SRA Accounts Rules Update – Key amendments to 2019 Rules

Description

Introduction

The finance teams in law firms saw big changes made to the SRA Accounts Rules in 2019. Many were used to the old rules, which hadn’t changed significantly for over 20 years. We lost the 52
prescriptive rules and, in their place, got just 13 new rules.

So, how have we been getting on with the new rules? Have you got to grips with them? Have you
put policies and procedures in place? Have you trained your fee earners and staff on the new rules?
The SRA is in the process of introducing some amendments to the rules in the new year and has also been looking at some key areas that we need to look at.

This session will include:

• A brief overview of the 13 rules
• The three proposed amendments/additions to the rules – Rule 2, 4 and 10
• Key areas to consider from the SRA
o Breach registers
o Residual balances
o Interest on client money
• Recent cases in the news!

The Presenter
Joanna Morris has over thirty years’ experience of working in solicitors’ practices from being a legal
cashier, practice manager and training manager. Joanna is a freelance trainer and consultant, having
previously been the Risk and Regulatory Compliance Training Manager at a top 40 law firm.
Jo currently delivers training in many compliance subjects, both to the public and in-house clients,
on AML, GDPR, SRA Accounts Rules and courses designed specifically for the MLRO, DPO, COLP and COFA. She is a qualified NVQ assessor and holds a Certificate In Education for Teaching in the Lifelong Learning Sector. She was highly commended in June 2011 by the Legal Education and Training Group (LETG) in the category Best Programme for Lawyers for Solicitors Accounts Rules training. She was shortlisted in the Compliance Trainer of the Year category in the C5 Women in Compliance Awards in 2014.

‘SRA Accounts Rules Update – Key Amendments to the 2019 Rules’ is part of a series of lunchtime one-hour webinars the Sussex Law Society is holding every two weeks between September and December 2023 on some of the most important areas of compliance for law firms. These ‘stand alone’ sessions will keep you up to date with any new updates being released by the SRA and others.