During LGBT+ History Month 2021, LGBT+ legal professionals and colleagues who consider themselves allies to the LGBT+ community, were invited by the national Law Society to take part in an online survey about their experiences of being LGBT+ or an ally in the legal sector. There were 617 individual responses to the survey, with 62% identifying as LGBT+.

The report, which can be found here, looks at the following areas:

• Workplace experiences
• Pressing issues in the workplace
• The LGBT+ experience of COVID-19
• Factors creating a supportive environment
• Experience of homophobia, biphobia or transphobia
• Allies
• Networks

More information on the report and further reading can be found here.

We hope you're all set for the Legal Walk on Wednesday 29 September! Registration is from 17:00 to 17:30 and the organisers request you register before having a photo with the lead walkers. 

The organisers will be running a photography challenge and encourage you to enter by tweeting your photographs from the event @nwlst using the hashtag #legalwalk. Please tag us too @ManLawSoc - we'd love to see them. 

If you would like to make a donation you can do so here. 

Good luck to everyone paricipating!

Read all the news from the Society, our partners and our members HERE

Don't forget to submit your articles to Julia Baskerville by 20 October for inclusion in the November edition.

With the latest figures standing at over 10,000 individual UK solicitors and more than 5,000 law firm departments ranked each year – just what can firms do to ensure they stand out? And how is the market currently using the Chambers and Partners Guides?
 
Join LexRex Communications on Thursday 7th October 1pm – 2pm for an exclusive online panel session with the editors of the Chambers and Partners UK Solicitor's Guide and High Net Worth Guide.
 
Chambers and Partners has been one of the leading sources of legal market intelligence for over 30 years. Their 85 experienced researchers annually rank law firms and solicitors in the UK, providing a wealth of localised knowledge and trusted market insight.
 
LexRex In Conversation with Chambers and Partners
Thursday 7th October
1pm - 2pm
 
The session will focus on Chambers and Partners’ research methodology and approach to submissions; providing detailed insights on how law firms can create submissions that showcase their strengths and maximise their opportunities for listings and moving up in the rankings.
 
The session will also look at how directories being used as a point of reference for potential clients; and how firms can utilise their listings as an integral part of their broader growth and marketing strategy.
 
Get insights, hints and tips and a chance for live Q&A with the panel. Spaces are limited so click here to register your place.

 

Faced with economic uncertainties, the SRA’s continuing thematic risk reviews of firms’ AML policies and procedures (PCPs) and its latest review of AML, including the functions of the Money Laundering Compliance Officer (MLCO) and Money Laundering Reporting Officers (MLRO), and the still awaited approval of the draft LSAG guidance released in January 2021 and Part 2 guidance released April 2021, there’s never a dull moment in the world of AML.
 
There is always more work to be done to remain one step ahead of the crooks, and priorities currently, if you’ve not already done so, are the updating of the practice wide risk assessment (PWRA) and PCPs to reflect the latest LSAG guidance and the SRA’s sectoral risk assessment, and independent audits.
 
The importance of independent auditing
 
One of the key areas of non-compliance identified by the SRA is the requirement to independently audit the firm’s PCPs.
 
Only the very smallest practices will not have to establish an independent audit function and yet
more than 50% of the firms visited required follow up action.
 
While ‘independent’ does not necessarily mean the audit has to be carried out by someone external, there needs to be someone suitable within the firm who:

• is independent of the work areas being audited;
• has the requisite skills and knowledge;
• is a senior member of the firm who does not carry out regulated work; and
• has the necessary time and capacity.

 
Such a person is not always easy to find and, unless you can justify not having an independent audit (which will need to be carefully documented), this is where Compli can help. 
 
Compli’s audit includes:

• a review of your PCPs and risk assessments
• interviews with key people e.g. MLCO/MLRO
• file reviews
• report detailing findings and recommendations

 
You will benefit from:

• Guaranteed independence
• Legal professional privilege and confidentiality
• Advice and recommendations from anti-money laundering compliance experts

 
To find out more about how Compli can help, contact Michelle Garlick or Andrea Cohen at compli@weightmans.com