SPECIAL FEATURE: How more of a focus on guidance could help conveyancers avoid enforcement stress – Access Legal
This week, our special feature is written by Brian Rogers at Access Legal, and is on the subject of how more of a focus on guidance could help conveyancers avoid enforcement stress.
Compliance can keep lawyers up at night. After all, non-compliance doesn’t just have potential fiscal and legal ramifications but reputational too – and reputation is key to conveyancers maintaining and growing their business.
In fact, we know AML particularly weighs heavy on legal firms’ minds. In a recent survey we carried out to compliance officers in the sector, AML compliance came out on top with 84 per cent stating it’s top of their concerns.
For conveyancers the last two years have been extremely busy. The Stamp Duty Holiday and sharp rises in house prices led to a real spike in activity in the housing market which left conveyancers working not just long hours, but almost all hours to keep on top of heavy caseloads. Something which, according to The Law Society, caused mental health problems throughout the industry.
It’s well-documented that burnout and stress was almost once expected to be part of the role as a legal practitioner, but this would have hit new levels for some conveyancers during the pandemic – who may still even now not be feeling the full benefits of a cooling housing market.
With workloads and worry about compliance key stressors for conveyancers, is the industry right to focus on the enforcement of compliance or move towards a more guidance-led approach? One that focuses more on best practice and advice around how to comply, to ease some stress on conveyancers and allow them to focus more on how they can avoid non-compliance in the first place.
We know compliance will always rightly be a concern for practitioners, but as an industry we can do more to help practitioners reduce stress around it.
First and foremost, it’s the SRA’s job to take action if a firm is not complying with the legislation and guidance set out. It’s a regulator after all – and when there is a case to be heard, of course it’s likely to receive a lot of attention.
But it’s really worth pointing out that the SRA provides lots of resources too around compliance. This includes guidance from the Legal Sector Affinity Group, advice for tax advisors, improvement advice as a result of firm visits, handy hints and tips and video guidance on its YouTube channel.
The Law Society is also a good place for advice, it issues guidance and supportive materials that are regularly updated in line with the changing detail of compliance. The Council For Licenced Conveyancers (CLC) provides a library of support, including on AML, which it updated last year.
So there are lots of resources out there, it’s just about a change in mindset for firms to aim to focus on guidance rather than the worries of enforcement. Easier said than done.
During a panel discussion in late 2021 at Access All Areas around compliance, the SRA made it clear that it is planning to enhance resources around guidance even further. It also called on the industry to work with it so it could gain a better understanding of how the resources its producing are being received and where it can improve information or fill in any gaps that firms may have spotted they need advice on.
For many conveyancers still tackling a heavy workload, stressors around compliance are just another drain on energy and a shackle on productivity. Reducing workloads is key to helping teams avoid burnout, but managing other potential stressors is just as important. There is an opportunity here for compliance officers and leaders in legal firms to ensure guidance is not just there but also signposted for practitioners.
We know there is a big push for improving mental health in the sector. Having a positive, guidance-led approach to compliance could make an important difference to busy, stressed conveyancers.
For more information about Access Legal, visit here.
Written by Brian Rogers, Regulatory Director at Access Legal.
Kindly shared by Access Legal
Main article photo courtesy of Pixabay
