COLP and COFA Support
Are you a COLP or a COFA?
The Compliance Officer for Legal Practice is the eyes and ears of a law firm. COLP should be proactively involved in all major decisions within the practice. They have wide ranging responsibilities to ensure that everyone adheres to the rules, and they must be prepared to take controversial decisions which can have a major effect on the firm.
The Compliance Officer for Finance and Administration is there to ensure that the firm’s finances – and in particular its client account (if it has one) – are maintained in excellent order. This includes, for example, ensuring that the SRA Accounts Rules are followed to the letter, and it is an onerous responsibility.
As such, being the COLP or the COFA can be a lonely place: this is where Enderley can help. We have significant experience in advising and supporting COLPs and COFAs.
We have significant experience in advising COLPs and COFAs, both on their strategy and on individual issues.
We can't be the COLP or the COFA but we can do much of the heavy lifting!
Compliance plans and review schedules
In our experience COLPs are more successful when proactive and future-focused. We have devised detailed COLP and COFA review schedules which will fit seamlessly into your existing compliance regimes. They are designed to make life simple, to harmonise competing approaches, to remove stress, and to provide COLPs with a compliance plan, a working framework and invaluable risk management information. With a sound framework, COLP will have greater control and everyone in the firm will know what to expect.
We have significant experience in advising COLPs, both on their strategy and on individual issues. We recognise that every firm is diffrent so we tailor our support to suit individual COLPs and law firms.
Our COLP and COFA support retainer
We offer a limited number of COLP and COFA Support Retainers.
In the last year, with increased SRA proactivity, we have experienced a growing demand for COLP retainers. In particular, COLPs and COFAs are finding reassurance in having independent oversight of their firm’s compliance systems, advice on SRA compliance, and a sounding board for their thoughts and concerns.
We recognise that every firm is different. We don’t have fixed packages; rather, we tailor our support to suit individual COLPs and COFAs and law firms, depending on their needs and budget.
A new COLP or COFA, for example, may need a higher level of support to help them establish systems and train them in the role, whereas a more experienced Compliance Officer may prefer lighter touch support and ad hoc advice. For some firms, ensuring their policies and procedures comply with the SRA rules might be the number one priority; for others, it might be the AML Firm Wide Risk Assessment; and others might be worried because file reviews aren’t being done or concerns about residual balances.
Whatever your compliance needs or concerns, you are in control! You can set the scope of your retainer, and can select the services you need, and decide on the frequency of delivery. from our menu:
Our menu of COLP and COFA retainer services includes:
SRA Compliance Audit
To test the firm’s compliance with the SRA rules and identify areas for improvement.
Plans, Policies and Procedures
Reviewing and updating to ensure SRA compliance
Lexcel and CQS
Advising you on obtaining or maintaining Lexcel and/or CQS accreditation
Full file reviews
Quarterly or monthly – with written report for COLP.
Client account residual balances
Advice and help on clearing down old balances.
AML spot check audits
Quarterly or monthly, focusing on the AML aspects of a file.
Attendance at quarterly risk committee meeting
Reporting on our findings and advising on compliance issues.
COLP and COFA training
Guidance on what you need to do and tips on how to perform the roles effectively.
AML training
Annual training for your team.
File audits
File reviews or audits are an essential part of supervision, and one of the best ways of checking that your team is applying the firm’s procedures consistently.
We’re aware that, whilst most firms have a file review procedure, many COLPs and department heads don’t have the time to do all the reviews nor to ensure that they are done. With a busy workload, file reviews are often the first thing to slip.
We can help! We’re very experienced at reviewing files, and we’ll agree a monthly or quarterly schedule of reviews with you. We’ll also follow up on corrective actions if you need us to.
We offer full file reviews and/or AML spot checks (addressing only AML issues).
COLP and COFA breach reporting
Discovering a breach of the SRA Codes of Conduct can be extremely stressful. Often, you need to talk to someone confidentially when you discover an issue. We can help you with deciding whether and what to report and with the submission of a breach report. By remediation planning, we can ensure that you have properly remediated the breach, mitigating the likelihood or impact of any SRA enforcement action.
SRA inspections
If the SRA has chosen your firm for an inspection, we can help you prepare for the visit so that you can answer any queries and produce the documentation that they request.
We can also help address the requirements of SRA outcome letters.
With many years of practical experience, together with extensive SRA compliance knowledge, we are there to help.
We are supportive and non-judgmental
If the SRA has chosen you for an inspection, we can help you prepare for the visit so that you can answer any queries and produce the documentation that they request.
With many years of practical experience, together with extensive SRA compliance knowledge, we are there to help.
Are you ready to take the next step?
If you are a COLP looking for a listening ear or support, or a managing partner looking to have a chat about the ways in which we can help your COLP, please do get in touch
What our clients say...
Explore our other services
Catch up on our the latest law firm compliance news below
