Practising certificate renewal
Annual practising certificate renewal with the SRA or the relevant national regulator, due before the practising year opens on 1 November.
For lawyers
Running a law practice: renewals, CPD and client account rules
The practising year runs alongside every live matter: renewals, CPD returns and client account rules all fall due whether or not the case list is quiet.
No account needed to see the proposed desk.
The recurring work
What lawyers have to keep on top of
Every one of these has a date attached, a document behind it, and somebody who notices when it slips. This is what goes on the desk.
Continuing competence declaration
Annual continuing competence declaration, made alongside the practising certificate renewal, confirming that learning has been recorded and reflected on as the regulator requires.
Anti-money-laundering supervision and training
Anti-money-laundering supervision and staff training, refreshed at least annually under the Money Laundering Regulations, with the firm's written risk assessment kept current.
Client account reconciliation
Client account reconciliation at least every five weeks, plus the annual accountant's report, both required by the SRA Accounts Rules wherever client money is held.
Professional indemnity renewal
Annual professional indemnity renewal, which most firms take at the 1 October market renewal date set for solicitors' qualifying cover.
Undertakings register
The undertakings register reviewed and chased, since every undertaking given by the firm carries a deadline and a personal obligation on the person who signed it.
Conflict checks on new matters
Conflict and client due diligence checks run before each new matter is opened, with the result recorded on the file.
Court and limitation dates
Court dates, limitation periods and directions deadlines entered in the diary the day a matter opens, as the procedural timetable requires.
File review and archiving
Closed and dormant files reviewed on a set cycle, then retained or destroyed under the firm's file retention and archiving policy.
Retainer and costs agreements
Client care letters, retainer terms and costs estimates refreshed on each new matter and reissued whenever the scope of an existing one changes.
What it costs to carry it
None of this is billable, so it is done late, in the gaps between matters. The failure mode is quiet: a reconciliation slips past the five-week point, a renewal is paid two days after the practising year opens, and the firm is in breach before anyone notices. When a practising certificate lapses, the solicitor cannot lawfully practise or sign, and the backlog does not wait.
What the desk takes over
The desk works this list to its own schedule and reports what it did.
Diarising the compliance year
Holding every renewal, reconciliation and court deadline the practice carries, with the working dates written onto the desk list.
Preparing the renewals
Drafting the practising certificate renewal and the continuing competence declaration for signature, and recording what was submitted and when.
Chasing open undertakings
Following up undertakings that are still open and flagging any that have passed the date stated in them.
Preparing new matter packs
Assembling the conflict check and client due diligence pack for each new matter before the file is opened.
What stays with the lawyer
The solicitor still decides what to advise, which matters to take on and whether a claim is worth running, because that is the judgement the client is paying for. The desk stops at the signature: it prepares the declaration, the renewal and the client care pack, and a person signs them.
Questions
Does the desk renew the practising certificate itself?
It prepares the renewal and the continuing competence declaration and records what was submitted. The declaration and the payment stay with the solicitor, who signs them.
How is the client account reconciliation kept on time?
The five-week cycle is tracked and the reconciliation is prompted, and the annual accountant's report date is held. The reconciliation itself is done by whoever keeps the ledgers.
What happens when a conflict check flags a match?
The matter is put in front of the fee earner with the details of the match, and the decision on whether to act is made there. The desk records the outcome.
Put the lawyer's recurring work on the desk
Start with a name, a website and one sentence about what the business does. The desk proposes the list; the lawyer corrects it.