GAZETTE and SRA

COLP BLEET 16.03.2015

GAZETTE and SRA

One of the group’s COLPs has very kindly highlighted this warning about the increasingly sophisticated scams that fraudsters are using to defraud firms. The SRA notes that on average four firms are tricked each month.

The SRA notes that firms are being targeted by scammers who operate in the following ways.

 The scammers gain access to a firm's online systems by downloading malicious software via unsolicited email communications. They then intercept email communications between law firms and replace them with their own, in an attempt to hi-jack monies from true client accounts, particularly for conveyancing transactions. On two occasions these email intercepts have been followed up with telephone calls from the fraudsters pretending to be from the bank's counter-fraud team, requesting to check their online security information in order to check the integrity.

 The scammers telephone law firms pretending to be from a bank and request verification of a specific electronic transaction. They state that they suspect there are some fraudulent transactions that have been set up on the account. The scammer then requests to check their online security information in order to check the integrity of the information received.

The COLP also notes that he is aware of another firm that lost a substantial sum when it received an email from another firm which had been hacked and the bank details in the email replaced with the fraudsters’ bank details, leading to completion monies being sent to the wrong bank account. http://www.lawgazette.co.uk/5047315.article? utm_source=dispatch&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=GAZ090315 http://www.sra.org.uk/sra/news/compliance-news-12-banking-scams.page

SOLICITORS REGULATION AUTHORITY

SRA and the Voluntary Code 6 March 2015

The Solicitors Regulation Authority (SRA) has today confirmed that it will withdraw from the Voluntary Code to good practice in the recruitment of trainee solicitors from the end of March 2015.

The SRA is withdrawing from the code as it is not its regulatory role to be involved in deciding the dates and processes by which individual employers and employees make recruitment choices. The decision to withdraw was taken after careful review and discussion with other signatories to the code.

SRA set to end regulating insolvency practitioners 12 March 2015

The Board of the Solicitors Regulation Authority (SRA) has decided the SRA will no longer regulate solicitors who act as insolvency practitioners.

The decision was taken at the Board's meeting on Wednesday 11 March, in view of the fact that insolvency work is not central to the work of a solicitor, and consumers would be better protected if solicitors were regulated by those organisations identified by the Insolvency Service.

A November to January consultation exercise was held on SRA regulation of solicitor insolvency practitioners.

1 SRA Board approves Competence Statement 12 March 2015

The Board of the Solicitors Regulation Authority (SRA) has approved its Competence Statement for solicitors, which defines the standards expected of solicitors at the point of qualification and the steps they need to take to maintain these standards.

The SRA held a 12-week consultation between October 2014 and January this year, and 72 respondents submitted their views. Board members agreed to adopting the Competence Statement after consideration of the SRA's analysis, and amendments of the statement in response to the points raised.

Martin Coleman, Chair of the SRA's Education and Training Committee, said: "The Competence Statement gives important guidance to solicitors on the standards they are expected to meet. This is for work we are now undertaking on the competencies we expect of would-be solicitors, and also to ensure continuing competence following the abolition of the mandatory continuing professional development hours requirement.

"We received a large number of responses and made some amendments in light of these submissions. I am grateful to all those who took the time to contribute to this important piece of work."

The Competence Statement includes three sections: the Competence Statement itself, the Statement of Knowledge and the Threshold Standard. It will be published on the SRA website in early April 2015, at the same time solicitors are able to move to the new approach to continuing competence.

A consultation on the assessment framework for the Competence Statement will take place later this year, although the SRA is already engaging with stakeholders on this matter.

As noted in the consultation document, a proposal will now be submitted to the Legal Services Board (LSB) to amend the notes under Principle 5 of the SRA Principles. This will make it clear that, for a solicitor, meeting the competences set out in the Competence Statement is one requirement of adhering to Principle 5, which states "you must provide a proper standard of service to your clients".

Joint research looks at innovation in the legal services market 19 February 2015

The Solicitors Regulation Authority (SRA) and the Legal Services Board (LSB) are continuing research into how law firms, and others providing legal services, are changing the way they operate.

The research aims to understand what innovation means in the legal services market, explore what is driving innovation, including the impact of competition in inspiring firms to try new approaches, and understand the barriers to greater innovation. The first phase of this work started in November and involved a literature review and interviews with around 20 organisations across the legal sector.

In the second phase OMB Research, an independent research company, will be calling potential participants to invite them to give their views by taking part in a short survey over the next few weeks. OMB research operate under Market Research Society guidelines and any information provided will be treated in strict confidence. All results the SRA and LSB receive will be anonymous.

