Wednesday 18th March, 12pm UK | Law firms are under sustained scrutiny from regulators, clients and counterparties. Across sanctions, AML, source of funds verification, international work and general risk management, small gaps in controls can lead to regulatory action, client complaints or significant financial crime exposure.
Many firms are now revisiting their entire risk framework to ensure their policies, file reviews, risk assessments and onboarding checks stand up to scrutiny.
In this webinar, we will provide a practical walkthrough of the core elements of a law firm risk audit. From reviewing your sanctions and AML controls to testing the quality of material risk assessments to identifying common red flags in file reviews, this session will help you understand where weaknesses often arise and how to strengthen your compliance foundation. We will also outline how to assess your international exposure, improve the source of wealth documentation, and prepare for SRA engagement or inspection.
Ruth, Jen and Nick will be joined by Philippa Hayes, Director of Legal & Regulatory Risk at BCLP who will share insights from the perspective of a global law firm, including how firms can approach risk audits in practice and respond to regulatory expectations.
What this webinar will cover
- Preparing for an SRA audit, including documentation, training records and policies
- How to assess sanctions compliance and identify common weaknesses
- Reviewing AML procedures, including source of funds and source of wealth checks
- Auditing matter risk assessments and evidencing decision-making
- Hotspots and red flags from file reviews and recent SRA findings
- Evaluating international work and exposure to high risk jurisdictions
- How to test the effectiveness of your firm wide risk assessment