2022 – The State of the Solicitors Profession A Year in Review
So, it’s that time of year again. As 2022 prepares to give way to 2023, as is our tradition at cpm21 we’ve taken some time to reflect on what has been another fast-paced year for our clients in the solicitors profession and ourselves.
When we wrote our last article, COVID restrictions were coming to an end, and there was a slowly building sense of optimism in the UK.
That unfortunately, was not to last long.
The war in Ukraine early in the year was a catalyst for a wave of economic depression leading to eye watering fuel and energy hikes, driving inflation skywards with conversant knock-on effects in mortgage interest rates. The revolving doors at numbers 10 and 11 Downing Street did, and has done, little to help the situation, particularly with the drastic tax increases the population will face in 2023 and beyond, and at the time of writing this article, we are seeing industrial action across a range of public services as well as private organisations such as the Post Office where workers want to see their wages match inflation.
In the lead up to Christmas, consumer confidence is low, and retailers have seen a slump in sales.
While the above is not a particularly positive picture, solicitors firms showed their resilience during the Pandemic, adapting to different working conditions and “riding out the storm” as it were, and most of our client firms appear to be optimistic about what the new year may bring.
What 2022 brought…
As we mentioned in last year’s article, little changed in terms of the Solicitors Regulation Standards and Regulations, however the SRA are currently consulting on minor changes to these, and you can read more about that here;
https://www.sra.org.uk/sra/news/press/standards-regulations-amends-consultation/
While there wasn’t much focus on the above, there was a continued drive on Anti-Money Laundering, with the SRA returning to face to face AML audits and continuing with the Desktop version (163 inspections and 109 desk based reviews according to their Anti-Money Laundering Report 2021-2022 published in October 2022 which can be read here;
https://www.sra.org.uk/sra/research-publications/aml-annual-report-2021-22/ )
The report contains an ominous warning in the foreword for 2023, “To those firms not doing enough to prevent money laundering, you need to take your obligations seriously and play your part. As we increase our inspection and desk-based review supervision, now is the time to get your house in order.”
And there is another worrying complication on the horizon for this…but more on that later.
As well as their findings in the report, the SRA also undertook a money laundering data collection exercise for firms in the regulated sector, with many questions on the survey forming precursors to what they expect firms to be recording in terms of internal AML data.
Another area that the SRA were vocal about was Price and Transparency and their rules on the subject, which you can read here;
https://www.sra.org.uk/solicitors/standards-regulations/transparency-rules/
The Regulator continued to audit websites of firms which were not compliant with these rules, and in some cases fined the firms. The SRA has also stated that it will continue to audit websites for non-compliance in 2023. There is also the possibility that they may make additional categories of law subject to the rules, such as Family Law (which was included in the original consultation but left out of the implementation.) This would be in order to achieve the SRA ambition of “access to justice.”
The Law Society also made changes this year, notably to their Conveyancing Quality Scheme Core Practice Management Standards (CPMS). There was little in the way of publicity for these changes, which came into effect in May 2022, so many CQS member firms were unaware of them and didn’t realise the scale of work needed to become compliant with the new CPMS.
And of course, there was the Legal Aid Agency for those firms with Legal Aid Contracts. For criminal lawyers, there was the administrative exercise to ensure that they would be included on the October 2022 Police Station Rota. Unfortunately for some they fell foul of the intransigencies of the Legal Aid “Bravo Solutions” tender portal, and missed out on the October rota, but managed to get onto the January 2023 rota. This was against a backdrop of industrial action by Barristers, and a new Lord Chancellor and Secretary of State for Justice who decided not to fully implement the findings of the long-awaited Bellamy report;
https://www.gov.uk/government/groups/independent-review-of-criminal-legal-aid
For Civil legal aid Contract holders, their contracts have been extended until 31st August 2024;
https://www.gov.uk/government/news/civil-news-extension-of-civil-contracts-until-31-august-2024
The final point for the Legal Aid Agency was an update to their Specialist Quality Mark (SQM) standard which came into effect from 1st October 2022, and you can read about that here;
Once again, GDPR had no significant changes since the UK withdrew from the EU, apart from what was already known which was that GDPR was transposed into UK law and is now known as “UK GDPR,” however there may be changes on the horizon in 2023.
