Colp & Cofa

Ethical compliance is tested in the ordinary decisions a legal practice makes: whether to accept an instruction, how to manage a conflict, whether an undertaking can safely be given, and what happens when a client’s interests compete with commercial pressure.

The CLC’s 2026 Risk Agenda gives renewed attention to professional ethics and the expectation that regulatory standards are reflected in daily working practices. For compliance officers, the practical question is whether people know how to identify and escalate a concern when it arises.

Policies need to connect with decisions

A policy can describe the right process while the firm’s day-to-day habits point in another direction. Staff may be reluctant to challenge a senior fee earner, workloads may discourage careful review, or a concern may be recorded without being followed through.

The COLP and COFA, or the equivalent HoLP and HoFA in a CLC-regulated practice, should be able to explain how the firm turns its standards into action. That includes who can stop or escalate a matter, how conflicts are reviewed, how client money is protected and how concerns about conduct are handled.

Questions for a practical review

• Can staff raise a concern confidentially and without fear of unfair treatment?
• Do supervisors record the reasons for decisions on conflicts, risk acceptance and exceptions?
• Are complaints, near misses and client-care concerns reviewed for patterns?
• Do workloads and financial targets leave enough time for competent supervision?
• Can the firm show how it responded when a control failed?

Use interviews, file reviews and management information to test these points. A staff briefing or policy acknowledgement may show that information was circulated; it does not, on its own, show that people understand what to do under pressure.

Make the evidence useful

Record the concern, the decision-maker, the reasoning, any action required and the date it was completed. Review recurring themes with the people responsible for supervision and risk. Where a policy needs updating, make sure related procedures, training and monitoring change with it.

For related reading, see our article on the CLC’s regulatory perspective and our guidance on putting a risk management policy into practice.

For support with compliance oversight, visit Colpandcofa.com. CQS-accredited firms may also find Lexsure’s POLICYmonitor CQS Policy Update Service useful when reviewing whether policy wording needs attention. The service provides new paragraphs for firms to consider; the firm remains responsible for deciding what is appropriate and implementing it. citeturn2view2