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Conveycentric comments on the recent statement released by CLC on the benefit of risk management tools.

IRIS Legal is delighted to announce the signing of its first partnership agreement of 2013 with COLP/COFA software provider Riliance Software Ltd. In the agreement, and in response to the increasingly complex regulatory needs of UK law firms, IRIS Legal has added Riliance’s market leading COLP/COFA online service to its existing product portfolio to provide a unique service offering to the UK legal market.

When it comes to processes and formal audits, the natural tendency for anyone is to put off analysing and understanding what you do and don’t do, until you really have to. That’s the point of deadlines, right? Well, compliance controls are designed so that they are a permanent part of operating culture, not just when you stand by your beds for inspection. This is certainly the case for the requirements under the SRA Handbook revision and cannot be taken lightly.

The introduction of the new SRA Handbook on 6 October 2011, and the creation of compliance officers, was the first tangible wave of a further tightening of audit and control procedures among law firms. The regime seeks to create a framework for solicitors to adopt risk management and control processes that should, frankly, already be well established for the majority. It’s pleasing no doubt that the vast majority therefore complied and registered nominated solicitors and finance directors to pick up the compliance officer chalice. Yet, a staggering 800 had not registered on expiry of the deadline – do these really believe that the regime will not flex its muscles and that by ignoring this, they will remain hidden?

At some stage in your career – probably many years ago – someone will have asked you to describe your perfect job or where you saw yourself in 10 years’ time. Maybe you talked earnestly about your burning desire to bring justice to the masses. More likely, you claimed that your ultimate goal was to be partner in the interviewer’s fine establishment. Chances are you didn’t say: “What I want, what I really really want, is to be a compliance officer for legal practice.” – Allison Wooddisse discusses what firms should include in a COLP’s job description.