Compliance Essentials for Law Firms 2026

Introduction

With regulatory expectations rising and the SRA placing increasing emphasis on issues such as AML, data protection, and the Accounts Rules, it has never been more important for law firms to keep their compliance knowledge up to date.

New for 2026, this 6-part modular webinar series is designed to provide busy professionals with concise, practical guidance on the areas that matter most. Delivered by compliance experts Jo Morris and Trevor Hellawell, the series offers clear updates, real-world insights, and practical advice to help you protect your clients, your firm, and your reputation.

What You Will Learn

This webinar series will cover the following:

Module 1 - AML Essentials - Trevor Hellawell

The profession's interest in AML compliance continues. Despite the change at the top within the SRA and the recent attempts to patch up some loopholes with the latest ML Amendment Regulations, the focus on client and matter risk assessments with an explanatory rationale, source of wealth and source of funds enquiries (and increasingly the obligation to get corroborative proof of what we are told), as well as paying special regard to the sanctions position, generally continue.

This module will cover the following:

• Regulators’ investigations - key enquiries and things to focus on
• Outcomes - RSAs and more - negotiations and appeals
• Sanctions guidance
• New LSAG Guidance
• New MLTF (amendment & Miscellaneous Provisions) Regulations 2025
• Other considerations - AML data collection exercise, high-risk countries, PEPs and ongoing monitoring

Module 2 - SRA Accounts Rules Update & Refresher - Jo Morris

The SRA Accounts Rules were changed in 2019 with the release of the SRA Standards and Regulations. The number of rules were drastically cut - from 52 to 13 - but what did this mean in practice?

In this module we will look, in more detail, at the key rules and how fee earners and finance staff can work together to ensure compliance with the rules.

This module will cover the following:

• Key rules covering client money:
• Rule 2.5 - returning of client money promptly
• Rule 3.3 - the use of the client account as a banking facility
• Rule 5 - prescribed circumstances - residual balances
• Rule 7 - client account interest
• Rule 12 - accountants report - are you ‘qualified’?
• What the SRA will do next in relation to the Accounts Rules and client money

Module 3 - Conflicts of Interest - Trevor Hellawell

The SRA Codes of Conduct underwent much simplification recently but still exhort us to have systems in place to enable us to identify all kinds of conflicts of interest, but the difficulty of doing so - and then dealing with the fallout - remains.

However, what do the Rules allow? What do they mean? What is the current state of the law and the ethical position, now the Rules hardly say anything?

This module will cover the following:

• Conflicts of Interest: Rule 6
• The Rule
• The exemptions
• When dare we act for more than one client?
• What does ‘informed consent’ really mean?
• Other ‘conflict’ situations

Module 4 - Cybercrime in Law Firms - Jo Morris

A recent report undertaken on cybercrime in law firms revealed that law firm employee passwords are widely available on the Dark Web.

Cybercrime attacks continue to escalate, especially in law firms where they are holding sensitive information and lots of client money.

This module will explore why law firms are so attractive to the cyber criminals and what you can do to protect yourself and your firm.

This module will cover the following:

• How things have changed in the last five years
• Who is our enemy in the world of cyberattacks?
• The main types of cyberattack we may encounter
• Reporting of cyberattacks
• Live case studies and guidance

Module 5 - Equality, Diversity, Inclusion & Wellbeing - Trevor Hellawell

We are challenged by our Principles to encourage equal treatment of our clients and our staff. This module will examine the current rules and the philosophy behind them; the Equality Act protected characteristics and explore how far we have come - and how far we may still have to travel - in our attempts to treat all people as equals.

This module will cover the following:

• The basic legal obligations, now including wellbeing
• The Equality Act 2010 definitions of harassment, victimisation and discrimination
• SRA definition of bullying
• The ethical rules - the Standards & Regulations 2019 and the Codes of Conduct
• Examples of good and bad conduct in the workplace
• Recent examples of SRA enforcement action
• The use of NDAs - drafting, content and advice

Module 6 - Data Protection & the GDPR Refresher - Jo Morris

This module will offer a refresher on the Data Protection Act 2018 and the UK GDPR and detail what we should have in place to ensure we are compliant.

This module will cover the following:

• The legislation - Data Protection Act 2018 and the UK GDPR
• A little about the regulator - the Information Commissioners’ Office (ICO)
• The data protection principles and what we need to have in place
• Principle 6 - what technical and organisational measure we need to have in place
• Working from home - what does that mean in terms of Data Protection and GDPR
• What is a data breach and what do staff need to do when a breach occurs
• What documents our firm should have in place - privacy notice, breach registers

This pre-recorded webinar will be available to view from Friday 20th February 2026

Alternatively, you can gain access to this webinar and 1,900+ others via the MBL Webinar Subscription. Please email webinarsubscription@mblseminars.com for more details.