Legal Precedents

[ Insert name of client ][ Insert address of client ][ Insert date ] Our ref: [ Insert matter reference number ] Dear [ insert name of client ] Further to our agreement, we have engaged [ insert name of barrister ] of [ insert name of chambers ] to [ state what you have instructed the barrister to do ]. [ We anticipate receiving the barrister’s advice within [ insert time period ] OR We have arranged a conference with the barrister on [ state date, time and location and whether it is necessary for the client to attend ] ]......

Law firms may fall within the consumer credit regime by entering a consumer credit agreement as the lender, eg in relation to their charges, or by carrying out ancillary consumer credit activity such as debt adjustment work. This practical decision tree assists you in establishing whether you are undertaking ancillary consumer credit activity and, if so, whether a licence is required. Click below to view or print the full-size PDF version: See also Practice Note: Law firms and ancillary consumer credit business For guidance on the implications of the consumer credit regime for your firm’s fee arrangements, see Practice Note: Consumer credit and client fee arrangements. For an overview of how the consumer credit regime applies to law firms, please see Practice Note: Consumer credit and law firms......

Law firms can fall within the consumer credit regime by entering a consumer credit agreement as a lender—for example, in relation to their own fees—or by undertaking ancillary consumer credit activities such as debt adjusting. This decision tree helps you determine whether particular fee arrangements with clients of a law firm amount to a consumer credit agreement. See also Practice Note: Consumer credit and client fee arrangements. For guidance on how the consumer credit regime affects law firms when carrying on ancillary consumer credit activities, see Practice Note: Law firms and ancillary consumer credit business. For a summary of the consumer credit regime as it applies to law firms, see Practice Note: Consumer credit and law firms. Select the link below to open or print the full-size PDF version......

Re: [ Your matter ] We hereby wish to notify you that [ subject to your agreement ] [ state name of new fee earner ] will assume the conduct of your matter [ with immediate effect OR from [ state date ] ] . This is because [ state reason for the change ]......

This template memorandum should be read and, if suitable, sent together with the relevant template letter to your client regarding disclosure: Draft letter to client about disclosure—small claims track Draft letter to client about disclosure Confidential and privileged [ insert date ] [ insert addressees: [ insert addressees: senior managers/relevant employees and former employees/ IT managers ] ] [ [ insert case heading ] OR [ description of the case if pre-action ] ] [ [ We ] OR [ the company ] ] may encounter a legal dispute in relation to [ insert matter/transaction subject of dispute ]. If the dispute is not brought to a conclusion, it is probable that we will be required to disclose relevant documents, including electronic records, that are or have been within [ [ our ] OR [ the company’s ] ] control, whether or not they support our case. That...

Use this Precedent as a central log, covering every compliance area relevant to your firm, to record when you most recently carried out routine monitoring or an annual review. Please note, the Precedent is provided as an Excel spreadsheet and, as such, it cannot be downloaded into Word. It is in Excel format only......

Good behaviour or practice Do not pay partners regardless of available cash; retain a portion of annual net profit to build reserves. Avoid short‑term borrowing for partners’ tax and never treat VAT receipts as free cash. Ensure partners routinely see office account balances, e.g., regular copy statements, and keep reliance on overdrafts modest. Partner capital should not be wholly debt‑funded, and steer clear of unaffordable commitments such as lengthy leases or extra staff. Respond swiftly to regulatory information requests, including the SRA’s annual information report. Maintain a balanced senior leadership able to challenge decisions, face financial realities, and collectively understand risk, oversight and controls. Keep all partners/senior managers informed of the firm’s true financial position and share key metrics frequently. Stress test profits (e.g., model a 10% income drop) and tie drawings to KPIs with firm financial targets; keep drawings and remuneration proportionate to profit and...

Front page of bill [ enter client name and address ] Invoice number: [ enter number ] Invoice date: [ enter date ] VAT number: [ enter number ] Client: [ enter client name ] Matter: [ enter matter description ] Reference: [ enter matter reference ] £ VAT amount £ VAT rate % Fees: For our professional fees from [ enter date ] to [ enter date ] covering legal counsel and services [ enter gross total figure or itemise ] [ enter figure ] [ enter VAT rate ] Disbursements (expenses): [ describe disbursement ] ( [ paid OR not yet paid ] ) [ describe disbursement ] ( [ paid ] ) ......

1 Introduction 1.1 We operate procedures requiring colleagues to escalate any awareness or suspicion of money laundering, terrorist financing, fraud, bribery, corruption, sanctions breaches, tax evasion, etc to [ insert, eg the nominated officer ] (see section 3 for further detail). In defined circumstances they must then notify the National Crime Agency ( NCA) by submitting a suspicious activity report ( SAR) or, depending on the nature of the report, to another agency via the appropriate channels. 1.2 The NCA assigns those SARs to specialist financial crime investigation officers for further enquiry. Intelligence from SARs may then be shared by the NCA with other law enforcement or government agencies ( LEAs), which may require additional information. This is a financial crime investigation. 1.3 Where further information is needed from us following a SAR, it will typically be obtained through...