The cpm21 year…
There was so much going on that we welcomed another two consultants to our ranks to help service demand for our clients and strengthen our Anti-Money Laundering and Lexcel service offerings.
We invested in a serious upgrade for our website, making it easier for users to navigate and access information on our different services.
Our biggest area of demand remained Lexcel support for pre, during and post accreditation audits, which saw us expand our client base in Ilford, Slough, Birmingham, Bristol and Gloucester.
The next biggest area of demand outside of our Lexcel consultancy services was still Anti-Money Laundering, where we supported firms with their Practice Wide Risk Assessments (PWRA), their Policies Controls and Procedures (PCPs), training and their independent audit function (IAF). We also helped some with pre and post SRA audit responses for those unlucky enough to be chosen for either a desktop or face to face AML audit by the Regulator.
Not far behind our AML support services was the Law Society Conveyancing Quality Scheme, where we supported firms in a number of different ways, such as carrying out mock audits of conveyancing files, carrying out “gap” analysis on their Core Practice Management Standards, and ensuring they were up to date.
We also supported firms with their Price Transparency obligations by auditing their websites and providing a full “gap” report where they may not have been compliant with the SRA regulations on the subject.
For those firms with the Legal Aid Agency SQM, we supported them with changes and new policies to comply with the new version of the standard to ensure their continued compliance with their obligations.
As seen last year, our outsourced file review service saw our consultants review in excess of 1000 files in the year to help firms with their supervision, Lexcel, CQS and Legal Aid requirements.
And of course, we supported some firms with every firm’s favourite task…complaints handling. Our outsourced complaints handling service dealt with over 100 complaints where files were investigated to determine whether there was any substance to a complaint, suggested responses prepared for firms, or collating and supporting responses to the Legal Ombudsman.
With the relaxations in Covid restrictions, we were able to provide public training sessions in person again, but we also continued with our ZOOM training sessions. Topics included Complaints Handling, Legal Aid Supervision, Anti-Money Laundering, and Data Protection to name a few.
And finally, sadly we ran our very last Professional Skills Course (PSC). We had originally thought this would come to an end in Autumn of 2021, however demand from firms was high enough that we trained another two cohorts of trainee solicitors, helping them cross the line for their admission as solicitors. We wish all our PSC students a very happy and successful career.
2023 – The shape of things to come…
The one thing we can say about working in the legal profession is that the pace of change is relentless, and 2023 looks to be no different to other years in that regard.
These are the things we think firms need to watch out for;
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Anti-Money Laundering and Economic Crime and Corporate Transparency Bill
We expect a continuation of the SRA’s approach to all things Money Laundering, with audits continuing and even increasing over the year. The concern we have for our clients is that the SRA may interpret the LSAG guidance on the subject differently to how firms do, but with more significant consequences than ever before as the government are set to allow the SRA to take further action against the “facilitators of money laundering,” which could include unlimited fines. This is due to the Economic Crime and Corporate Transparency Bill which will introduce a raft of new measures to combat economic crime, with a conversant impact on law firms, solicitors and employees. The SRA will be empowered to impose an unlimited financial penalty on an individual or entity it regulates if it finds a failure on the part of that individual or firm that relates to either of the following;
- The prevention or detection of economic crime, or if
- The failure consisted of an act or omission which had the effect of inhibiting the prevention or detection of economic crime.
Given all the considerations above, Anti-Money Laundering compliance may well be the highest risk in 2023 for firms operating within the MLR regulated sector.
