A compliance register that is always ready
Risk assessments, accounts and data breaches, undertakings and the accountant's report check, all kept on the file as the work happens. Whenever somebody asks, the answer is already there.
What compliance records does a UK law firm have to keep?
A firm must keep a written risk assessment for each client and matter, registers of accounts breaches and data breaches, and a record of the undertakings it has given. Most firms holding modest client balances are exempt from obtaining an accountant's report, but must be able to show they qualify.
- Is a written risk assessment required?
- Yes. A written client and matter risk assessment is a legal requirement, and a firm must be able to show it carried one out. Writford keeps both on the file, graded, with reassessments retained rather than overwriting the original.
- Why are accounts breaches and data breaches recorded separately?
- They answer to different regulators on different timescales, so Writford keeps two registers rather than one general incident list. Each entry records what happened, when it was found, what was done and whether it was reported.
- How does Writford track undertakings?
- Undertakings are recorded against the matter that gave them, shown as outstanding or discharged, and surfaced when a matter is being closed, so a file is not closed with one still live.
- Do I need an accountant's report?
- Not if your client account balance stayed under an average of ten thousand pounds and a maximum of two hundred and fifty thousand across all client accounts for your accounting period. Writford measures that from your own figures, against your firm's period rather than a rolling twelve months ending today.
- Does conflict checking count as compliance?
- Yes. Writford screens both parties on every new matter against every client, former client and opponent the firm has recorded, grades the result, and keeps a waiver trail recording who waived a conflict, when and why.
The written risk assessment the law already requires
A firm has to assess risk in writing, for the client and for the matter, and be able to show it did. Writford keeps both on the file, graded, so the assessment lives with the work rather than in a folder that gets updated the week before an audit. When a matter's value or nature changes, the reassessment sits alongside the original rather than replacing it.
- Client and matter risk assessments recorded against the file
- Graded so you can see where the firm's exposure actually sits
- Reassessments kept, not overwritten
- Firm-wide register, filterable by grade
Two registers, because they are two different problems
An accounts breach and a data breach are answerable to different regulators on different clocks, so they are recorded separately rather than in one general incident list. Each entry keeps what happened, when it was found, what was done about it and whether it was reported.
- Accounts breaches recorded separately from data breaches
- What happened, when it was found, and what was done
- Whether it was reportable, and whether it was reported
- A register you can hand over, not a reconstruction from email
Every undertaking the firm has given, and whether it is discharged
An undertaking is personally binding and easy to lose track of once the fee earner who gave it moves on. Writford records them against the matter, so a file cannot be closed while one is still outstanding and a supervisor can see everything the firm is on the hook for in one place.
- Undertakings recorded on the matter that gave them
- Outstanding versus discharged, visible at a glance
- Surfaced when a matter is being closed
- A firm-wide view for whoever supervises
Find out whether you need one, from your own figures
Most small firms holding modest client balances are exempt from obtaining an accountant's report, but working out whether you qualify means measuring the average and maximum balance across every client account for your accounting period. Writford does that from the figures already in the system, against the period your firm actually uses rather than a rolling twelve months ending today.
- Measured against your firm's accounting period, not today's date
- Average and maximum client account balance across all accounts
- Tells you whether the exemption applies and why
- The six-month deadline calculated from your period end