Frank Maher shares some predictions for law firm risk
- Examines four key areas: anti-money laundering: data protection; professional regulation; and professional indemnity insurance.
This article contains some predictions for the next two years based on the writer’s experience as a member of a specialist law firm providing legal advice on professional regulation and professional indemnity insurance to a cross-section of the legal profession, including many of the world’s leading UK and US-based law firms.
Anti-Money Laundering
Further regulatory action is inevitable, with the Solicitors Regulation Authority (SRA) under scrutiny from The Office for Professional Body Anti-Money Laundering Supervision (OPBAS) and increasing pressure from HMRC and Parliament.
Firms will face regulatory action for breaching their own policies. This may even be so where they were complying with the general standards of the profession.
The SRA, under OPBAS scrutiny, will continue to audit firms. Many firms have not done their risk assessments, over a year after The Money Laundering, Terrorist Financing and Transfer of Funds (Information on the Payer) Regulations 2017 (MLR 2017) came into force and they should do so urgently.
Expect particular attention