As we mentioned the war in Ukraine at the start of this article, it would be remiss not to mention the sanctions regime now in place regarding Russia and Russian clients. This applies to all SRA regulated firms, not just those in the Money Laundering regulated sector. You can read more on this here;
https://www.sra.org.uk/solicitors/guidance/financial-sanctions-regime/
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Flexible Working
2023 will see a change to the legislation for flexible working;
The changes reflect that for many employees, flexible working continued after the COVID 19 Pandemic and is seen by many as a method for increasing productivity, however there are also many organisations that see the reverse being true.
The new legislation is likely to be in force from Autumn 2023 and firms will need to have compliant policies in place to deal with it.
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Changes to the Legal Ombudsman Scheme
This change may actually work out in favour of legal firms as the complaints handler makes changes that restrict the amount of time that clients will have to complain, and filter complaints that may have no obvious merit. The scheme rule changes can be viewed here;
As we said, this may well work out better for some firms, but all firms will need to ensure they update the Legal Ombudsman sections of their client care and terms of business letters, as well as their website complaints handling information.
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SRA Equality and Diversity Data Collection
Firms may recall that the Regulator moved from annual data collection on this topic to collecting data every two years, and as the last exercise was in 2021, then the next one should be in 2023 (normally for submission onto the SRA system around July). There were changes to the questions for the last exercise and it is difficult to predict whether there will be changes again, it will depend on the SRA requirements at the time. One thing we would urge firms to consider is that if the SRA are presented with inaccurate or incomplete data on this subject, rather than acknowledge this, they will still try to analyse and collate the data, potentially resulting in an inaccurate picture of the diversity in the profession. To avoid this, firms should encourage all of their personnel to complete the survey questionnaires as accurately and completely as possible. However, firms cannot force their personnel to do this, completion of diversity surveys by personnel is voluntary, while submission to the SRA by the firm is not.
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A potential change to the Learning and Development Regime.
We reported last year that the Legal Services Board (LSB) were not happy with the SRA’s continuing competence regime, which replaced the previous Continuing Professional Development Regime. The LSB’s lack of satisfaction with this has not changed since last year, and the oversight regulator warned earlier this year that current checks on solicitors’ competence are ‘out of step with public expectations’. The SRA and other regulators have been told to introduce new measures in the next year.
Firms will need to be aware of this, and ensure whatever new measures are introduced they are fully compliant with.
There are many other potential changes that will undoubtedly affect the legal profession in 2023, so firms need to ensure they constantly scan the regulatory horizon to stay up to date and compliant with regulatory and legislative changes.
15 years of support which will always be there for you…
At cpm21 we are very proud of our record in supporting solicitors with their regulatory and management support needs and 2022 was our 15th year of doing so.
2023 looks like another year of uncertainty facing the UK and the solicitors profession, however, if you are one of our clients, or a future client, then there is one thing that you can always be certain of.
We will be there to support you with independent and impartial advice and services.
Merry Christmas and a Prosperous New Year from the cpm21 team, we’ll see you in 2023.
To see this article in Welsh, read on…
I weld yr erthgyl hon yng Nghymraeg, darllenwych ymlaen…
2022 – Proffesiwn Cyflwr y Cyfreithwyr
Blwyddyn o Adolygiad
Mae’n adeg honno o’r flwyddyn eto. Wrth i 2022 baratoi i ildio i 2023, yn yr un modd â’n traddodiad yn cpm21 rydym wedi cymryd amser i fyfyrio ar flwyddyn gyflym arall i’n cleientiaid yn y proffesiwn cyfreithwyr a ni.
Pan ysgrifennon ni ein herthygl ddiwethaf, roedd cyfyngiadau COVID yn dod i ben, ac roedd ymdeimlad o optimistiaeth yn cynyddu’n araf yn y DU.
Yn anffodus, nid oedd hynny i bara’n hir.
Bu’r rhyfel yn yr Wcrain dechruau’r flwyddyn yn gatalydd ar gyfer ton o ddirwasgiad economaidd a arweiniodd at gynnydd sydyn mewn tanwydd, gan yrru chwyddiant mewn cyfraddau llog morgeisi. Dim ond weithiau wneath y drysau troi yn rhifau 10 a 11 Downing Street, efo dim welliant i helpu’r sefyllfa, yn enwedig gyda’r cynnydd aruthrol yn y dreth y bydd y boblogaeth yn ei wynebu yn 2023 a thu hwnt, ac yn ystod ysgrifennu’r erthygl hon, rydym yn gweld diwydiant diwydiannol gweithredu ar draws ystod o wasanaethau cyhoeddus yn ogystal â sefydliadau preifat fel Swyddfa’r Post lle mae gweithwyr am weld eu cyflogau yn cyfateb i chwyddiant ariannol.
Yn y cyfnod cyn y Nadolig, mae hyder defnyddwyr yn isel, ac mae manwerthwyr wedi gweld cwymp mewn gwerthiant.
Er nad yw’r uchod yn ddarlun arbennig o gadarnhaol, dangosodd cwmnïau cyfreithwyr eu gwytnwch yn ystod y Pandemig, gan addasu i amodau gwaith gwahanol a “rhoi’r gorau i’r storm” fel petai, ac mae’n ymddangos bod y rhan fwyaf o’n cwmnïau cleient yn optimistaidd ynghylch beth gall ddod yn y flwyddyn newydd.
Beth daeth 2022…
Fel y soniasom yn erthygl llynedd, mae ychydig wedi newid o ran Safonau a Rheoliadau Rheoleiddio Cyfreithwyr, fodd bynnag mae’r SRA wrthi’n ymgynghori ar fân newidiadau i’r rhain, a gallwch ddarllen mwy am hynny yma;
https://www.sra.org.uk/sra/news/press/standards-regulations-amends-consultation/
Er nad oedd llawer o ffocws ar yr uchod, roedd ymgyrch Atal Gwyngalchu Arian yn parhau, gyda’r SRA yn dychwelyd i archwiliadau AML wyneb yn wyneb ac yn parhau â’r fersiwn Bwrdd Gwaith (163 o arolygiadau a 109 o adolygiadau pen desg yn ôl eu Gwrth-wyngalchu Arian). -Adroddiad Gwyngalchu Arian 2021-2022 a gyhoeddwyd ym mis Hydref 2022 y gellir ei ddarllen yma;
https://www.sra.org.uk/sra/research-publications/aml-annual-report-2021-22/ )
Mae’r adroddiad yn cynnwys rhybudd erchyll yn y rhagair ar gyfer 2023, “I’r cwmnïau sydd dim yn gwneud digon i atal gwyngalchu arian, mae angen ichi gymryd eich rhwymedigaethau o ddifrif a chwarae eich rhan. Wrth i ni gynyddu ein harolygiad a’n goruchwyliaeth adolygu desg, nawr yw’r amser i gael trefn ar eich tŷ.”
Ac mae cymhlethdod arall sy’n peri pryder ar y gorwel… ond mwy am hynny yn ddiwerddarach.
Yn ogystal â’u canfyddiadau yn yr adroddiad, cynhaliodd yr SRA hefyd ymarfer casglu data gwyngalchu arian ar gyfer cwmnïau yn y sector a reoleiddir, gyda llawer o gwestiynau ar yr arolwg yn rhagflaenwyr i’r hyn y maent yn disgwyl i gwmnïau ei gofnodi o ran data AML mewnol.
Maes arall yr oedd yr SRA yn siarad yn ei gylch oedd Pris a Thryloywder a’u rheolau ar y pwnc, y gallwch eu darllen yma;
https://www.sra.org.uk/solicitors/standards-regulations/transparency-rules/
Parhaodd y Rheoleiddiwr i archwilio gwefannau cwmnïau nad oeddent yn cydymffurfio â’r rheolau hyn, ac mewn rhai achosion rhoddodd ddirwy i’r cwmnïau. Mae’r SRA hefyd wedi datgan y bydd yn parhau i archwilio gwefannau am ddiffyg cydymffurfio yn 2023. Mae posibilrwydd hefyd y gallant wneud categorïau ychwanegol o gyfraith yn ddarostyngedig i’r rheolau, megis Cyfraith Teulu (a gafodd ei gynnwys yn yr ymgynghoriad gwreiddiol ond fyddai hyn er mwyn cyflawni uchelgais yr SRA o “fynediad at gyfiawnder.”
