Compliance Officer for Legal Practice (COLP) in Altrincham

The COLP is responsible for ensuring the firm’s day‑to‑day compliance with the Solicitors Regulation Authority (SRA) Standards and Regulations (excluding Accounts Rules, which sit with the COFA). The COLP takes all reasonable steps to ensure firm‑wide compliance and must promptly report any serious breaches to the SRA.

Key Responsibilities & Duties

• Regulatory Compliance & Governance
  • Ensure the firm complies with the SRA’s regulatory arrangements (other than Accounts Rules).
  • Establish and maintain effective systems and controls to monitor compliance with the SRA Principles and Codes of Conduct for Firms and for individuals.
  • Ensure managers, employees, contractors and interest‑holders do not cause or substantially contribute to a breach of the SRA’s regulatory arrangements.
  • Maintain clear reporting lines and escalation pathways to implement changes and remedial action.
• Breach Management & Reporting
  • Operate a breach‑logging framework; triage, investigate, remediate, and record all breaches; assess seriousness and materiality with reference to SRA guidance and enforcement strategy.
  • Make prompt self‑reports to the SRA of any serious breach concerning the firm, its managers, or employees; retain evidence and audit trails of decisions and outcomes.
• Risk Management & Culture
  • Lead the compliance risk assessment framework covering key regulatory risks (client care, competence, confidentiality, conflicts, publicity/marketing, transparency rules, supervision).
  • Promote an open, speak‑up culture where concerns are raised early; provide timely guidance to partners and teams.
• Policies, Training & Supervision
  • Draft, review and update firm policies, procedures and guidance to reflect current SRA requirements and best practice; schedule periodic policy attestations.
  • Deliver (or commission) mandatory compliance training (e.g., Codes of Conduct, reporting obligations, complaints handling, confidentiality/data protection interfaces), and track completion.
  • Monitor competence and supervision arrangements to ensure legal services are delivered competently and in the clients best interests.
• Interfaces with Financial and Financial‑Crime Compliance
  • Work closely with the COFA on cross‑cutting issues and to avoid duplication or gaps between regulatory (COLP) and Accounts Rules (COFA) responsibilities.
  • Coordinate with the MLRO/MLCO on AML policies, risk assessment and training to ensure SRA expectations and LSAG‑aligned practices are reflected in firm controls.
• External Engagement
  • Act as the principal contact for the SRA on non‑Accounts compliance matters; manage regulatory information requests, thematic reviews, and inspections.
  • Monitor regulatory developments and translate them into proportionate changes to systems and procedures.

Required Skills & Qualifications

• UK solicitor or senior compliance professional with deep knowledge of the SRA Standards and Regulations 2019 (Codes of Conduct for Firms and for Solicitors) and the SRA Principles.
• Proven track record designing or operating compliance frameworks within an SRA‑authorised firm, including breach management and reporting.
• Strong risk management, investigation, and stakeholder‑influence skills; ability to operate with authority and independence within governance structures.
• Familiarity with interfaces to COFA/Accounts Rules and AML obligations (working with MLRO/MLCO) in a law‑firm context.

Desirable: Experience preparing for or managing SRA engagement (e.g., enquiries, audits), and delivering firm‑wide compliance training.

Success Measures

• Breach management: Time to triage and close; quality of root‑cause analysis; appropriateness/timeliness of SRA reports.
• Systems effectiveness: Findings from internal audits or SRA engagement; completion rates for training/attestations.
• Risk reduction: Trend reduction in repeat incidents; evidence of proactive policy and process improvements.