1 General information Review date: [ Insert date ] Reviewer(s): [ Insert name ] 2 Data Criteria Over the previous 12 months Count of orders, notices, warrants, or other enforcement measures received: [ Insert number ] 3 Review and findings Is your financial crime investigation procedure current and appropriate for its purpose?......

This presentation has been designed as an aid to train your staff on anti-money laundering, counter-terrorist financing and counter-proliferation financing This presentation has been created to support training your staff on anti-money laundering, counter-terrorist financing and counter-proliferation financing. The training materials are adaptable. You can run the training in one sitting, or readily divide it into smaller sections. This version of the pack is provided in Power Point, which means it cannot be downloaded into Word from this page. Please click for the Power Point presentation. At the Law Society Anti-money laundering and financial crime conference 2023, the SRA announced it does not expect firms to train staff on proliferation financing, as the risk for firms is generally low......

STOP PRESS This document is currently being revised to reflect the introduction of the Data ( Use and Access) Act 2025 ( DUAA 2025), which amends the UK GDPR and the Data Protection Act 2018. For additional guidance on DUAA 2025 and its compliance impact, see Practice Note: Data ( Use and Access) Act 2025—compliance implications. Why are we collecting diversity data? We gather information about the diversity of our workforce for several reasons: it is best practice to track the make-up of our employees by age, gender, sexual orientation, ethnicity, disability and social mobility every two years, all law firms must collect, report to the Solicitors Regulation Authority ( SRA) and, where suitable, publish diversity data we value your views on whether we can do more to foster an inclusive culture that works for everyone—this helps ensure our activities and future plans...

STOP PRESS: We are revising this document to take account of the implementation of the Data ( Use and Access) Act 2025 ( DUAA 2025), which amends the UK GDPR and the Data Protection Act 2018. For further guidance on the compliance implications of DUAA 2025, please refer to Practice Note: Data ( Use and Access) Act 2025—compliance implications. Why are we collecting diversity data? We gather information about the diversity of our people for a number of reasons: it is good practice to track the make-up of our employees by age, gender, sexual orientation, ethnicity, disability and social mobility biennially, all law firms must, under the Solicitors Regulation Authority ( SRA) rules, collect diversity data, submit it to the SRA and, where relevant, publish it we want your views on how we can further foster an inclusive culture that works for...

This presentation serves as a tool to train your staff members on your Business continuity plan ( BCP) arrangements. The training materials are customisable. This version of the training pack is provided in Power Point, therefore it cannot be downloaded into Word from this page. Click the link below to download the Power Point presentation using the link......

A: General information Date of annual review Person(s) carrying out the annual review B: Review and findings Are your financial management policies and procedures current and suitable for their purpose? ☐ Yes ☐ No—if No, record an action in section C below to revise your policies and procedures. Do your actual monthly and annual results align with your forecasts, particularly regarding: profit and loss? cash flow? balance sheet? ( Only accept a reasonable margin of variance) ☐ Yes ☐ No If No, is a re-forecast of your financial performance required? ☐ Yes—ensure an action is set at section C below to deal with this ☐ No Are you confident that your monitoring arrangements function as intended for the following: the value of work undertaken on clients’ files (i.e. work in progress) relative to any payments on account of costs? the level of credit you extend to clients? aged...

1 General information Review date [ Provide date ] Person(s) leading review [ Provide name(s) ] 2 Review and findings Are your client care handbook and processes up to date and suitably fit for purpose?......

1 General information Date for review [ Insert date ] Individual(s) leading review [ Insert name ] 2 Review and findings Are your risk management policy and procedures current, appropriate, and still fit for purpose?......

A: General information Date of review [ insert date ] Person(s) carrying out the review [ insert name(s) and/or role(s) ] B: Review and findings Is your Data protection policy fully up to date and appropriate for its intended purpose? ☐ Yes ☐ No If no, kindly set out any amendments required and make sure you record an action at section C below to update your Data protection policy accordingly Are you satisfied that your Data protection procedures are operating effectively, in particular the procedures that relate to: your obligations regarding the Information Commissioner’s Office ( ICO)? providing clients with a notice about data processing?......

1 General information Review date: [ Enter date ] Reviewer(s): [ Enter name(s) ] 2 Review and findings Have all publicity materials recorded in your Publicity register been checked within the past 12 months? ☐ Yes ☐ No (set an action point at section 3 below) Is your Publicity register current? ☐ Yes ☐ No (set an action point at section 3 below) Does the firm’s letterhead meet the requirements described in the Practice Note: Publicity—law firms? ☐ Yes ☐ No (set an action point at section 3 below) Do the firm’s letterhead and emails display the firm’s SRA authorisation number and the wording ‘authorised and regulated by the Solicitors Regulation Authority’?......

1 General information Date of review: [ Insert date ] Person(s) conducting review: [ Insert name(s) ] 2 Review and findings Have shifts in your organisation’s principal business goals altered anything that would affect the objectives of your ICT plan at this time? ☐ Yes (create an action at 3 below to revise the ICT plan) ☐ No Does your organisation’s ICT plan align with all other related policies and documents in full? ☐ Yes ☐ No (record an action at 3 below) Is the Schedule of primary ICT contacts current at present? ☐ Yes ☐ No (note an action at 3 below) Does the Schedule of the current ICT environment accurately represent your organisation’s present ICT resources right now?......