Regulation
The Solicitors Regulation Authority said on October 22, 2026, that its rules separating law firm management and compliance officer roles will not come into force in January as planned. The regulator will run working groups and test alternatives first, and in the meantime will proactively supervise higher-risk firms on governance and compliance independence.
The Law Society refused to let the SME & Boutique Law Firm Alliance put a vote of no confidence in the Solicitors Regulation Authority board on the agenda of its October 14, 2026 annual general meeting, ruling that its bylaws barred late new business. Small-firm owners used the debate to warn that the SRA's paused compliance officer reforms would close their practices.
The Solicitors Regulation Authority paused rules requiring firms to separate the COLP and COFA roles from managers with unilateral decision-making power, the Law Gazette and Legal Futures reported on September 30, 2026. The Legal Services Board-approved rules, due from January 2027 for firms above turnover or client-money thresholds, are on hold while the SRA consults stakeholders. An SME firm alliance welcomed the pause but still plans a Law Society AGM no-confidence vote.
Twenty-eight firms in a new SME & Boutique Law Firm Alliance sent open letters to the Solicitors Regulation Authority and the Law Society on September 8, 2026 seeking changes to LSB-approved rules separating compliance officer roles. The rules stop individuals who can unilaterally control a firm from serving as COLP or COFA where turnover exceeds £600,000 or client money exceeds £2 million, from January 2027. The alliance wants the start postponed.