Regulatory scrutiny on UK law firms is increasing, with the SRA planning over 500 audits in 2025.

Firms can no longer afford to treat compliance as a tick-box exercise. It needs to become part of law firms’ culture - baked into their behaviours, decisions, and daily operations.

In this issue, we share key insights from Vinita Sagoo, Head of UK Risk & Compliance at Duane Morris, on how compliance professionals can lead this shift.

Building a compliance culture by Vinita Sagoo, Head of UK Risk & Compliance at Duane Morris*.

1. Make the problem visible

One of the biggest challenges compliance teams face is perception. Sometimes, fee-earners might see us as blockers who interrupt matters, slow things down, or even complicate client relationships.

But the reality is, we're here to protect the firm, its personnel and the client relationships. And sometimes, that means showing people what can go wrong if we don’t follow our compliance obligations. 

That’s why I regularly share real-life SRA enforcement actions with my colleagues. Every few weeks, I’ll send out what I half-jokingly call a “scare tactic email” – an update on the latest fines, audits, or disciplinary actions from the SRA.

People can’t support what they don’t understand, and they won’t prioritise what they don’t see as urgent. These emails help bridge that gap.

I’ve also encouraged UK colleagues to forward these updates to US personnel who might not fully grasp the UK regulatory landscape. In one instance, one of our London partners used a recent SRA fine to help explain to a US colleague why we had to request certain documentation from a prospective client. It made the conversation a lot smoother – and helped everyone feel like we were on the same team.

Making the risks visible can help improve your colleagues’ attention to compliance risks:

✅ Circulate and discuss enforcement actions and regulatory updates regularly

✅ Highlight how these issues relate to your own processes

✅ Make it easy for fee-earners to explain the ‘why’ to clients and partners

✅ Keep messaging short, specific, and solution-focused

2. Deliver the right training – not just more training

Consistent training is an important component to building a compliance culture. However, as compliance professionals, it is important to go beyond simply delivering a standard annual e-learning module.

For example, consider running standard online training once a year, while also delivering bite-sized, face-to-face sessions on a regular basis, tailored to specific teams. You might also consider bringing in experts for lunch and learn meetings or having other members of the firm report on recent cases or updates – so that your colleagues see that compliance isn’t only the responsibility of specifically designated compliance personnel.  

Providing regular, accessible, useful training applicable to the situations your colleagues face can be quite helpful.  Also, demonstrating that the compliance effort and responsibility is spread throughout the organisation by showcasing the knowledge and experience of members of the firm who may not be in the compliance department is helpful to creating the impression that compliance is everyone’s job – which it is.

This makes a huge difference. When training is generic, some of your colleagues might switch off. But when it’s personalised and interactive, people engage.

The goal is to make compliance feel relevant to each person’s role. I always try to avoid just talking at people. Instead, I ask questions, use real-world examples, and include quick quizzes to test their understanding in a fun and engaging way.

In my opinion, compliance training should be:

✅ Regular and predictable (not once a year and forgotten)

​​✅ Tailored to the team’s day-to-day work

✅ Practical, interactive, and to the point

✅ A chance to talk, not just listen

Your colleagues won’t remember a 60-slide deck. But they will remember a 20-minute session that felt useful and gave them something concrete to act on.

3. Build real relationships across the firm

Compliance can't sit in a silo. If you want it to stick, you need to build strong relationships across the business – especially with partners and stakeholders.

When I joined Duane Morris, one of my priorities was getting to know people – not just as fee-earners, but as colleagues. That meant informal chats, showing up in person, and making it clear I wasn’t there to get in anyone’s way – I was there to help them move things forward the right way.

Now, when a partner, associate or staff member has a question, they don’t hesitate to pick up the phone or pop into my office. That kind of relationship makes everything smoother – from chasing documents to resolving tricky client conversations.

It also means people are more likely to raise issues early. This is key to effective compliance. If you want people to come to you before problems escalate, you have to create a culture where they feel comfortable doing so.

For junior team members who might find this intimidating, my advice is to start small. For example, you can:

✅ Pop by someone’s office instead of emailing

✅ Ask how things are going, rather than leading with a demand

✅ When raising an issue, bring a proposed solution and explain the basis for the solution

✅ Treat every conversation as an opportunity to build trust

Work collaboratively towards solutions, rather than engaging in the blame game.

It’s also important to read the room. Some partners like to be briefed quickly and directly. Others prefer more context. Learning how different people operate – and adjusting your style – is a big part of building influence.  Furthermore, when you explain the basis for a decision or the reasoning behind a process, you are teaching your colleagues to be more effective compliance decision-makers in the future, demonstrating that the firm’s decisions and processes are not arbitrary and capricious and helping to create that compliance culture.

*The views and opinions expressed in this article are the author’s own and not those of Duane Morris. This article is not intended to be legal advice, and readers are advised to consult their own counsel based on their particular facts and circumstances.

‍