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27 January 2023 / Frank Maher
Issue: 8010 / Categories: Opinion , Risk management , Legal services , Cyber , Fraud
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2023: Challenges & risks ahead

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Cybercrime crackdown & anti-money laundering action: Frank Maher looks to the year ahead & runs through the key risks for law firms to keep in mind

Many of the common challenges for law firms in 2023 remain similar to those seen in previous years, but two key areas of potential risk—cybercrime and money laundering—are becoming increasingly more significant as we look to the months ahead.

Eyes on cyber

No firm is too small to be targeted: the client data we hold is valuable, and there is an increased risk of ransomware attacks since the invasion of Ukraine. The Solicitors Regulation Authority (SRA) reported a reduction in client losses from cybercrime at the COLP & COFA conference in November 2022, but that is not a reason for complacency. Numbers of attacks have increased in the business world generally, and Miller Insurance noted in their Review of the 1 October Renewal Season that there has been a number of payment diversion fraud and invoice manipulation losses. Meanwhile Howden Insurance Brokers’

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MOVERS & SHAKERS

Harper James—Lottie Hugo

Harper James—Lottie Hugo

Commercial law firm announces appointment of corporate partner

Carey Olsen—Patrick Ormond

Carey Olsen—Patrick Ormond

Partner joinscorporate and finance practice in British Virgin Islands

Dawson Cornwell—Naomi Angell

Dawson Cornwell—Naomi Angell

Firm strengthens children department with adoption and surrogacy expert

NEWS
Freezing orders in divorce proceedings can unexpectedly ensnare third parties and disrupt businesses. In NLJ this week, Lucy James of Trowers & Hamlins explains how these orders—dubbed a ‘nuclear weapon’—preserve assets but can extend far beyond spouses to companies and business partners 
A Court of Appeal ruling has clarified that ‘rent’ must be monetary—excluding tenants paid in labour from statutory protection. In this week's NLJ, James Naylor explains Garraway v Phillips, where a tenant worked two days a week instead of paying rent
Thousands more magistrates are to be recruited, under a major shake-up to speed up and expand the hiring process
The winners of the LexisNexis Legal Awards 2026 have now been announced, marking another outstanding celebration of excellence, innovation, and impact across the legal profession
Three men wrongly imprisoned for a combined 77 years have been released—yet received ‘not a penny’ in compensation, exposing deep flaws in the justice system. Writing in NLJ this week, Dr Jon Robins reports on Justin Plummer, Oliver Campbell and Peter Sullivan, whose convictions collapsed amid discredited forensics, ‘oppressive’ police interviews and unreliable ‘cell confessions’
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