So we've already talked about what new principles are, but I just go through those with you. Yes, away upset is that they're going to get people to uphold the law and proper administration of justice. Act in a way that encourages public trust and confidence with independence, act with honesty and integrity, encourage equality, divest in conclusion and act in the best interests of each. They're not around service business, regulate publications. All climb. So let's move on, then, to looking at what the s away are doing in terms of the two different handbooks that But yes, I was saying is that there's going to be separate hungry for firms on a separate handbook for individuals. There's quite, of course, over between two. Andi, um, it's going to be important for firms to have thought about make sure that they're individuals are still acting appropriately. What he s saying is that firms are going toe bear that level of responsibility, but individuals have that responsibility on their shoulders as well. And so the individuals will be focusing really on the competent statement on don't systems that they've got in place in order to ensure that they're competent and compliant with the bulls within their firm internally. So individual sisters are going to have more of an invested interest in the running of their individual firms to make sure that they themselves are complying with the rules. So, um, what I've drawn on this line gays, you know, did the overlaps between the two of them individuals. They have that competent statement on def. They're working in regulated firms. They also have to ensure that there are systems in place. So if you're an individual, Celester, who's going to be working in a regulated firm? Yes, Away upset that systems need to be in place. Although they haven't been specific about what those systems actually are, it will be up to the unregulated firm on the individual sinister to ensure their systems are in place to make sure they're compliant. Really, I would think the young regulated for unless they're attached to a regulated firm and have that background knowledge. If there something completely separate, it will be up to this A listed to provide that level of guidance to say no on the firm needs toe in this particular way to ensure you can have a solicitor working here. And that might be a big ask particular for somebody who was junior. Oh, he didn't have the background experience in order to be able to come board say, Actually, no, I'm not sure that this is necessarily right or yes, I do think that this is the right way of going what they've got their used a requirement for both, um to, uh, maintain Tristan. Activate early. So that's something that's going to sit across both firms and individuals. You know, there are common cities across both of them that level of service on competent, so pure, regulated firm, oh, regulated into the drawer. You're going to have to ensure competence your stuff on that level of service. You're going to have to be able to protect client money on assets, regardless of whether it's the firm for the individual introductions and referrals. Also something that's going to board on both shoulders conflict and confidentiality. And again, this is where the unregulated firm is going to have to probably have some form of systems in place, and yes, away has upset. Haven't been specific about that is there's going to be some level of a corporation in accountability So you're going to have to cooperate with your regulator. You got to have to work proactively with your regulator, regardless of whether you regulated for or an individual. And there's that element of client care. Well, there's quite a heavy consumer focus there about the way in which this has been structured. And it does seem really that there's always have taken into account bows. Um, consumer, an individual focused firms. Robin van Necessarily, I would say the largest city firms in designing the way in which the new Hamburg is set up firms themselves through difference. There is that there is a requirement. Have this compliance and business systems in place. If you look at the previous handbook, there was a number of mentions throughout that about the way in which risk was monitored within practice, and there was a much greater focus on making sure the practice was risk aware. This is in contrast to how things were previously way. The with the handbook, where risk it's mentioned a number of times in Hamburg on risk is a very important part of how the SL they viewed the previous handbook in the approach under outcomes focused regulation on. In addition to that, compare that with the new money laundering regulations on their focus on individual risk assessments. Um, you know the match times The risk is mentioned in the money laundering regulations. There is, in fact, something important to say that there's a real change in emphasis from what the it's away is doing away from Vesco that it seems to be in contrast to what the money laundering regulations doing what he s away doing is leaving that door a little bit more open and saying that you've got to have systems in place in order to demonstrate your compliance on that will be about policies. Procedure is making sure that people understand on operating in the correct way and you as a firm, your first doing correct culture. There is, for them a wider wording on accountability when dealing with firms and they are can find the individuals can be held responsible on, have to comply with all elements of the code of conduct as well a solicitor's. So if you're working in his sister's practice is important to be aware that you are responsible a Z much of the people of energy for the way in which things that conducted you have to be up to justify decisions on. I've seen various different guidance when this away on this. But some of the more recent examples I've seen are people saying that they're not writing everything down. I have taken this decision because I have made the decision not to make a report yes away, because I've made the decision to make a book this away