
We have previously mentioned guidance by the New York City Bar on US border staff searching smartphones, tablets and laptops,...
Data Protection (Sep18)
The General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) came fully into force on 25 May 2018, but did not apply directly in...
AML (Sep18)
An article in The Sunday Times (September 9, 2018) noted that “A key part of the government’s response to the...
Legal professional privilege (LPP) (Sep18)
LPP features in much of the legal advice Legal Risk provides, frequently arising in the context of anti-money laundering (AML)...
Cyber Crime and GDPR: the need for training (Dec18)
Many data losses result from cyber crime. We have developed a sequel to our popular online training course, Phishing for...
Common problems (Dec18)
A number of common issues with GDPR aspects continue to engage minds – Mergers and acquisitions involving businesses with a...
Data breaches (Dec18)
The ICO has received over 8,000 breach reports since GDPR came into force, making reporting mandatory in some high risk...
Anti-money laundering (Dec18)
Regulation 41 of The Money Laundering, Terrorist Financing and Transfer of Funds (Information on the Payer) Regulations 2017 imposes requirements,...
Cross-border data transfers (Dec18)
Transfers of data from an EEA country to a ‘third country’ must satisfy the requirements of Chapter 5 of GDPR. ...
Consent (Dec18)
GDPR is not all about consent. Consent must be explicit, and it is revocable. So although it has its uses...
Controller or processor? (Dec18)
We have advised many firms have on the issue of Outside Counsel Guidelines which purport to decree that the firm...
Extra-territorial scope (Dec18)
Article 3 seeks to extend the scope beyond the EEA where firms offer services to, or monitor the behaviour of,...
Conflicts of interest (Jan 19)
The SDT case of Howell Jones LLP (11846-2018 – see www.legalrisk.co.uk/conflicts for a link) has caused some consternation. The firm...
Professional indemnity insurance (Jan 19)
We are beginning to see signs of a hardening of the market, with some firms finding it difficult or impossible...
Who owns the files? (Jan 19)
The Law Society has published a Practice Note, replacing previous guidance on file ownership. This also covers GDPR aspects. However...
Data Protection (Jan 19)
Brexit necessitates a review of data mapping and cross-border transfers. In the event of a no deal Brexit, the government...
Me too (Jan 19)
The topic continues to attract parliamentary and press interest, both generally and in relation to non-disclosure agreements (NDAs). The Times...
Anti Money Laundering (Jan 19)
While the widely-reported Mutual Evaluation Report of the UK by the Financial Action Task Force (FATF) was complimentary about the...
Brexit (Jan 19)
As the risk of a no deal hard exit from the European Union on 29 March 2019 looms, there are...
Conflicts of Interest (Mar 19)
Client-imposed terms through outside counsel guidelines are an ever-growing concern, particularly as they may widen the scope of individuals and...
Data Protection (Mar 19)
The European Data Protection Board have published Opinion 5/2019 on the interplay between the ePrivacy Directive and the GDPR, in...
Cyber (Mar 19)
Much of the debate about cyber insurance has been over whether cover for fines under the General Data Protection Regulation...
SRA Standards and Regulations (Mar 19)
The new SRA Standards and Regulations, replacing the current SRA Code of Conduct and other parts of the SRA Handbook,...
Confidentiality (Mar 19)
We are often instructed to advise firms how they can properly proceed when they have been offered client files ‘for...
Anti-Money Laundering (Mar 19)
As predicted in previous issues of Risk Update, the Solicitors Regulation Authority (SRA) is ramping up its action with a...
Data protection (May 19)
As the anniversary of the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) passed on 25 May 2019, it is opportune to reflect. ...
Professional indemnity insurance concerns
We leave it to insurance brokers to comment on the reports of a hardening insurance market for solicitors. However we...
Conflicts of interest and costs problems
Our January issue addressed a difficult decision on own interest conflicts in the Solicitors Disciplinary Tribunal judgment in Howell Jones...
SRA Standards and Regulations (May19)
We have commented on these in our November 2018 and March 2019 issues. Changes have already been approved under the...
Anti-Money Laundering: The crackdown
It is now 30 years since the Financial Action Task Force (FATF) was established in Paris to combat money laundering. ...
Preserving confidentiality and data protection
As solicitors, we have duties, enshrined in law and in our Code of Conduct, to preserve confidentiality. Yet this appears...
Brexit
The further extension allows firms more time to put their houses in order. The Law Society has published a leaflet...
Investment Schemes
These are a hot topic on the claims front where we are advising many firms on insurance coverage and professional...
SRA Standards and Regulations 2019
Firms should now be well advanced in preparations for the new provisions which come into force on 25 November 2019....
“There will be many, many more prosecutions in relation to AML”
These were the concluding words of Paul Philip, Chief Executive of the Solicitors Regulation Authority (SRA) in his opening speech...
What links PPI, PII and the new SRA Code?
Those involved in trusts, probate and estates, whether as role-holders or advisers to executors, administrators, attorneys, Court of Protection deputies,...
Data protection
The Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO) published GDPR: One year on. Regulatory priorities going forwards include a number which may impact...
Help! I’m a new Compliance Officer/MLRO…
As people move on, many firms are having to appoint people to roles in anti-money laundering (AML) and compliance who...
Conflicts – July 19
We recently defended successfully a complaint against a law firm to the SRA made by an opponent in litigation alleging...
Anti-Money Laundering (AML) July 19
We commented in our May 2019 Risk Update on the thematic review by the Solicitors Regulation Authority (SRA), 26 of...
Data Protection
Inevitably, we anticipate that some law firms will be subject to fines under the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR). Where...
Professional Indemnity Insurance
It has appeared until recently that the SRA was doggedly determined to press ahead with reductions in the limits and...
Professional regulation
The SRA’s proposal to allow solicitors to work in unregulated businesses has been approved by the Legal Services Board. A...
Anti Money Laundering
We have already predicted further regulatory action (Risk Update, September 2018), with the Solicitors Regulation Authority (SRA) under scrutiny from...
SRA Standards and Regulations
These new provisions, replacing the SRA Handbook 2011, come into force on 25 November 2019. The two new Codes of...
Conflicts
We advise on a variety of conflicts issues, including challenges to firms acting and disciplinary investigations. Recent additions to our...
Cyber
The Association of British Insurers has reported that 99% of claims made (207) on ABI-member cyber insurance policies in 2018...
Anti-money laundering (AML)
We are advising many firms on their firmwide risk assessments, policies, controls and procedures, and audit. We commented in recent...
Professional indemnity insurance (PII)
Many firms will be seeking renewal on 1 October. Those with claims histories, particularly those with involvement in development schemes,...