SRA Update
Welcome to the latest issue of SRA Update, and a happy New Year. While we might have taken some time off for Christmas, the legal services sector didn’t, and there are a number of things to update you on. The Government’s financial sanctions regime – which applies to all firms, not just those captured by anti-money laundering regulations – continues to be tightened, with trust services work now included. We have more information on that.
We also want your views on some minor changes we are making to our Standards and Regulations in response to your feedback. Our latest gender and ethnicity pay gap reports have been reported - we have an obligation under the Legal Services Act to encourage a diverse profession, so it’s only right that we look to make sure our own workforce reflects those it serves. Publishing pay gap data is part of making the changes we all want to see.
Paul Philip
Chief Executive
Welcome to the Compliance News section of the latest issue of SRA Update, and a happy New Year to you all. This section flags the Government’s financial sanctions regime – which applies to all firms, not just those captured by anti-money laundering regulations – continues to be tightened, with trust services work now included. We have more information on that.
There’s also new guidance on supervising staff, which all firms have an obligation to do. And it’s now more than three years since our transparency rules became compulsory. They have been proven to bring a business benefit to firms by attracting more potential clients. We are undertaking work to see who is complying with the rules and will be taking increasingly robust action where firms are falling short.
Paul Philip
Chief Executive