AUGUST 2024 – ARTICLES & ITEMS OF INTEREST

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AUGUST 2024 – ARTICLES & ITEMS OF INTEREST

The Legal Quality Standard of Ireland

JULY 2024 – ARTICLES & ITEMS OF INTEREST

AML – SRA UK ISSUES ONE OF ITS BIGGEST FINES TO DATE

On the 12 August 2024, the Law Society of England and Wales website reported that the Solicitors Regulation Authority imposed one of its biggest fines.  GD Legal was fined £21,843 for failing to have in place the right documents as required by money laundering regulations.

 

The article states “the firm has carried out conveyancing work since 2019 and last year was subject to an inspection from the SRA.  The regulator identified various areas of concern with the firm’s risk assessment and policies, controls and procedures, with a subsequent referral to the specialist AML team”.

 

The SRA said the firm’s conduct was serious given the high proportion of its work coming from conveyancing.  Breaches of the rules lasted for longer than was reasonable and had the potential to cause harm to the public interest and confidence in the profession”.

 

In mitigation, the firm had co-operated with the SRA, taken remedial action, and there was no evidence that actual harm had materialised.  GD Legal was ordered to pay 2.4% of its annual domestic turnover and costs of £1,350.

 

To view this article see https://www.lawgazette.co.uk/news/national-firm-hit-with-22k-fine-for-aml-breaches/5120609.article

 

LAW SOCIETY OF SCOTLAND’S AML TEAM REVIEW AML SARs

This month the Law Society of Scotland’s website reported that the Law Society of Scotland’s anti-money laundering (AML) team had published the initial findings of its thematic review into suspicious activity reports (SARs), revealing positive procedures are in place across firms, but further support and guidance is needed on training and the threshold for suspicion.

The questionnaire-based thematic review of 50 selected practices examined the profession’s knowledge and understanding of the SARs regime.

The following are the key findings:-

  • 20% of MLROs reviewed do not have an up-to-date National Crime Agency (NCA) SARs portal login.
  • 90% of MLROs advised that they do have a written internal SAR procedure and/or template.
  • 84% of MLROs did record the decision-making process when choosing not to disclose a SAR to the NCA.
  • 55% of MLROs said they have never received training specifically relating to SAR reporting.
  • 80% of practices stated that SARs training had been given to relevant staff within the last 12 months. A further 18% of MLROs stated that staff SARs training had been provided, but more than 12 months ago.
  • 50% of MLROs stated that they chose not to disclose an internal SAR to the NCA as their threshold for suspicion was not met.
  • The majority of MLROs are aware of what should be included within an iSAR disclosure to the NCA.
  • All MLROs are aware that a SAR should be submitted if there are reasonable grounds to know or suspect money laundering.

To view the AML team’s key findings following detailed analysis of the data and to view the guidance released by them to help aid practices in this critical area of regulatory compliance.  See https://www.lawscot.org.uk/news-and-events/law-society-news/aml-sars-thematic-review-initial-findings/

 

CYBER ATTACKS ON UK LAW FIRMS UP BY 77%

It was reported this month on the Law Society of England and Wales website that cyber-attacks on UK law firms have jumped by 77% over the past year, from 538 last year to 954 this year.

The study was conducted by chartered accountants, Lubbock Fine who state that criminals see law firms as prime targets.  “This is due to the sensitive personal and financial information they hold, which hackers can sell on the dark web or threaten to publish on the internet.”  “Another tactic is to lock firms out of their own data until a ransom is paid”.

The National Cyber Security Centre report that nearly three quarters of the UK’s top 100 law firms have been impacted by cyber-attacks.

Lubbock Fine Partner, Mark Turner states that, “in the face of such attacks, law firms need stronger cyber defences than most businesses.  This might include segregating data across different departments, teams and individual clients”.

To view this article see https://www.lawgazette.co.uk/news/cyber-attacks-on-law-firms-jump-by-77/5120668.article

 

FRAUD ALERT – EMAILS IMPERSONATING SOLICITORS

On the 1 August 2024, the Law Society of Scotland’s website published a news item titled “Fraud alert – emails impersonating solicitors”.

It states “We have been alerted by the Faculty of Advocates that its members have recently received a spate of scam emails from fraudsters pretending to be legitimate solicitor firms.  The scam emails all follow a similar pattern, seeking payment for an invoice.

