The requirement to appoint compliance officers under the draft Solicitors Regulation Authority (SRA) handbook could encourage a culture of fear and secrecy, Legal Risk LLP partner Frank Maher has warned.
Maher warned that compliance officers would be “very much in the hot seat”, adding to concerns already raised by City law firms and the Law Society.
Under the draft handbook, both traditional law firms and alternative business structures (ABS) will have to appoint a compliance officer for legal practice (CoLP) as well as a compliance officer for finance and administration (CoFA). Maher says: “Our big concern, which is shared by the City firms, is the role of the compliance officer.
“It is almost inevitable that people will feel less comfortable about consulting with the CoLP, so this is not going to encourage openness, more a back-covering, fear-of-reporting culture, which is the opposite of what the SRA’s outcomes-focused regulation hopes to achieve.
“I envisage reluctance to take this role on.”
The consultation on the handbook closed on 13 January.
