COLP and COFA: Compliance in Practice
Third Edition
Published: 2022
Pages: 153
eBook: 9781787429215
Now in its third edition, COLP and COFA: Compliance in Practice provides the role-holders, and anyone concerned with supporting the role-holders, with essential information about regulatory and ethical standards and compliance procedures that will support the achievement of these standards and facilitate a good working relationship with the SRA.
Now in its third edition, COLP and COFA: Compliance in Practice provides the role-holders, and anyone concerned with supporting the role-holders, with essential information about regulatory and ethical standards and compliance procedures that will support the achievement of these standards and facilitate a good working relationship with the SRA.
Written by Tracey Calvert, a former employee of both the Law Society and the SRA, this edition has been updated to include the latest requirements as evidenced by the SRA Standards and Regulations, and includes lessons learned from supervisory and enforcement action.
Table of Contents
| Front Cover | Front Cover | |
|---|---|---|
| Title | i | |
| Copyright | ii | |
| Contents | iii | |
| Executive summary | vii | |
| About the author | xi | |
| Acknowledgement | xii | |
| Chapter 1: The requirement to have a COLP and COFA | 1 | |
| Introduction to roles | 1 | |
| Brief background to the Legal Services Act 2007 | 1 | |
| Role of the SRA | 3 | |
| Key extracts from Standards and Regulations that explain the authorisation process for compliance officer role-holders | 5 | |
| Approval of role holders | 6 | |
| Approval process for individuals who are not deemed approved | 7 | |
| Individual role-holder and ongoing transparency requirements | 8 | |
| Withdrawal of approval | 12 | |
| Temporary emergency approval of a COLP or COFA | 12 | |
| Chapter 2: Appointing your COLP and COFA | 17 | |
| Key extracts from STaRs | 17 | |
| Compliance and business systems | 20 | |
| The duties of managers in SRA authorised firms | 22 | |
| Compliance officers – necessary skills, knowledge, experience | 23 | |
| Compliance officers – time factors and other considerations | 25 | |
| Specific considerations about the COFA role | 26 | |
| Can the COLP and COFA be the same person? | 27 | |
| Can we buy in a COLP or COFA? | 28 | |
| Chapter 3: Working with the SRA – understanding entity and risk-based regulation | 31 | |
| Regulatory objectives and a changed approach to regulation | 31 | |
| The impact of the LSA on the work of approved regulators | 31 | |
| The SRA’s approach to risk | 33 | |
| Regulatory reach over the authorised law firm | 34 | |
| The SRA’s supervision and enforcement work | 35 | |
| Investigation and enforcement | 35 | |
| What this style of regulation means for the COLP and the COFA | 36 | |
| Enforcement powers against the COLP and COFA | 36 | |
| Chapter 4: The COLP’s essential knowledge and suggested systems and controls | 39 | |
| The extent of the COLP’s responsibilities contrasted with the role of the COLP and the firm’s managers | 39 | |
| Key knowledge from the SRA Standards and Regulations of relevance to the COLP | 41 | |
| Overview of the STaRs from the COLP’s perspective | 42 | |
| SRA Principles | 43 | |
| SRA Codes of Conduct | 51 | |
| Chapter 5: The COFA’s essential knowledge and suggested systems and controls | 95 | |
| The extent of the COFA’s responsibilities contrasted with the role of the COLP and the role of the firm’s managers | 95 | |
| Key knowledge from the SRA Standards and Regulations of relevance to the COFA | 96 | |
| SRA Principles | 96 | |
| SRA Codes of Conduct | 99 | |
| SRA Accounts Rules | 101 | |
| Chapter 6: Identifying, recording, and reporting non-compliance | 123 | |
| How will compliance officers know what they need to know? | 126 | |
| Record-keeping | 127 | |
| File-based or central records? | 129 | |
| Centralised or decentralised record-keeping? | 129 | |
| Self-reporting by staff or file reviews and supervisory oversight? | 129 | |
| Just STaRs breaches or all complaints data? | 130 | |
| Records of decisions to deviate from the firm’s systems and controls | 130 | |
| What information should be included in the record? | 130 | |
| Identifying serious breaches – where to start | 131 | |
| The role of the management team in dealing with non-compliance issues | 131 | |
| Common breaches | 133 | |
| Chapter 7: Compliance officers and international issues | 135 | |
| Occasional or temporary practice outside England and Wales | 135 | |
| Firms with an “overseas practice” | 135 | |
| How to respond to this section of the SRA Standards and Regulations | 138 | |
| Other international regulatory issues | 139 | |
| Chapter 8: Behaviours outside of practice | 143 | |
| Equality issues outside of practice | 144 | |
| Chapter 9: Personal perspectives | 147 | |
| The relationship of the COLP and COFA with the management of the firm | 147 | |
| Is the role full-time or part-time? | 147 | |
| Should the role be held for a fixed period? | 148 | |
| Should there be a deputy or understudy? | 148 | |
| Remuneration | 149 | |
| When and how often the compliance officer should report to the management team | 149 | |
| How will compliance officers work with the management team? | 150 | |
| Insurance and indemnity | 151 | |
| Sources of help | 152 | |
| About Globe Law and Business | 153 | |
| Back Cover | Back Cover |
This is highly recommended reading for all in-post compliance officers - and those not yet wearing the cape.
Fiona du Feu
The Law Society Gazette
Tracey Calvert is founder and director of Oakalls Consultancy Limited, which provides regulatory compliance, consultancy, and training services to lawyers and law firms. Tracey is a lawyer and a regulatory, compliance, and ethics specialist providing a variety of advisory services to members of the solicitor’s profession. She is a regular speaker and trainer on these topics and has delivered presentations both within the UK and internationally.Tracey is the co-chair of the International Bar Association’s Professional Ethics Committee and is on the editorial board of the Law Society’s Legal Compliance Bulletin. She is a contributor to Cordery on Legal Services and has written several books on compliance and ethics. Tracey was previously employed by the Law Society and the SR A as a senior ethics adviser and a policy executive. She has also worked both in private practice and in an in-house role.
https://www.linkedin.com/in/tracey-calvert-179b4824/