In August, the SRA announced that it plans to check all law firm websites for compliance with its Transparency Rules. Remember, whatever services you offer, you need to publish details of your complaints procedure and a copy of the SRA’s clickable logo on your website. We are aware that the SRA is being rather picky about the wording of specific points. For example, they were unhappy that a link on a firm’s website complaints policy went to the main www.sra.org.uk website rather than to a specific page on that site. If you have a website that offers services such as conveyancing, probate, immigration, employment tribunals or motoring offences you have to publish details about these services, pricing information and information about who delivers them. They will be cross-referencing their findings against the self-declarations made by firms stating they were fully compliant. We published a free 16-point checklist for law firm websites last year. If you would like to talk to us about a website audit or some support in this area please get in touch.
Ask for specific details relating to website non-compliance
Checking 9,000 websites is a massive undertaking for the SRA. Recent experience has shown us that similar bulk exercises can result in the ‘feedback’ from the SRA being a bit hit-and-miss. Don’t be afraid to ask for specific details of any alleged non-compliance (the rules and the SRA’s own guidance and interpretation of them is not always clear even to us and this is our bread and butter!) Politely push back if you feel you are actually compliant. It is worth remembering that some of the more junior team members at the SRA can sometimes conflate mandatory requirements with best practice.
Letters from the SRA are being sent to some firms asking them to check and confirm turnover information. If you receive this letter, please ensure you follow the instructions so they can calculate the correct periodic fee.
About Compliance Office
Founded by Andy Donovan, a former SRA legal policy advisor, Compliance Office’s team of consultants draws on years of experience and a proprietary set of tools and templates to help law firms with all of their compliance needs. The merger enables VinciWorks to provide an end-to-end AML package including a CDD client onboarding tool, AML training and compliance consulting, as well as an all-in-one SRA solution that includes training, compliance software, and consultancy.
VinciWorks recently partnered with Compliance Office to offer you a full range of compliance training, software, and consultancy services.
Our combined services and software include:
