January 2026 - DG Legal Newsletter
DG legal is a one stop shop for legal consultancy. The team headed by David has such a broad spectrum of experience that they are always able to provide first class advice whatever the situation. Their ongoing compliance toolkit is extremely user friendly and they are always one step ahead of compliance updates. We have used DG since 2006 and in that time their offering has only got stronger.
Robert Borwick
Director | ABV Solicitors
Each month we provide our Retainer clients with a highly rated compliance bulletin covering what they need to know and what action they must take. We provide short summaries of our compliance bulletins as monthly newsletters.
Who should read this item: Firms with a client account
Key date: 9 February 2026
MoJ consultation on client account interest funding judicial system
Tuesday 27 January 2026
The Ministry of Justice (MoJ) is consulting on its proposal to mandate that interest earned on client accounts must be remitted to the Government to fund the justice system. The proposal, known as an Interest on Lawyers’ Client Account Scheme (ILCA), has taken inspiration from other similar schemes in the United States, Canada, Australia and France.
Who should read this item: All firms
2026 Increase to Guideline Hourly Rates
Monday 26 January 2026
The Master of the Rolls has announced an increase to Guideline Hourly Rates (GHRs) for solicitors.
The increase to GHRs, which took effect from 1 January 2026, is based on the Services Procedure Price Index (SPPI) up to Q1 2025. It represents an increase of 2.28%.
GHRs are not obligatory charging rates for solicitors, legal executives and other fee earners. However, they are often used as indicators by judges and costs lawyers of appropriate fees for different types of fee earners.
Who should read this item: Firms working within scope of the Money Laundering Regulations 2017
Updated SRA guidance on consideration of historic high-risk third countries
Thursday 22 January 2026
The government updates its high-risk third countries (HRTC) list in February, June and October each year. Countries on these lists are of course considered high-risk for money laundering and can trigger the requirement to apply enhanced due diligence under R33 of the MLR 2017.
However, just because a country is removed from the list and no longer considered high-risk at the present time, the fact that it was previously designated can still indicate vulnerabilities or structural weaknesses when it comes to tackling money laundering.
Who should read this item: Firms working within scope of the Money Laundering Regulations 2017
AML supervision reform - where are we now?
Tuesday 20 January 2026
Following the government’s announcement in October 2025 that the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) will assume responsibility as the sole AML supervisor for the regulated sector and professional body supervisors (including the SRA), there remains much we do not know.
We are commonly asked what is changing, when this may happen and, importantly, how our clients may prepare for the changes. However, the government’s decision did not result in any immediate change, and no detailed information is available yet regarding the proposed supervisory approach or associated timescales. HM Treasury’s consultation only closed at the end of December 2025 and there will be numerous challenges for all the professional sectors affected by this decision which will need to be carefully considered.
Contact us
To discuss how we can assist your firm meet the AML regulations, including preparing and updating a Firm Wide Risk Assessment, conducting an Independent AML audit (Regulation 21 audit), drafting compliant policies and procedures and providing AML training to your staff please get in touch by emailing consultants@dglegal.co.uk or by calling 01509 214 999.
Who should read this item: 2025 Crime Contract holders
Making office or organisational changes under the 2025 Crime Contract
Thursday 15 January 2026
If you already hold a LAA 2025 Standard Crime Contract, you don’t need to re-tender each and every time you want to make a change to your offices – whether moving address or adding new offices and/or services including applying to join duty schemes.
Changes in the location of an existing office should be notified to your Contract Manager in accordance with clause 21 of the Contract Standard Terms.
Addition of new offices or applications to change the class of work and/or to apply for duty work at a new or existing office can all be made by completion and submission (via email to crime.contracts@justice.gov.uk) of the LAA’s additional office / service amendment form. Depending on the change, this may also necessitate the submission of additional verification documents or other LAA forms. Only once the updated Schedule is issued can a CRM12 be submitted for the next available Duty Rota entry point, so you may wish to carefully consider the timing of the application.
We would always encourage you as a retainer client to make contact with us before you contemplate any change of this nature so we may point you in the right direction and offer guidance about the process and/or any other implications that may arise as a result of the change.
Contact Us
To discover more about how we can help your firm with compliance issues, please call 01509 214 999, send us an email or complete our free enquiry form.