Gwnaeth Cymdeithas y Cyfreithwyr newidiadau eleni hefyd, yn arbennig i Safonau Rheoli Ymarfer Craidd y Cynllun Ansawdd Trawsgludo (CPMS). Nid oedd llawer o gyhoeddusrwydd i’r newidiadau hyn, a ddaeth i rym ym mis Mai 2022, felly roedd llawer o gwmnïau a oedd yn aelodau o’r CQS yn anymwybodol ohonynt ac nid oeddent yn sylweddoli maint y gwaith sydd ei angen i gydymffurfio â’r CPMS newydd.
Ac wrth gwrs, roedd Asiantaeth Cymorth Cyfreithiol ar gyfer y cwmnïau hynny â Chontractau Cymorth Cyfreithiol. Ar gyfer cyfreithwyr troseddol, cynhaliwyd ymarfer gweinyddol i sicrhau y byddent yn cael eu cynnwys ar Rota Gorsaf Heddlu Hydref 2022. Yn anffodus i rai, fe wnaethant gamweddu â natur anwastad porth tendro “Bravo Solutions” Cymorth Cyfreithiol, a methu allan ar rota mis Hydref, ond llwyddo i gyrraedd rota Ionawr 2023. Roedd hyn yn erbyn cefndir o weithredu diwydiannol gan Fargyfreithwyr, ac Arglwydd Ganghellor ac Ysgrifennydd Gwladol dros Gyfiawnder newydd a benderfynodd beidio â gweithredu canfyddiadau adroddiad hir-ddisgwyliedig Bellamy yn llawn;
https://www.gov.uk/government/groups/independent-review-of-criminal-legal-aid
Ar gyfer deiliaid Contract cymorth cyfreithiol sifil, mae eu contractau wedi’u hymestyn tan 31 Awst 2024;
https://www.gov.uk/government/news/civil-news-extension-of-civil-contracts-until-31-august-2024
Y pwynt olaf ar gyfer yr Asiantaeth Cymorth Cyfreithiol oedd diweddariad i safon eu Marc Ansawdd Arbenigol (SQM) a ddaeth i rym o 1 Hydref 2022, a gallwch ddarllen am hynny yma;
Unwaith eto, nid oedd gan GDPR unrhyw newidiadau sylweddol ers i’r DU dynnu’n ôl o’r UE, ar wahân i’r hyn a oedd eisoes yn hysbys sef bod GDPR wedi’i drosi i gyfraith y DU ac a elwir bellach yn “UK GDPR,” fodd bynnag mae’n bosibl y bydd newidiadau ar y gorwel yn 2023.
Y flwyddyn cpm21…
Roedd cymaint yn digwydd fel ein bod wedi croesawu dau ymgynghorydd arall i’n rhengoedd i helpu’r galw am wasanaethau ar gyfer ein cleientiaid a chryfhau ein cynigion gwasanaeth Gwrth-wyngalchu Arian a Lexcel.
Fe wnaethom fuddsoddi mewn uwchraddiad difrifol i’n gwefan, gan ei gwneud yn haws i ddefnyddwyr lywio a chael mynediad at wybodaeth am ein gwahanol wasanaethau.
Ein maes galw mwyaf oedd cefnogaeth Lexcel o hyd ar gyfer archwiliadau cyn, yn ystod ac ar ôl achredu, a welodd ehangu ein sylfaen cleientiaid yn Ilford, Slough, Birmingham, Bryste a Chaerloyw.
