Solicitors Regulation Authority (SRA) restrictions on who can act as a compliance officer for legal practice (COLP) and compliance officer for finance and administration (COFA) were due to take effect in January. Individuals able to exercise unilateral management control over a firm would be barred from COLP or COFA roles if turnover exceeded £600,000—potentially affecting 1,660 firms including about 431 sole owner-manager firms.
Smaller firms warned they would be unable to find suitable people for the roles, and would have to appoint junior staff or outsource the position at extra expense.
However, SRA executive director, policy and strategy, Aileen Armstrong announced last week the regulator was conscious ‘of the risk of unintended consequences, particularly for smaller firms’ and was ‘pausing to take stock’.
Law Society president Mark Evans praised the SRA’s ‘willingness to listen... We are encouraged by this fresh level of maturity at the SRA under its new leadership’.
