A partner at national law firm Weightmans is helping other firms with their own legislative obligations with the publication of the Law Society’s COLPs Toolkit.
Weightmans’ Michelle Garlick has written the comprehensive publication for the Law Society’s Risk and Compliance Service in order to help firms adhere to the requirements of the Legal Services Act – specifically the Solicitors Regulation Authority’s (SRA) obligation to have an authorised compliance officer for legal practice (COLP) from January 2013.
Ms Garlick, who heads up a team at Weightmans [1] advising law firms on regulatory compliance, believes that the implementation of this new requirement should not be daunting or stressful if firms ensure they have a COLP on board sooner rather than later: “The COLP will ensure that a firm has systems and controls in place to enable the firm, its managers and employees, to comply with the SRA Handbook.
“The Toolkit I’ve put together will help practitioners best prepare for their duties as COLPs, hopefully making the process as simple and efficient as possible.”
The publication, available to purchase on the Law Society website, is accompanied by a CD-ROM containing draft policies, procedural checklists, including:
- Internal governance documentation;
- Breach recording and reporting forms;
- Compliance checklists; and
- Draft letters to the SRA.
The COLPs Toolkit is available for £59.95. Click .