Professional services firms and professional individuals operate under increasingly intense regulatory scrutiny.  Whether the issue is a routine compliance matter or an urgent investigation or other regulatory action, our team provides clear, practical advice to help clients protect their practice, their people and their reputations, while keeping their business operational. 

Our team comprises individuals who not only operate as practicing regulatory lawyers, but also hold regulated roles themselves, and they are therefore well placed to understand and advise within the environment of competing demands that exist with regulatory compliance in practice.   

We act for clients operating in a range of professional sectors, including: 

• Legal professionals, regulated by the Solicitors Regulation Authority or other authorised bodies, such as the Chartered Institute of Legal Executives, the Association of Costs Lawyers, the Council for Licensed Conveyancers, and the Chartered Institutes of Trade Mark and Patent Attorneys. 

• Accounting, audit, tax and probate practitioners, regulated by the Institute of Chartered Accountants in England and Wales (ICAEW) or other authorised bodies. 

• Insolvency practitioners, authorised by the Insolvency Practitioners Association (IPA) or the ICAEW.  

• Financial advisors, regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority. 

• Health and social care professionals, regulated by the General Medical, Dental or Pharmaceutical Counsels, or other authorised bodies. 

We support our professional clients at every stage of the regulatory lifecycle, including:  

• designing compliance frameworks;  

• advising on regulator engagement;  

• responding to information requests;  

• managing investigations and hearings; and  

• challenging decisions where appropriate.    

We help clients take control early, communicate effectively with regulators, and achieve proportionate outcomes, always with an eye on commercial realities, confidentiality and reputational risk. 

We also work closely with colleagues across the firm on issues that often run alongside regulatory matters. 

Our legal regulatory service is led by our own Compliance Officer for Legal Practice (COLP), Ben Thorogood, who is supported by our former COLP, John Gavan, who has a wealth of experience in legal regulation, having held the position for over 20 years.   

Common matters we advise on include: 

• COLP/COFA/AMLRO issues, such as the management of regulatory breaches, and reporting obligations; 

• Compliance with SRA supervisory activities, such as desk-based reviews and investigations; and 

• Matters before the Solicitors Disciplinary Tribunal. 

We tend to advise professionals regulated by the ICAEW in connection with supervisory or enforcement actions, including: 

• Preparing for, participating in and dealing with the outcome of monitoring visits or other supervisory activities, such as information requests; 

• Providing advice in connection with the internal handling of regulatory breaches and/or complaints; 

• Supporting AMLROs and other compliance managers in connection with issues such as self-reporting, the handling of suspicious activity reports (SARs), and exposure under the Proceeds of Crime Act 2002. 

• Addressing investigative, disciplinary or other enforcement activities, e.g. those concerning issues of integrity, confidentiality, independence and conflicts.  

Insolvency practitioners operate under close regulatory scrutiny, and issues can escalate quickly from a decision, a complaint or other challenge, e.g. independence and/or conduct.  

We advise practitioners supervised by the ICAEW) or the IPA, and we support clients where matters are escalated to, or involve engagement with, the Insolvency Service. 

We also support practitioners to comply with other applicable regulatory frameworks, e.g. with AML compliance. 

Common matters we advise on include: 

• Preparing for and responding to supervisory activities of ICAEW/IPA, such as monitoring visits, desk-based reviews and information requests, including analysis of draft findings and action plans. 

• Addressing alleged breaches of the Statements of Insolvency Practice (SIPs), case administration standards and record-keeping requirements. 

• Advising on ethical issues, including pre-appointment decision-making and documentation, relationships with referrers and connected parties, and communications with creditors. 

• Responding to complaints and conduct investigations, including drafting responses and representations, managing disclosure, and supporting remediation and training. 

• Issues around fees, time recording and transparency, including challenges by creditors and office-holder remuneration disputes that trigger regulatory scrutiny. 

• Managing disciplinary and enforcement action (including hearings and sanctions), and advising on strategy where outcomes may impact an IP’s ability to accept or continue appointments. 

• Where appropriate, supporting engagement with the Insolvency Service and advising on legal challenges to decisions, including appeals and public law remedies. 

We provide support to firms and individuals regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority and authorised to carry out regulated financial activities, such as: 

• Wealth managers and financial advisers, 

• Investment firms, fund managements and brokers, 

• Mortgage brokers and lenders, 

• Consumer credit and insurance firms, 

The FCA has extensive enforcement powers and actively supervises the conduct of regulated (and non-regulated) firms and individuals.  We assist in engaging with investigations, negotiating outcomes, often through Early Resolution, through to dealing with matters before the Regulatory Decisions Committee (and other forums) and as necessary mounting legal challenges. We tend to deal with matters concerning: 

• Market integrity, 

• Mis-selling issues, 

• Financial crime issues (e.g. AML, sanctions and failures to prevent), 

• Conduct failings (e.g. consumer harm), 

• Regulatory perimeter issue (where non-regulated firms or individuals become the subject of FCA enforcement action, for alleged conduct of regulated activities). 

We also act for clients in respect of their dealings with such regulated firms or individuals, to take appropriate steps to enforce their rights and to ensure compliance with the FCA’s Handbook and, where applicable consumer protection.  In doing so, we provide support in connection with the bringing or handling of internal complaints, matters before the Financial Ombudsman Service and those escalated to the FCA. 

We have considerable experience acting for health and social care professionals encountering regulatory difficulties, particularly General Practitioners and Pharmacists. Further detail of this area of practice is accessible here. 

The team’s expertise and experience extend to collateral issues, such as dealing with the possible fallout of regulatory difficulties, such as disputes that may arise between the partners or other owners/controllers of professional practices.