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Risk & compliance: A sting in the tail?

21 January 2021 / Frank Maher
Issue: 7917 / Categories: Opinion , Risk management , Cyber , Profession
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Risk & compliance: Frank Maher provides expert analysis on the challenges ahead

Law firms face an abundance of challenges maintaining financial stability and client service in a virus-ridden world—not just coronavirus, but the electronic sort too. There are also many detailed Brexit-related changes affecting even domestic firms. Here are a few areas to address.

Cyber—with a sting in the tail

A cyber incident may cause reputational damage which imperils a law firm’s existence. This is not just an issue for large firms—hackers released personal injury client documents held by a US law firm.

According to the SRA Risk Outlook 2020/2021, in the first half of 2020 law firms reported losses of nearly £2.5m, and that there was a 337% rise in phishing scams in the first two months of the first national lockdown. The SRA published a thematic review in September 2020.

At present, client money—but not the firm’s own—is broadly protected against cyber risks due to the extensive cover afforded under the SRA Minimum

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MOVERS & SHAKERS

Muckle LLP—Rachael Chapman

Muckle LLP—Rachael Chapman

Sports, education and charities practice welcomes senior associate

Ellisons—Carla Jones

Ellisons—Carla Jones

Partner and head of commercial litigation joins in Chelmsford

Freeths—Louise Mahon

Freeths—Louise Mahon

Firm strengthens Glasgow corporate practice with partner hire

NEWS
One in five in-house lawyers suffer ‘high’ or ‘severe’ work-related stress, according to a report by global legal body, the Association of Corporate Counsel (ACC)
The Legal Ombudsman’s (LeO’s) plea for a budget increase has been rejected by the Law Society and accepted only ‘with reluctance’ by conveyancers
Overcrowded prisons, mental health hospitals and immigration centres are failing to meet international and domestic human rights standards, the National Preventive Mechanism (NPM) has warned
Two speedier and more streamlined qualification routes have been launched for probate and conveyancing professionals
Workplace stress was a contributing factor in almost one in eight cases before the employment tribunal last year, indicating its endemic grip on the UK workplace
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