because simultaneously I've made a decision to report to the National Crime Agency because of this school. Because of that, the SA man saying, If you are able to justify your decision, your decision making process, that's going to make things a lot easier there has been a debate as to whether there should be changes to cope and coffee roles. I think this is something that's going to continue to be a part of debate for a long time. Can I call for coca? Cough won't truly be fulfilled. Is the couple much wider than the coffee Roland They're interested in comments on Let's I think that there are significant challenges when dealing with cope on coffee role on a Copernic offer, sometimes placing an extraordinarily difficult position being responsible effectively for the ethical well being. Can they be in the world and truly fulfill it? As against client pressure on? I think there's some interesting questions to be asked about when people are truly a capable of fulfilling the role, whether they're actually acting as an internal legal. What standpoint actually means for them as an individual has got to be two different ways of looking at whether individually they can cope with that, whether there's some form of conflict of interest between their standpoint as an individual on what the firm actually requires, whether two types of function on ethical standpoint and illegal Basel Legal strict compliance advisor actually required. And so what have they lost from that handbook? While there seems to be taking away the element of risk management and potentially therefore, when talking about risk management in the past I've been talking about governance on systems of governance, ways to demonstrate risk management within your firm, for the larger firms, and that seems to be disappearing. There's also, you know, much wider wording in terms of recognition that firms might be outsourcing on. That's the way in which the Newham book is being set up to facilitate that. So are you thinking about moving but your business hiding off part of your toe? Other businesses and what does that look like? It allows you to restrict your business in different ways that move parts firm to different areas, that much greater ability to work in different areas on to have different types of publicity on. So we'll see that we're starting to see that with some information is being provided out, consumes their about, nor phones and law firms have generally struggled with publicity's because ginger walls around that. But look, we said publicly on, so we might see lots of different innovative ways in which law to being advertised. And we've also got this. Lots of the indicative behaviors now the exile way were saying for a time that they were going to publish guidance and that some commercial organizations might also be able to write and publish guidance that they might indoors. I have asked, So what about this? Obviously having my own vested interest in that particular area on, I haven't had a response from Nestle Way in terms of what that might look like, but something interesting to bear in mind. We might see the s always endorsing kind unsweetened by commercial organizations in the future, and that might replace the indicative behaviors. But in the short term, I think people may find that lost. I'm quite dramatic, and they may still be relying on the old code of conduct the old handbooks in order to work out what the appropriate position in any complex situation might be. So what should you be thinking about if you're thinking about hiding off part of your firm if you're making a decision either to go ahead with it? Or maybe you think, you know, actually, this isn't for owners were going to stick with what we've got the mainland. It's important to think about what your competitors my also be doing on. So we've done some analysis and thinking about the way in which legal services is structured. At the moment, the barriers to entry and exit in legal services are quite high. So what that means is it's very hard to set up a speculative investment in the law, for there's a lot of hoops to jump through when you're such a moment intent of making sure you got the correct indemnity insurance. Making sure that you got the correct authorisation from the S are making sure you've got people that are competent on. There's potentially a lot of liability touch to it, So it's something that you can't do Speculatively. Putting an investment into law requires confidence in the people that your investment investing in it's not something that you can do just spur of the moment. Make decisions, then, Actually, no, we're not going to continue with this. You might be left with lots of files and papers that you have to keep for a long time. You have to keep secure. There are a lot of requirements around that and also his potential liability as well. There's something that people dedicate their entire lives. There's a lot of established brands in terms off crimes going to same sinister in the same way from a long time a solicitor brand. People are used to seeing local solicitors on the high Street with names that they've perhaps trusted in their family for years, rather than going to large established national bounds, which more associating with, for example, supermarket names or the provision of other services. So there's a way in which people expect to see sisters and they may not miss a self interest. Um, the other businesses in the same way, the idea being then whether or not, you know, use that wall to to escape, if you like, from the threat of a new entrance into the market on new forms of the delivery of legal services, that more perhaps isn't going to stay there forever. But the pace of change hasn't necessarily also, by the same token, been what people expected with the advent of a Bs. And if this doesn't work, there are likely to be of the things because the policy position has been to try to open up the legal services market in order to make it grow. If you want to ensure the provisional legal services to support for the markets of the business markets, so you