This article is a glossary of the most useful Terms and Websites for Unity® Practice Management

A

Accounting Period: means the period for which your accounts are made up, and that:

1. begins at the end of the previous accounting period; and
2. comprises a period of 12 months unless you change the period for which your accounts are ordinarily made up or the accounting period covers your first report or a report after a break from practice, in which case the accounting period may be for a period of less than 12 months or for more than 12 months, up to a maximum period of 18 months

Accounting Records: means all reconciliations, bank and building society statements (paper or electronic), original passbooks, signed letters of engagement with reporting accountants, the accountants' reports (whether qualified or not), any client's written instructions to hold client money other than in accordance with the appointed regulators these rules, records and documents, including electronic records, relating to any third party managed accounts and any other records or documents necessary to show compliance with the regulations.

Aged debt: Money owed to a firm defined by the length of time outstanding (also known as aged receivables)

Aged creditors: Money a firm owes to suppliers and other third parties as business expenses (also known as aged payables)

AML: Anti-money laundering is the activities a practice performs to achieve compliance with legal requirements to actively monitor for and report suspicious activities.

Assets: Things owned by a person or organisation which usually have some value

B

Barrister:a person called to the Bar by one of the Inns of Court and who has completed pupillage and is authorised by the General Council of the Bar to practise as a barrister.

Beneficiary: Someone who is entitled to a benefit (e.g. under a will or trust) and also a person with a beneficial entitlement to funds held.

BOOMs: Approval is required from the regulator for all Beneficial Owners, Officers and Managers at a firm (BOOMs) before a practice can undertake any of the activities that fall under the Money Laundering Regulations

C

CILEx: Chartered Institute of Legal Executives

CLC – Council for Licensed Conveyancers

Client: means the person for whom the practice acts and, where the context permits, includes prospective and former clients

Client Account: A bank account to hold money on behalf of a client or third party, separate to a firm’s “office account”, in accordance with the Regulator's rules.

Client Account Manager (CAM): Virtual Client Account Manager, also known as Client Money Manager depending on the banking institution. It auto-identifies your client payments and assigns them to the right virtual account. It allows a firm to a physical bank account and subdivide the funds into multiple virtual accounts

Client Due Diligence (CDD): Procedures in place to identify/check who a client is.

COFA: means a compliance officer for finance and administration and in relation to a licensable body is a reference to its HOFA

COLP: means compliance officer for legal practice and in relation to a licensable body is a reference to its HOLP

Conflict of Interest: means a situation where your separate duties to act in the best interests of two or more clients about the same or a related matter conflict.

Costs: means your fees and disbursements

CPD (Continuing professional development): The training that legal and finance professionals are required to complete every year by the organisation regulating them.

D

Disbursements: means any costs or expenses paid or to be paid to a third party on behalf of the client or trust (including any VAT element) save for office expenses such as postage and courier fees

E

Enhanced Due Diligence (EDD): Checks to be applied to a client and monitored where a case has been identified as being at high risk of money laundering or terrorist financing: additional or extra diligence.

F

Fee earner: Employees of firms who deliver legal services

Fees: means your charges or profit costs (including any VAT element)

G

H

HMCTS: His Majesty’s Courts and Tribunal Service

HMRC: His Majesty’s Revenue & Customs (formerly the Inland Revenue)

HOFA: means a Head of Finance and Administration within the meaning of paragraph 13(2) of Schedule 11 to the LSA

HOLP: means a Head of Legal Practice within the meaning of paragraph 11(2) of Schedule 11 to the LSA

I

Interest:

J

K

KC: King’s Counsel

L

LAA: Legal Aid Agency

Legal aid: Government funding that can help people meet the costs of legal services they require, if they are eligible to receive it. It is also used to support legal assistance being provided at police stations where someone is arrested.

LeO: Legal Ombudsman

LLP:  a limited liability partnership incorporated under the Limited Liability Partnerships Act 2000

LSA: Legal Services Act 2007

LSAG: Legal Sector Affinity Group provides Anti-Money Laundering Guidance for the Legal Sector

LSB: Legal Services Board (oversees the work of the Solicitors Regulation Authority, which is the independent regulatory arm of The Law Society)

LSSA: The Legal Software Suppliers Association

M

MFA:MFA: Multi-Factor Authentication

MLCO (Money-Laundering Compliance Officer) Where appropriate to the size and nature of a firm, a senior member of the management team, board, partner or equivalent, must be appointed to be responsible for compliance of the firm with the Money Laundering Regulations

MLRO (Money-Laundering Reporting Officer) A person appointed by a firm who is responsible for receiving disclosures from staff of suspected money laundering and determining whether they warrant the submission of a suspicious activity report (SAR) to the National Crime Agency (NCA)

MTD:  Making Tax Digital is a government scheme to make it easier to submit VAT.

