Your AML policy pre-dates the April 2025 LSAG guidance. Your complaints procedure doesn't reference the new LeO timelines. The assessor will notice.
Law firms require a comprehensive policy library covering: AML (MLR 2017 compliance), data protection (UK GDPR), equality and diversity, complaints handling (SRA requirement), conflicts of interest, file retention and destruction, information security, business continuity, health and safety, and more. Lexcel requires documented policies across all 7 modules. CQS requires specific conveyancing-related policies. The SRA's workplace culture rules (September 2023) added new obligations. The April 2025 LSAG guidance updated AML requirements. The SRA's Transparency Rules require specific pricing disclosures. Most small firms have a policy library that was comprehensive when it was written — and hasn't been systematically reviewed since. Your agent monitors regulatory changes, flags policies that need updating, and maintains the review schedule that Lexcel, CQS, and the SRA expect.
What Your Agent Actually Does
Your agent keeps your policy library current — monitoring SRA and regulatory changes, drafting updates, and maintaining the review schedule that accreditation and compliance demand.
Monitors SRA regulatory changes affecting your policies
Workplace culture rules (2023). LSAG guidance update (2025). SRA Transparency Rules amendments. COLP/COFA split consultation. Your agent monitors these changes and identifies which of your policies need updating as a result.
Drafts policy updates referencing current legislation
Your agent drafts updated policy text that references current legislation — SRA Standards and Regulations, MLR 2017 (as amended), POCA 2002, UK GDPR, Equality Act 2010, Legal Ombudsman scheme rules. Practice-specific policies grounded in current law, not generic templates.
Maintains review schedules for Lexcel and CQS
Lexcel and CQS both require evidence that policies are reviewed regularly. Your agent maintains annual review dates for each policy with advance warnings, creating the governance evidence that assessors expect.
Covers law firm-specific policy areas
AML policies, conflict of interest procedures, undertakings management, file retention and destruction, client money handling, information barriers, supervision arrangements — policies specific to legal practice that generic business templates don't cover.
Generates version history and approval records
Each policy version tracked with date, changes made, regulatory driver, and approval by the COLP or relevant partner. Creates the documentation trail that Lexcel assessors and SRA inspectors expect.
The real numbers.
| Policy subscription service | £800–£1,500/year |
| COLP/practice manager time reviewing and customising | £500–£1,000/year |
| Consultant policy review (periodic) | £500–£1,000 |
| Realistic annual cost | £1,600–£2,500 |
| Agent build (one-off, configured to your policy library) | £2,000–£3,500 |
| Monthly running costs (hosting + AI usage) | £60–£100/month |
| Regulatory monitoring updates | Included in first year |
| Realistic first-year total | £2,720–£4,700 |
A policy library that was comprehensive when written but hasn't been reviewed since is worse than no policy library — it gives a false sense of compliance. Regulatory changes in 2023, 2024, and 2025 mean many law firm policies are now out of date.
Your agent keeps them current, flagging changes as they happen rather than waiting for the Lexcel assessor or SRA inspector to point out that your AML policy doesn't reflect the April 2025 LSAG guidance.
Good fit / not a fit.
This works brilliantly for:
- Firms with policies that haven't been comprehensively reviewed in over 2 years
- Firms using generic policy templates not tailored to legal practice
- Firms holding Lexcel or CQS accreditation that need to demonstrate systematic policy governance
- COLPs who need to show evidence of regular policy review to the SRA
This probably isn't for you if:
- You have a retained compliance consultant managing your policy library
- You reviewed and updated all policies within the last 12 months
- You subscribe to a legal-specific policy service with automatic regulatory updates
Let's talk.
We'll start with your current policy library — how many policies you have, when they were last reviewed, and which regulatory changes you're most concerned about. Usually a 10-minute conversation.
hello@nimblecroft.com