SRA & AML Compliance Training for Law Firms and In-House Legal Teams
Expert face-to-face and online compliance training for law firms and in-house legal teams throughout England and Wales. Delivered by a former SRA lawyer with 15+ years' experience. AML, MLRO, COLP, COFA, SRA Code of Conduct and more
Our Law Firm Compliance Training Expertise
I have spent more than fifteen years training solicitors, compliance officers, in-house legal teams and law firm managers. During my time at the SRA I trained hundreds of SRA staff members and members of the Solicitors Disciplinary Tribunal. I have spoken on professional ethics and AML at multiple Law Society Risk and Compliance and AML conferences, and have been invited to offer commentary on solicitor ethics on BBC One.
Every session is delivered by me personally, tailored to your firm or team, and grounded in real-world examples. I do not offer generic training that ticks a box. I offer training that delivers real changes in understanding and behaviour.
Our SRA & AML Training Courses
Training that generates a completion certificate is not enough. When the SRA opens a file, they are looking for evidence of genuine understanding and consistent practice. That is what tailored, substantive training provides.
All sessions are available in person or online, and can be delivered to groups of any size or on a one-to-one basis. Every course begins with a planning conversation to ensure the content reflects your firm, your team and your real risks.
Anti-Money Laundering (AML) & Sanctions Training For Law Firm Staff
Comprehensive AML training covering the Money Laundering Regulations 2017, customer due diligence, enhanced due diligence, suspicious activity reports, firm-wide risk assessments, and source of funds and source of wealth checks. We strongly recommend tailoring these sessions to your practice areas and bringing the sessions to life with case studies and real-life examples of things your staff struggle with day to day.
MLRO, MLCO & Compliance Staff Training for Law Firms
Whether you are new to the role or well established, the SRA has made clear the enhanced expectations which it has for MLROs and MLCOs in law firms to engage in AML training.
As well as training MLROs and MLCOs on their roles, we offer a popular 'building blocks' of AML session in which we remove the mystery behind the topic. We give your firm's experts the confidence to go straight to the source when assessing complex AML problems: POCA and the Regulations.
Frequently delivered on a one-to-one or small group basis, these sessions allow us to delve much deeper into the topic.
COLP and COFA training for law firm role holders
One of our most requested one-to-one sessions, particularly for those new to the role.
In-depth training for compliance officers covering the full scope of their roles, reporting obligations, enforcement risk, financial controls, and how to build and maintain a genuine compliance culture.
Updates and refresher sessions also available.
SRA Code of Conduct for Law Firms Training
A grounded, practical guide to the SRA Standards and Regulations. We focus on what is actually required rather than playing it too safe, use real SDT case examples throughout, and make clear the distinction between genuine risk and compliance folklore.
We can offer refresher sessions as well as more tailored content depending upon your needs.
Law Firm Compliance Staff Training
We love training the compliance staff at a law firm! It gives us all an opportunity to really geek out on the detail that only the compliance team will need to know.
We offer sessions diving deeper into the building blocks of AML, SRA ethics, conflicts of interest, confidentiality, and more.
In these sessions, we go much deeper into the law, rules and regulations and the cases which bring it all to life. We tend to leave plenty of time for the Q&As for these sessions!
Conflicts of Interest Training for Law Firms
Worked through real scenarios and decided cases, covering identification, assessment and management of conflicts of interest for solicitors. One of the most common sources of SRA complaints and regulatory referrals, and an area where confident, practical understanding makes a real difference.
More in-depth sessions available for dedicated Compliance Staff.
SRA Code of Conduct & Principles for In-House Lawyers
The unique regulatory position of in-house solicitors raises distinct issues around independence, the application of the Code of Conduct, reporting obligations and the boundaries of privilege. This session is tailored for legal teams working within corporate or public sector organisations.
Our session includes detailed guidance on how the latest SRA and Law Society guidance refocuses attention on practical steps which in-house lawyers can take.
SRA Management Training Stages 1 & 2
The SRA no longer strictly requires all lawyers to complete these sessions, but we continue to see junior managers and partners getting caught out in costly mistakes that could have been avoided. We therefore offer our own version of management training for new partners and managers in solicitor firms.
These are typically targeted sessions for newly promoted partners and managers covering their personal regulatory obligations, supervisory responsibilities, and how to support a compliant and well-run team from the outset. Available as a group session or one-to-one.
Ethics & SRA Principles for lawyers
If the warnings of the need for more ethics training from the SRA and the Legal Services Board were not enough, we also have the ever-increasing stream of lawyers being struck off for doing the wrong thing under pressure. We don't take for granted how hard it is to effect genuine change with ethical training.
Our experience is that the best approach is to bring to life ethical training with real-life cases, such as the Horizon Post Office scandal, mixed with a healthy dose of social sciences 101 to help people get ahead of just how difficult these tests will feel when they come.
We are also happy to work with people on a one-on-one basis who have a specific regulatory need for training in this area.
About your trainer
Andy Donovan is a non-practising solicitor and the founder of Attuned Consulting. He spent seven years at the SRA, latterly managing the General Counsel team, and contributed to the development of the regulatory framework still in use today. In 2014 Andy founded The Compliance Office and grew into the leading specialist compliance consultancy for law firms prior to its acquisition. Since stepping down as CEO in 2025 Andy has returned to doing the projects he loves most - training being top of the list.
Andy has trained thousands of solicitors, including in-house legal teams, law firm managers, SRA staff and even Solicitors Disciplinary Tribunal. Andy has been a regular speaker at Law Society Risk and Compliance and AML conferences and has appeared on BBC One to offer commentary on solicitor ethics. He is also a current contributor to LexisNexis and Practical Law on compliance matters.