Y maes galw mwyaf nesaf y tu allan i’n gwasanaethau ymgynghori Lexcel o hyd oedd Atal Gwyngalchu Arian, lle buom yn cefnogi cwmnïau gyda’u Hasesiadau Risg ar draws Ymarfer (PWRA), eu Polisïau, Rheolaeth a Gweithdrefnau (PCPs), hyfforddiant a’u swyddogaeth archwilio annibynnol (IAF). ). Fe wnaethom hefyd helpu rhai gydag ymatebion archwilio cyn ac ar ôl SRA ar gyfer y rhai a oedd yn ddigon anlwcus i gael eu dewis naill ai ar gyfer archwiliad bwrdd gwaith neu AML wyneb yn wyneb gan y Rheoleiddiwr.
Heb fod ymhell y tu ôl i’n gwasanaethau cymorth AML oedd Cynllun Ansawdd Trawsgludo Cymdeithas y Cyfreithwyr, lle buom yn cefnogi cwmnïau mewn nifer o wahanol ffyrdd, megis cynnal archwiliadau ffug o ffeiliau trawsgludo, cynnal dadansoddiad “bylchau” ar eu Safonau Rheoli Ymarfer Craidd, a sicrhau eu bod yn gyfredol.
Fe wnaethom hefyd gefnogi cwmnïau gyda’u rhwymedigaethau Tryloywder Prisiau trwy archwilio eu gwefannau a darparu adroddiad “bwlch” llawn lle nad oeddent efallai wedi cydymffurfio â rheoliadau SRA ar y pwnc.
Ar gyfer y cwmnïau hynny gyda yr Asiantaeth Cymorth Cyfreithiol SQM, fe wnaethom eu cefnogi gyda newidiadau a pholisïau newydd i gydymffurfio â’r fersiwn newydd o’r safon i sicrhau eu bod yn parhau i gydymffurfio â’u rhwymedigaethau.
Fel llynedd, gwelodd ein gwasanaeth adolygu ffeiliau ar gontract allanol ein hymgynghorwyr yn adolygu dros 1000 o ffeiliau yn ystod y flwyddyn i helpu cwmnïau gyda’u gofynion goruchwylio, Lexcel, CQS a Chymorth Cyfreithiol.
Ac wrth gwrs, fe wnaethom gefnogi rhai cwmnïau gyda hoff dasg pob cwmni…trin cwynion. Deliodd ein gwasanaeth delio â chwynion ar gontract allanol â dros 100 o gwynion lle ymchwiliwyd i ffeiliau i benderfynu a oedd unrhyw sylwedd i gŵyn, ymatebion awgrymedig a baratowyd ar gyfer cwmnïau, neu goladu a chefnogi ymatebion i Ombwdsmon y Gyfraith.
Gyda’r llacio yn y cyfyngiadau Covid, roeddem yn gallu darparu sesiynau hyfforddi cyhoeddus yn bersonol eto, ond fe wnaethom hefyd barhau â’n sesiynau hyfforddi ZOOM. Roedd y pynciau’n cynnwys Ymdrin â Chwynion, Goruchwylio Cymorth Cyfreithiol, Atal Gwyngalchu Arian, a Diogelu Data i enwi ond ychydig.
Ac yn olaf, yn anffodus, fe wnaethom gynnal ein Cwrs Sgiliau Proffesiynol (PSC) olaf. Roeddem wedi meddwl yn wreiddiol y byddai hyn yn dod i ben yn ystod hydref 2021, ond roedd y galw gan gwmnïau yn ddigon uchel i ni hyfforddi dwy garfan arall o gyfreithwyr dan hyfforddiant, gan eu helpu i groesi’r llinell ar gyfer eu derbyn fel cyfreithwyr. Dymunwn yrfa hapus a llwyddiannus iawn i’n holl fyfyrwyr PRhA.
2023 – Siâp pethau i ddod…
Yr un peth y gallwn ei ddweud am weithio yn y proffesiwn cyfreithiol yw bod cyflymder y newid yn ddi-baid, ac ymddengys nad yw 2023 yn wahanol i flynyddoedd eraill yn hynny o beth.