The emails:

  • come from email addresses that look like the legitimate solicitors’ addresses, but are not
  • the subject lines follow a format similar to: “Completed: Review Invoice/Payment Document Shared by XX Solicitors – July 2024”.
  • the emails contain a link that then prompts for a login and password.

The news item also sets out what firms’ should do.  Namely:-

  • Do not click on any links in emails that you are unsure are legitimate.
  • Do not share these emails with colleagues.
  • Block the domain to ensure you do not receive further emails.

 

Solicitors can help clients and contacts protect themselves by being:-

  • consistent in your communications
  • ensuring that clients know what to expect from your firm.
  • Ask clients and contacts to call your office to confirm details, if they receive any communications requesting a payment.
  • Keep discussing the issue with clients to ensure that they are alive to the threats of cybercrime.

To view this news item in full see https://www.lawscot.org.uk/news-and-events/law-society-news/fraud-alert-emails-impersonating-solicitors/

 

LEGAL PROFESSION LONG HOURS WORKING CULTURE CONTRIBUTING TO EQUALITY, DIVERSITY AND INCLUSION FAILURE

This month the Law Society of England and Wales published an article on equality, diversity and inclusion.

The Legal Service Board, oversight regulator commissioned The Social Change Agency to map ‘systemic barriers’ to equality, diversity and inclusion.

It was found those barriers include a long-hours culture – disabled people and those with caring responsibilities or long-term health conditions will always remain at a disadvantage.  By making the culture and practice more equitable, it will improve working conditions for everybody, whilst also removing exclusion for marginalised groups’.

Recommendation – ‘We suggest that engaging with this issue is a long-term project, and involves organisations and individuals from across the whole system. The most important step regulators can take on this point may be simply to raise awareness that this is, fundamentally, though not solely, an EDI issue.’

Mentorship is another factor – while mentoring can support people to navigate an ‘inhospitable’ system more effectively, it can also ‘represent a mechanism by which marginalised people assimilate to the wider culture and therefore perpetuate it.

Recommendation – ‘Mentorships are also generally limited in number and so are inherently not very inclusive. Therefore, we would recommend further promoting, expanding and developing the offer of schemes.’

The LSB has also published a study by SQW, funded by the Ministry of Justice, profiling the diversity of the judicial talent pipeline.  Among the findings are that women are more likely to be shortlisted and recommended after application, but less likely than men to apply to the bench earlier in their career.

LSB chair Alan Kershaw said: ‘Regulation alone can’t offer a silver bullet, and others across the system have a role to play.  However, it is time to consider whether regulation can play a more active part in driving change to create a fair, healthy, diverse and inclusive profession.’

To view this article in full see https://www.lawgazette.co.uk/news/long-hours-culture-contributing-to-equality-diversity-and-inclusion-failure/5120675.article

 

LEGAL PARTNERSHIPS

The Legal Services Regulatory Authority have this month published an 11-page booklet titled “Introducing Legal Partnerships – FAQs for Legal Practitioners”.

 

To view this booklet see https://www.lsra.ie/wp-content/uploads/2024/08/LPs-FAQs.pdf

 

The LSRA website also states that in the coming months the LSRA intends to introduce the regulatory framework for legal partnerships, a new business structure for the delivery of legal service.  Legal partnerships can either be solicitor-barrister or barrister-only and must include at least one practising barrister.

 

ICO LAUNCHES NEW, QUICK AND EASY TO USE TOOL TO GENERATE BESPOKE PRIVACY NOTICES

On the 20 August 2024, the Information Commissioners Office (ICO) published a news item that they have launched a new, quick and easy-to-use tool to help small businesses create bespoke privacy notices and protect people’s information rights.

 

The news article states “under data protection law, every organisation that holds people’s information needs to explain why it holds it and what it does with it.  This is so their customers, suppliers, staff and volunteers know what will happen to their personal information.  Organisations can provide this information through a privacy notice, which is displayed on its website or included in other communications, to ensure they’re compliant.”

 

In just a few simple steps, the new privacy notice generator can create tailored privacy notices relevant to small organisations in a variety of sectors of the economy.  There are sections of the tool specific to the legal sectors, finance and insurance; education and childcare; health and social care and charity and voluntary sectors.  There are also sections designed for other small organisations in sectors such as retail and manufacturing.

 

To view this article and the link to the privacy notice generator see https://ico.org.uk/about-the-ico/media-centre/news-and-blogs/2024/08/new-tool-helps-small-businesses-create-privacy-notices/

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