There are a number of reasons why it is important to actively promote equality and diversity within your business and the wider community, not only to ensure compliance with anti-discrimination legislation and professional regulations, including the SRA Standards & Regulations. There will also be business benefits to the organisation including attracting and retaining talented staff, improving staff morale, potentially accessing a wider client base and enhancing service levels and client satisfaction. Join us for this useful overview session on equality, diversity & inclusion which will cover the following points; The Meaning of Equality Discrimination Harassment & Victimisation Unconscious Bias The Equality Act & the Protected Characteristics Reasonable Adjustments Complying with E&D requirements Target Audience This online course is suitable for staff of all levels, from support staff to senior partners. Resources Comprehensive and up to date course notes will be provided to all delegates which may be useful for ongoing reference or cascade training. Please note a recording of the course will not be made available. Speaker Amie Higgins, Consultant, DG Legal Amie is a Senior Solicitor, qualified under the Law Society’s Immigration & Asylum Accreditation Scheme (IAAS) as an Advanced Caseworker and Supervisor. Amie specialises in all aspects of Immigration, Asylum and Human Rights work, with a specialism in human trafficking/modern slavery cases and working with vulnerable clients. Amie is an experienced trainer, delivering a range of training on both legal and practice management topics.
This training is for lawyers who may come into contact with vulnerable people through their work. In particular, it is aimed at those who hold legal aid contracts and must meet the requirements of the Specialist Quality Mark (SQM) standard in respect of safeguarding. Everyone has the right to be kept safe from harm, abuse or neglect. We all have obligations to ensure that vulnerable people are protected and that we have appropriate procedures in place to ensure that abuse is identified and reported. We will help you to understand the following; What is safeguarding? The different types of abuse Example signs of abuse, harm and neglect What action should be taken if abuse is suspected The SQM requirements What a Safeguarding Policy should include Target Audience The online course is suitable for staff of all levels, from support staff to senior partners and is aimed at firms maintaining or wishing to obtain the Specialist Quality Mark. Resources Comprehensive and up to date course notes will be provided to all delegates which may be useful for ongoing reference or cascade training. Please note a recording of the course will not be made available. Speaker Amie Higgins, Consultant, DG Legal Amie is a Senior Solicitor, qualified under the Law Society’s Immigration & Asylum Accreditation Scheme (IAAS) as an Advanced Caseworker and Supervisor. Amie specialises in all aspects of Immigration, Asylum and Human Rights work, with a specialism in human trafficking/modern slavery cases and working with vulnerable clients. Amie is an experienced trainer, delivering a range of training on both legal and practice management topics.
Despite being a requirement under the Money Laundering Regulations 2017 (MLR 2017), in 2023/24 the SRA found that 19% of files reviewed did not contain a client and matter risk assessment (CMRA), with a further 12% of files containing ineffective CMRAs. At best, the firms conducting these files were putting themselves at risk of regulatory action for failure to comply with the MLR 2017. More seriously, firms may have been facilitating money laundering through their failure to adequately assess and address the risks posed by clients and matters. The SRA has issued a number of significant fines to firms with no, or insufficient, CMRAs in place. In the year August 2024 to July 2025, firms were fined over £950,000 where ineffective or missing CMRAs were noted. Although a firm’s MLRO, MLCO or its managers bear ultimate responsibility for ensuring its compliance with the MLR 2017, it is the responsibility of all those working on behalf of the firm to conduct and document the appropriate processes and checks on a day-to-day basis. Therefore, it is imperative that all staff understand not only how to complete a CMRA, but also the importance of doing so thoroughly and correctly. This course will assist fee earners and support staff in confidently and competently completing client and matter risk assessments, understanding the types of risks to be identified and the importance of correctly identifying these. Where the SRA has found failings at firms in respect of CMRAs, it has almost unanimously also found shortcomings in other areas of AML compliance. Where concerns are raised regarding a firm’s compliance with any aspect of the MLR 2017, the SRA will probe further and look into all areas of AML compliance. For information about DG Legal’s full range of AML training courses, please visit https://dglegal.co.uk/training/upcoming-premier-training-courses/. Target Audience This online course is suitable for staff of all levels, from support staff to senior partners. Resources Comprehensive and up to date course notes will be provided to all delegates which may be useful for ongoing reference or cascade training. Please note a recording of the course will not be made available. Speaker Paul Wightman, Consultant, DG Legal A qualified barrister, Paul graduated in Law from Birmingham University and was called to the Bar in 1994. He subsequently spent almost 20 years working for the Law Society of England and Wales, initially within the Office for the Supervision of Solicitors, then the Legal Complaints Service (LCS), and ultimately the Solicitors Regulation Authority (SRA). Paul is adept at undertaking audits and providing succinct reports on areas for improvement and can assist firms with advice on all aspects of SRA compliance and Anti-Money Laundering procedures.
Source of funds and source of wealth are two important verification steps a firm can take to identify potential money laundering activities or other financial crime. The Money Laundering Regulations 2017 (MLR 2017) require firms, where necessary, to scrutinise the source of funds of a transaction to ensure they are consistent with their knowledge of the customer, their business and risk profile. In addition, where a matter is considered to be higher risk and therefore subject to enhanced due diligence, firms must also investigate the client’s overall source of wealth. Law firm staff must be able to differentiate between source of funds and source of wealth, having knowledge of how to verify each and identify any anomalies that do not align with their understanding of the client or the matter. Staff must have the knowledge and confidence to challenge clients and seek further clarification where the source may be unclear or highlight concerns. A number of firms who failed to sufficiently identify the source of funds and/or source of wealth have recently been fined by the SRA. In the year August 2024 to July 2025, fines in excess of £475,000 were recorded for AML breaches that included source of funds and source of wealth failings. This course will assist fee earners and support staff in understanding the difference between source of funds and source of wealth, enabling them to capably identify and verify funds in a matter. Where the SRA has found failings at firms in respect of source of funds or source of wealth, it has almost unanimously also found shortcomings in other areas of AML compliance. Where concerns are raised regarding a firm’s compliance with any aspect of the MLR 2017, the SRA will probe further and look into all areas of AML compliance. For information about DG Legal’s full range of AML training courses, please visit: https://dglegal.co.uk/training/upcoming-premier-training-courses/. Target Audience This online course is suitable for staff of all levels, from support staff to senior partners. Resources Comprehensive and up to date course notes will be provided to all delegates which may be useful for ongoing reference or cascade training. Please note a recording of the course will not be made available. Speaker Paul Wightman, Consultant, DG Legal A qualified barrister, Paul graduated in Law from Birmingham University and was called to the Bar in 1994. He subsequently spent almost 20 years working for the Law Society of England and Wales, initially within the Office for the Supervision of Solicitors, then the Legal Complaints Service (LCS), and ultimately the Solicitors Regulation Authority (SRA). Paul is adept at undertaking audits and providing succinct reports on areas for improvement and can assist firms with advice on all aspects of SRA compliance and Anti-Money Laundering procedures.
Survivor and whistleblower of multigenerational human trafficking exposes systemic, organised abuse (human trafficking) in places that are purposed for helping vulnerable people– including victims of trafficking and refugees in the UK. Providing next-level education on the societal structures which enable this abuse, what precisely has led to a global legacy of abuse, and what is needed to correct it. Highly engaging and motivating event to empower the everyman to do their part in abolishing human trafficking. If you want a world without abuse, you have a role in creating it. Find out what that is today. The victims can't wait for tomorrow.