Richard Collins, SRA Executive Director, said: "This is our first large scale research study on this topic and will help us to understand the new and different approaches law firms and others are taking and any potential barriers they face. Whether that be through the introduction of new services or in the way they market and deliver services to consumers, we are aiming to discover how innovative the legal services market is.

"There is no obligation on those of you who are contacted to take part, but we would greatly appreciate your help."

2 The research will cover the whole spectrum of legal services providers including those from regulated and unregulated sectors. As well as OMB research, the project will be carried out by the University of Warwick.

A question of ethics Advice regarding off the record conversations without the client’s consent in divorce.

LAW SOCIETY

Practice note Conflict of interests 3 March 2015 This practice note updates the version published on 25 August 2011.

Law firms need to adapt to generation Y's career expectations 19 February 2015 New research by the Law Society has found that legal professionals have higher career satisfaction than the general UK workforce. However, differences between experienced solicitors and those newer to the profession highlight a change in expectations around development and performance management.

Law Society president Andrew Caplen said:

'It is encouraging that - as a whole - legal professionals are more content with their careers than average UK employees. It is welcome news that, despite many of the pressures facing the profession, a career in law remains a highly rewarding pursuit and a source of pride. However, we should not rest on our laurels. Those new to the profession have different career expectations to those who joined several decades ago.'

The key findings of the research are:

•On the whole, legal professionals find their careers rewarding, taking pride in the work they do. The majority of those working in the legal sector are satisfied with their careers. Over three-fifths (62 per cent) of respondents are satisfied or very satisfied in their role (compared to only 50 per cent in the general workforce), while three-quarters say they feel proud to work for their organisation. •Millennial mobility is an emerging risk for employers. Employers face a growing battle to hang on to young legal talent because this group are open to switching between jobs and organisations more frequently. In the survey, 35 per cent of 25-34 year olds say they are likely to change jobs in the next 12 months, compared to just 26 per cent of the overall sample, and the highest of any group. •A lack of engagement with strategic direction is a key driver of employee departure. Respondents who are less involved in making strategic decisions about the future of the business are more likely to leave their role in the year ahead. Just 15 per cent of respondents who are fully engaged in their organisation’s strategic direction say they are likely to change jobs in the next 12 months, yet 28 per cent of those who are not engaged at all say the same. There is a split between older and younger respondents on the strategic direction of the organisation. This may reflect an increasing desire among generation Y to work for organisations with a wider societal purpose, other than financial success - and the willingness to leave if such purpose is not apparent. •Performance management could be improved in one-third of organisations. There is a need for employers to do more for their staff in terms of providing constructive feedback and clarifying goals. Almost one-third (30 per cent) of survey respondents say they do not receive regular and constructive feedback on their performance. With just under half (48 per cent) of employees confident they are getting the feedback they need to develop effectively, a large proportion is looking elsewhere for the mentoring that will progress their career.

3 LEGAL SERVICES BOARD 26TH February 2015 LSB puts spotlight on regulation of in-house lawyers The Legal Services Board (LSB) publishes today its discussion paper, Are regulatory restrictions in practising rules for in-house lawyers justified?

With this paper the LSB shows how regulatory arrangements for in-house practice vary across the regulators and with the minimum required by legislation. This paper invites comment on these findings, the impact of current arrangements, and on possible areas for improvement (see notes to editor’s point. 3).

A lot done, but more to do

25th February 2015 The Legal Services Board (LSB) publishes today its Regulatory standards 2014/15 - An update report on the performance of legal services regulators.

This report reviews the progress that legal service regulators have made in developing and improving their regulatory standards since a first self-assessment exercise was undertaken in late 2012.

The Small Print

We monitor key websites and tweets for updates and changes that might be relevant to a COLP, including those of the SRA, Law Society, Legal Ombudsman and Legal Services Board. We also follow some legal commentators' websites. To avoid bombarding you with masses of information, we will exercise judgement about the information that is likely to be of particular relevance or interest to COLPs and that we circulate in the COLP Bleet. We may therefore miss or omit information that might be relevant to your firm. The COLP Bleet does not constitute legal or tax advice and we assume no duty towards any recipients of the COLP Bleet or any responsibility to keep you abreast of any subsequent changes.

If you have any interesting information or experiences that may be of interest to the other COLPs, please let us know and we will share it more widely via the COLP Bleet.

Corinne Staves Partner

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