Multi-disciplinary practice (MDP): an entity that combines a mixture of business activities, including legal activities overseen by the respective regulator

N

National Crime Agency (NCA): leads the UK’s fight to cut serious and organised crime, protecting the public by targeting and pursuing those criminals who pose the greatest risk to the UK

NDA: Non-Disclosure Agreement

O

Office Account: A bank account of an authorised body where payments are made on behalf of clients from a firm’s own money, and where business payments will be made from, such as suppliers, salaries, rent, etc. This is sometimes referred to as a ‘business account’.

OFR: Outcomes-focused regulation is the SRA’s approach to regulation. It allows firms to adopt their own approach, systems and management to best enable them to deliver a good service to client's needs and to support their business. We work in a constructive way with firms to help them comply with the SRA Code of Conduct and our rules. However, we take formal enforcement action if necessary

Onboarding: New client acquisition that requires due diligence checks under the Money Laundering Regulations and LSAG

P

Paralegal: Paralegals (often called legal assistants, property assistants, and contracts assistants) carry out research, prepare legal documents and give legal advice to clients. CILEx (see above) has taken over the Institute of Paralegals. They are trained in legal matters but not as a qualified as a lawyer.

PCPs: Policies, controls and procedures implemented within firms to comply with the Money Laundering and other regulations

POCA: Proceeds of Crime Act sets out the legislative scheme for the recovery of criminal assets

Politically Exposed Persons (PEPs): Clients (or their known associates) who may present a higher risk of money laundering as they be at greater risk of abusing public office for private gain. They are entrusted with a prominent public function by a public institution, an international body or a state

Practising certificate (PC): A document issued to solicitors by us which allows a solicitor to carry out certain legal work such as advocacy, litigation, probate and conveyancing

Pro Bono: legal advice or representation provided free of charge by legal professionals in the public interest. This can be to individuals, charities or community groups who cannot afford to pay for legal help and cannot get legal aid or any other means of funding.

Professional disbursements: fees of counsel or other lawyers, or of a professional or other agent or expert instructed by a fee earner

PWRA: Practice-wide Risk Assessment required by Rule 18 of the Money Laundering Regulations. Relevant firms must have a written, up-to-date practice-level risk assessment in place

Q

R

Residual Balance: funds that remain in a client account after a transaction has completed and which are no longer required to be held by the firm

S

SDDA: Separate Designated Deposit Account

SDT: Solicitors Disciplinary Tribunal

Simplified Due Diligence (SDD): Relaxed type, timing and extent of new client checks undertaken under CDD.  Only used where it has been determined that a client presents a low risk of money laundering or terrorist financing

SRA: means the Solicitors Regulation Authority

SARS: Suspicious Activity Reports. The name that is given to a disclosure to the NCA under either POCA or the Terrorism Act.

Solicitor: A person who has been admitted as a solicitor of the Senior Courts of England and Wales and whose name is on the roll.

Solicitor Advocate: is a fully qualified solicitor who has completed an additional qualification to gain the same ‘Higher Rights of Audience’ as a barrister.

T

Third party managed account: means an account held at a bank or building society in the name of a third party which is an authorised payment institution or small payment institution that has chosen to implement safeguarding arrangement in accordance with the Payment Services Regulations (as each defined in the Payment Services Regulations 2017) regulated by the FCA, in which monies are owned beneficially by the third party, and which is operated upon terms agreed between the third party, you and your client as an escrow payment service

Turnover: means the amounts derived from the provision of goods and services in the most recent financial year, after deduction of:

1. Trade discounts;
2. Value-added tax; and
3. Any other taxes based on the amounts so derived.

U

UKHL: House of Lords

UKPC: Privy Council

UKSC: Supreme Court

V

VAT: Value Added Tax

W

WIP: work in progress

X

Y

Z