have to think about what might happen in your particular area. That includes what might happen in your area of law. So the challenges faced by each other, a little alike to be very different. The provision of criminal legal aid, for example, is going to be very different to the provision of personal injury, which is going to be very, very different to the provision off litigation. What are the new challenges being posed in your particular area of law on how our services being delivered there? Who are the main funders of the services on? How might that look in the future? What other challenges being posed by that and how can you see those provision of those services developing? What might your main competitors around you be doing and thinking, Are they going to strip to their business in a more leading way? What does that look like? There's the extent in which any new entrance might build a ground, and you know where they might seek to place that fund we've seen. Some new entrance in summer is targeting, for example, older clients. People you have perhaps retired. Can I build bound when they use an existing one in order to facilitate services that they want to deliver Alongside that, we've seen other companies, such as which, for example, have recently had a license from Theus Elway. So they're providing legal services using existing grounds to focus on consumer advanced ball individuals. Can you see that there's other bones within the area that you work national, for example, that might seek to take advantage of the situation. What do you think about the of your will, and is this likely to target your particular area? Could this affect your work streams that they're coming in? Can you see the potential for vertical or horizontal integration within the market? So think about your supply chains on. Think about where your business goes and where your business comes from. What about your conveyancing supply chain, for example, in the chain that people go through in their houses? Could that be pushed to get a little bit more? Could you be working instead with, for perhaps on a state agent? So I'm integration with the businesses around you. My proof, you know, an attractive option. Flotsam solicitors, now prancing, is still reserved every work so that business would still need to be regulated. But they were going to be other examples of other supply chains where those areas work or not reserved on could be pushed together or integrated in different ways. And that might prove attractive to hire a solicitor in order to do the legal aspect of the world. So it's also important to think about if you set your business up in a particular way, thinking about the long term impacts There has been a discussion about whether the distinction between reserved work on normal but will actually last or not on. So I'm having to think about that is going to be really important. In addition, so taking steps to say to people, yes, it's important that the work that we're doing does follow what's there in terms of compliance but also got to think about future proofing the business as well. So you might want to wait and see what happens in respect of that or you might not. There's been a lot of discussion over the years. It's something that might take on entirely fundamental policy change, But again, we've seen the distinction with a B s. We've seen the dismantling on that was approximately seven years ago. What happened with alternative business structures in the introduction of that on the introduction about a now missing a much greater dismantling again, what what happened in the next seven years in the next 10 years? So if you're thinking strategically in the long term, you might want to leave some options open there in terms of saying to people, there may be a change between reserved and reserved work or there may be reviewed to say, actually, which work does need to be protected in the country for interest on that brings us on to the discussion of how legal services ultimately going to be regulated. At the moment, we're looking at the S L A. Reducing dramatically the size of their regulated community in terms of firms. On what will that maybe there's a way. Will it shrink in size and people job sometimes necessarily disappear? Will that have an impact on solicitors? And what kind of weight? Their Camry within markets as a whole? You know how in French with are potentially in society kind of impacts is not going to have. So it's interesting to think about whether they will be in a single legal regulator. The counselor license convinces are pushing for subject specific regulation on. Obviously, they would say that regulation conveyancing is very important because a lot of consumers undertake commencing that's made because of the regulation, so their contact with solicitors and that's what needs to be regulated. But it's an interesting concept to see whether or not there's going to be subject specific regulation, whether there would be, you know, a different way of looking at regulation. And you can kind of see that with CFC, and then you've got the Bath Standards board. That might be, you know, an advocate of regulation for litigation, for example, I'm so that it really just, you know, certain regulators may align themselves, like with certain particular areas of law. So there's an interesting point there to think about in terms of where this might go. And again, if you're thinking about strategically planning for your business, how your bento move that forward thes all points are worth taking into account. There's also a quite substantial focus on consumers within the new regulations on this important thing, man, this much more reaching out when she was this information that people providing about, for example, the fees, how to use a solicitor and the legal services provided reaching out more now to country MERS the way they do things, The question is, do consumers actually care about the information? Do they trust That's a list on the High Street and what they prefer to continue with that in the current scenario. So it's