Dyma’r pethau y credwn y mae angen i gwmnïau wylio amdanynt;
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Mesur Atal Gwyngalchu Arian a Throsedd Economaidd a Thryloywder Corfforaethol
Disgwyliwn barhad o ymagwedd yr SRA at bopeth sy’n ymwneud â Gwyngalchu Arian, gydag archwiliadau’n parhau a hyd yn oed yn cynyddu dros y flwyddyn. Y pryder sydd gennym i’n cleientiaid yw y gallai’r SRA ddehongli canllawiau’r LSAG ar y pwnc yn wahanol i sut mae cwmnïau yn ei wneud, ond gyda chanlyniadau mwy arwyddocaol nag erioed o’r blaen gan fod y llywodraeth ar fin caniatáu i’r SRA gymryd camau pellach yn erbyn yr “hwyluswyr o wyngalchu arian,” a allai gynnwys dirwyon diderfyn. Mae hyn oherwydd y Mesur Troseddau Economaidd a Thryloywder Corfforaethol a fydd yn cyflwyno llu o fesurau newydd i fynd i’r afael â throseddau economaidd, a fydd yn cael effaith gyfarwydd ar gwmnïau cyfreithiol, cyfreithwyr a gweithwyr. Bydd gan yr SRA y pŵer i osod cosb ariannol ddiderfyn ar unigolyn neu endid y mae’n ei reoleiddio os bydd yn canfod methiant ar ran yr unigolyn neu’r cwmni hwnnw sy’n ymwneud â’r naill neu’r llall o’r canlynol;
- Atal neu ganfod trosedd economaidd, neu os
- Roedd y methiant yn cynnwys gweithred neu anwaith a gafodd yr effaith o atal neu ganfod trosedd economaidd.
O ystyried yr holl ystyriaethau uchod, mae’n bosibl iawn mai cydymffurfiaeth Gwrth-Gwyngalchu Arian fydd y risg uchaf yn 2023 i gwmnïau sy’n gweithredu o fewn y sector a reoleiddir gan MLR.
Wrth i ni sôn am y rhyfel yn yr Wcrain ar ddechrau’r erthygl hon, byddai’n esgeulus i beidio â sôn am y drefn sancsiynau sydd bellach ar waith o ran cleientiaid Rwsia a Rwseg. Mae hyn yn berthnasol i bob cwmni a reoleiddir gan yr SRA, nid dim ond y rhai yn y sector a reoleiddir ar gyfer Gwyngalchu Arian. Gallwch ddarllen mwy am hyn yma;
https://www.sra.org.uk/solicitors/guidance/financial-sanctions-regime/
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Gweithio Hyblyg 2023 yn gweld newid i’r ddeddfwriaeth ar gyfer gweithio’n hyblyg;
Mae’r newidiadau’n adlewyrchu, i lawer o weithwyr, fod gweithio’n hyblyg wedi parhau ar ôl Pandemig COVID 19 ac yn cael ei weld gan lawer fel dull o gynyddu cynhyrchiant, ond mae yna hefyd lawer o sefydliadau sy’n gweld y gwrthwyneb yn wir.
Mae’r ddeddfwriaeth newydd yn debygol o fod mewn grym o hydref 2023 a bydd angen i gwmnïau gael polisïau sy’n cydymffurfio â nhw i ymdrin â hi.
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Newidiadau i Gynllun yr Ombwdsmon Cyfreithiol
Gall y newid hwn weithio allan o blaid cwmnïau cyfreithiol mewn gwirionedd wrth i’r sawl sy’n delio â chwynion wneud newidiadau sy’n cyfyngu ar faint o amser y bydd yn rhaid i gleientiaid gwyno, a hidlo cwynion nad oes iddynt unrhyw rinweddau amlwg o bosibl. Gellir gweld y newidiadau i reolau’r cynllun yma;
Fel y dywedasom, mae’n bosibl iawn y bydd hyn yn gweithio’n well i rai cwmnïau, ond bydd angen i bob cwmni sicrhau eu bod yn diweddaru adrannau’r Ombwdsmon Cyfreithiol o’u llythyron gofal cleientiaid a thelerau busnes, yn ogystal â’u gwefan ar gyfer ymdrin â chwynion.