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Face-to-Face SRA Training for law firms:
How it works
Every training project follows the same process. It is designed to keep things straightforward for you while ensuring the content we deliver is genuinely useful.
Step 1 - Planning call
We start with a conversation. I want to understand your team, your objectives, any specific scenarios or issues that have been causing difficulty, and the context in which your people work. This is the most important part of the process to get right.
Step 2 - Tailoring the content
Where bespoke content has been agreed, I develop the materials following our planning call. This might mean new case studies built around your practice areas, exercises that reference your own procedures and forms, or a session structure that reflects the specific roles and experience levels in the room.
Step 3 - Content sign-off
I will share the proposed slides and session plan with you prior to delivering the session. You have the opportunity to refine, redirect or add to anything before we commit to the final version. I also use this stage to give you a clear steer on what will work best for your group on the day.
Step 4 - Delivery
The session is delivered in person or online, to a group or one-to-one, as agreed. I keep sessions as focused and practical as possible. The goal is not to get through the slides; it is to leave your team with something they can actually use.
Step 5 - Follow-up
Following delivery, I will normally provide a written record of attendance (for online sessions). For online sessions, I can provide a recording for internal use where that has been agreed. Where a mop-up session has been arranged for those who were absent, that follows in the same format.
AML & SRA Training for law firms FAQs:
What is your approach to training lawyers, law firms and role holders on AML & SRA requirements?
I believe compliance training should build genuine understanding, not fill a compliance log. In practice, that means a few things.
Every session begins with a planning conversation. Before I put together any content, I want to know what your objectives are, what scenarios your team actually faces, and where the gaps are. The content I develop reflects your firm, not a generic script.
I use real case studies throughout to bring things to life, often drawn from SDT decisions, SRA enforcement reports / case studies and the kinds of situations your team will recognise from their own work. People learn by working through problems, not by listening to someone describe the rules.
In person, I find groups of around 15 to 20 work best. That size allows me to break into small teams, run exercises and generate the kind of discussion that embeds real understanding. Online sessions can accommodate larger groups though if needed, and I design those differently to maintain genuine engagement rather than passive observation.
I give real answers. If you ask a question, you will get a considered response grounded in experience, not a hedge. Years of working at and with the SRA means I can explain how the regulator actually approaches an issue, not just quote rules and regulations without answering the question.
Do you provide online SRA & AML training sessions?
Yes. Online sessions are fully viable and we make them work properly. We recommend cameras on as a default principle, and use polls, chat and other tools to maintain genuine engagement. We monitor attendance in real time, can apply a lock-out policy for late joiners if you wish to do so and use the same real-life scenarios that bring our in person sessions to life. Recordings can be arranged for internal use where that has been agreed in advance.
We already have SRA & AML compliance e-learning in place. Do we still need face-to-face training?
Increasingly, yes. The accepted wisdom, and the consistent message from the SRA, is that a hybrid approach is best practice. E-learning is excellent for onboarding new starters and rolling out baseline awareness to all staff. But working through a scenario in real time, asking a question and getting a proper answer, having training that reflects your actual forms and procedures - there is no substitute for that. E-learning checks a minimum box. Given the SRA's current approach to AML supervision in particular, checking the box can still leave firms feeling exposed. When the SRA opens a file, you need to know that what needed to be done has been done and can be evidenced. Tailored live training is how you get that assurance. The SRA is also now checking the training provided to staff and having an opportunity to tailor your content to your firm is more in keeping with what the regulator is looking for.
Does training count towards our CPD or continuing competence obligations?
Yes. All sessions count towards satisfying the SRA's continuing competence requirements and participants can log attendance accordingly.
Can you tailor the training session to our law firm?
Yes, and it is something we genuinely prioritise. Every session includes a planning meeting and a degree of customisation as standard. For firms that want to go further, we can develop entirely bespoke content, including new case studies built around your client base, exercises referencing your own procedures, and scenarios drawn from your specific practice areas. This is particularly valuable for firms preparing for an SRA visit or those in higher-risk practice areas.
Can the SRA & AML training session be recorded?
Yes. We are generally relaxed about recording for internal use. This is useful for law firms with multiple offices, for following up with those who were absent on the day, or for refresher viewing later in the year. We ask only that recordings remain internal and are not distributed externally or used for any commercial purpose.
Do you offer one-to-one sessions?
Yes, and some of our most valued work is exactly that. COLP, COFA, MLRO and MLCO training is frequently delivered one-to-one or in very small groups, particularly for newly appointed role-holders who want focused, role-specific preparation. New partner inductions are similarly well-suited to this format. These sessions go deep in a way that group training cannot. We've supported a lot of new COLPs and MLROs in particular get comfortable with exactly what they need to do and provided them with the tools to do it.
Do you offer SRA & AML compliance e-learning for law firm staff?
We are able to provide online sessions for use but currently do not provide e-learning ourselves within a learning management system. However, we have worked closely with a number of excellent suppliers over the years and are well placed to advise on what good, genuinely useful e-learning looks like. If you are commissioning or improving your e-learning provision, we can help you think through content, structure and how to build a blended approach that holds up under regulatory scrutiny.
I can see that you deliver SRA & AML Training in the Midlands and London but do you cover nationwide too?
Yes, we do. We are based in the Midlands which puts us in a good position to train in-person throughout the UK, and not just Warwickshire, Birmingham, Leicester, Nottingham, Oxford etc. We regularly work with firms in Liverpool, Manchester, Leeds and the South West of England. AML & Sanctions Training can also be provided in Scotland. However, inevitably, some in-person sessions can incur higher costs due to travel time and even overnight accommodation. Therefore, we always discuss with clients whether it makes more sense to deliver some sessions online to keep costs reasonable. We love in-person training, though and in principle are happy to travel.