something. Well, I think we've got to think creatively. I'm when my strategic planning on think about that, how it's going to go in 10 years time what that looks like. If you have a reasonable size business, Is this likely to impact on? You have consumers coming through the door rather small business. For example. Is this likely to impact your business and how you conduct your marketing? You get clients those. So what are the considerations then, when you're thinking about moving to a high, both part of the work it's taking on? Well, think about Have you got reserved? Work? You you have to be regulated. But, for example, you may have a choice of regulators. So if you're doing conveyancing work, Andi want to restrict your business. They start again from scratch. Do you have to be regulated by the way You could, for example, go to accounts of the licence convinces they might be alternatives out there. Even if you're conducting with that work, the voters of Copan copper still there to stay have I think about world of the cult. Do you need somebody to support the cold. There has been this discussion that the Kabul is bigger than the coffee role. Do you want to within your firm structure that in a different way, you have to still maintain your compliance with other outcomes? And sometimes people say to me that this is up to more onerous on dealing with the SL Hamburg. So let's sell, for example, CQ ETS Any panel memberships and requirements and audits that very place on you can be fairly significant, so they're still going to be all of those requirements. If you're undertaking certain types of work that needs them on DSO along these certificates and different standards that are out there, are you operating to those as well? That's not necessarily going to change. It's just what the hallway committing. In terms of the structure. There are changes the councils as well that we haven't committed. You find that steam may need to look at the way they're working on. That could be structural changes. As a result of that, you could, as I've just said, I'm sort of start again. You might have all of these certificates and you accreditations in place that there may be the opportunity for you to do things differently. If you had the choice of structure in your business in any particular way, what would that be on? Maybe stop with that blank piece paper and then work out which bits need to be regulated on, and also what accreditations you value this close things. It might be an inspiration to do things a bit differently. You can definitely, whatever circumstances, take some steps to simplify what you've already got if you're purely and simply looking compliance with the humble on there. While simplified rules around the accounts about breaches, just a client care conflict before fees on supervision so potentially there were opportunities there. But with those opportunities also comes a level of risk. If you're taking steps to simplify, think about, make sure that you're prepared the level of risk that might go alongside that. If you're being, you might want to take those steps slowly safe. I remove this. What happens? Does that change the way in which work is conducted? So we removed some aspects of an intensive supervision regime? Is that right for your stuff? Can you trust? Are they competent to support that kind of thing I'm If you are taking some of your work outside of SL regulation on its non reserved work, do bear in mind that you might need authorization from another regulator such of the FCC s O. Some of that work does fall within the exemption that the eso house from dealing with certain work said consumer credit work, those contracting. So there are exemptions there. The people rely on. So do look into that. There's also an issue around making sure that still compliant with requirements that the icy of imposed on GDP Do you think about the cost of any organisational? Restructure your off the to space work not seem attractive in the long run. But there was going to be a cost implication and also think about if you're putting individual solicitors in that position, can they now they're competent to carry that burden. This is something that you know. If there are two given into taking, they're gonna have to bear that potentially individually. So are they able to do that? What does that look like? There are and you might have other contractual requirements with different people that might require certain standards, work or accreditations and what does that look like? And you may or may not require additional work to make sure that you have systems in place that I mean, the individuals are compliant with rules. If you have still aspects of work that are reserved or if you're hiding off on existing from, then you'll like it have policies and procedures in place that are, to a certain degree, anyway, compliant So. But if you're setting up a new for new ways of doing things or you're looking at this from the outside as a as a potential investor, it's thing where you are likely to have to think very carefully to make sure that you're supporting those individual ministers to achieve compliance. Okay, so that brings us to the end of this. Webinar on the strategic implications are looking to the future. Hopefully, it's been helpful in terms of giving you some food for thought to enable you to think about the kinds of things that are potential opportunities posed by the new ham A book. Yes, I like are saying that the new Hamburg will potentially come into force in the spring of next year, although that this has been something that I think that said the beginning of the weapon has been worked on for many years. So it's something where the timetable has shifted on the number of occasions. So it's really just take the opportunity to If you're not thinking about yet, it might be something your competitors are thinking about, maybe strategic opportunities for you to think about what you do in different ways and how that might benefit your business. Okay, thank you very much for watching.
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