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Casglu Data Cydraddoldeb ac Amrywiaeth yr SRA
Efallai y bydd cwmnïau’n cofio bod y Rheoleiddiwr wedi symud o gasglu data blynyddol ar y pwnc hwn i gasglu data bob dwy flynedd, a chan fod yr ymarfer diwethaf yn 2021, yna dylai’r ymarfer nesaf fod yn 2023 (fel arfer i’w gyflwyno i’r system SRA tua mis Gorffennaf). Bu newidiadau i’r cwestiynau ar gyfer yr ymarfer diwethaf ac mae’n anodd rhagweld a fydd newidiadau eto, bydd yn dibynnu ar ofynion yr SRA ar y pryd. Un peth y byddem yn annog cwmnïau i’w ystyried yw, os cyflwynir data anghywir neu anghyflawn i’r SRA ar y pwnc hwn, yn hytrach na chydnabod hyn, byddant yn dal i geisio dadansoddi a choladu’r data, gan arwain o bosibl at ddarlun anghywir o’r amrywiaeth mewn y proffesiwn. Er mwyn osgoi hyn, dylai cwmnïau annog eu holl bersonél i gwblhau holiaduron yr arolwg mor gywir a chyflawn â phosibl. Fodd bynnag, ni all cwmnïau orfodi eu personél i wneud hyn, mae cwblhau arolygon amrywiaeth gan bersonél yn wirfoddol, ac nid yw’n wirfoddol i’r cwmni gyflwyno arolygon amrywiaeth i’r SRA.
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Newid posibl i’r Gyfundrefn Dysgu a Datblygu.
Fe wnaethom adrodd y llynedd nad oedd y Bwrdd Gwasanaethau Cyfreithiol (BGLl) yn hapus â threfn cymhwysedd parhaus yr SRA, a ddisodlodd y Gyfundrefn Datblygiad Proffesiynol Parhaus flaenorol. Nid yw diffyg boddhad y BGLl â hyn wedi newid ers y llynedd, a rhybuddiodd y rheoleiddiwr goruchwylio yn gynharach eleni fod y gwiriadau presennol ar gymhwysedd cyfreithwyr ‘allan o gyd-fynd â disgwyliadau’r cyhoedd’. Mae’r SRA a rheoleiddwyr eraill wedi cael gwybod i gyflwyno mesurau newydd yn y flwyddyn nesaf.
Bydd angen i gwmnïau fod yn ymwybodol o hyn, a sicrhau pa bynnag fesurau newydd a gyflwynir eu bod yn cydymffurfio’n llawn â nhw.
Mae yna lawer o newidiadau posibl eraill a fydd, heb os, yn effeithio ar y proffesiwn cyfreithiol yn 2023, felly mae angen i gwmnïau sicrhau eu bod yn sganio’r gorwel rheoleiddio’n gyson er mwyn cael y wybodaeth ddiweddaraf a chydymffurfio â newidiadau rheoleiddiol a deddfwriaethol.
15 mlynedd o gefnogaeth a fydd bob amser yno i chi…
Yn cpm21 rydym yn falch iawn o’n record o gefnogi cyfreithwyr gyda’u hanghenion cymorth rheoleiddio a rheoli a flwyddyn 2022 oedd ein 15fed flwyddyn o wneud hynny.
Mae 2023 yn edrych fel blwyddyn arall o ansicrwydd yn wynebu’r DU a’r proffesiwn cyfreithwyr, fodd bynnag, os ydych chi’n un o’n cleientiaid, neu’n gleient yn y dyfodol, yna mae un peth y gallwch chi fod yn sicr ohono bob amser.
Byddwn yno i’ch cefnogi gyda chyngor a gwasanaethau annibynnol a diduedd.
Nadolig Llawen a Blwyddyn Newydd Dda wrth tîm cpm21, fe welwch chi yn 2023.
