Eloise Butterworth knows the pressure fee-earners are under – because she’s been one. Now a Risk and Compliance Senior Associate at Foot Anstey after working in family law for over a decade, she brings a rare perspective to the challenge of getting busy teams to engage in compliance.

We spoke to Eloise while preparing our latest report, Under pressure: How fee-earners are balancing compliance, client expectations, and growth in 2025.

In this Q&A, she shares what works, where things can go wrong, and how to turn compliance into a value-add – not a burden.

Q: How do most fee-earners at your firm perceive compliance obligations – and how does that impact your work with them?

It varies, but one thing is consistent: if the relationship between compliance and fee-earners isn’t built on solid ground, nothing works as it should. Every change or process becomes harder than it needs to be. That’s why the “hearts and minds” piece is such a huge part of the job.

I’ve only been here at my current firm for nine weeks, so I’m still in that essential relationship-building phase. Not just top-down with senior stakeholders, but bottom-up too, because that’s where the day-to-day work happens.

Fee-earners today are under intense pressure. There are growing demands not just on their time, but on their headspace. They're expected to be across a huge number of responsibilities that sit well outside of their legal role. Many of them think “This isn’t what I came into the profession to do.” 

And they’re right – it’s not.

Q: How do you go about building those relationships?

It starts with listening. I don’t take resistance personally – I expect a bit of it. As compliance professionals, we’re often the ones showing up with a new ask or highlighting a problem. That’s why I try to make space for people to feel heard before I offer a solution.

My background as a former fee-earner helps. It gives me a level of empathy, but I never assume I already know what the issue is. Sometimes the pain point is really specific – something in the process that’s clashing with client service, or a step that’s causing a bottleneck. You have to understand that before you can fix it.

The key is to stay practical. Fee-earners don’t need to be told what to do – they know the rules. What they need is help doing it as efficiently as possible. So I try to offer options: “So-and-so does it like this and finds it works well” or “Here’s another approach that might suit your workflow better.”

Q: Is the main friction point that compliance doesn’t feel aligned with client service or billable time?

Exactly. On the surface, compliance feels like it ticks neither box – it takes time, it’s not chargeable, and it sometimes requires awkward conversations with clients. But that’s where reframing really matters.

From a billables perspective, good compliance does help. If your processes are robust, you’re not constantly dealing with audits or corrective actions. That time gets freed up for client work.

And from a client service angle, I always say: if you want to offer gold-standard legal advice, you need gold-standard processes. Clients want to feel secure in every aspect of the service they receive. If we’re cutting corners on compliance, what message does that send?

I sometimes frame it like this: “If a client sees you back down just because they’re annoyed, what does that say about how you’d behave in a negotiation on their behalf?” That tends to land.

Q: What practical strategies have you found effective in shifting that mindset?

It’s all about framing and support. Saying “you have to do this” isn’t helpful – they already know that. What they need is clarity on how to do it in the easiest, most efficient way.

One thing that’s made a difference is walking people through real examples. Instead of saying “go figure it out”, I’ll show how someone else has approached the same issue. It removes the mental load of having to design a solution from scratch.

It’s also about anticipating the friction points. For example, if someone’s sending out a client email requesting ID documents, the tone matters. It might be their fourth compliance email that day – but it’s the client’s first. That awareness can be the difference between a smooth process and a strained relationship.

Q: Have you ever seen poor collaboration between compliance and fee-earners lead to client issues?

Definitely. I’ve seen cases where the fee-earner wasn’t sure why something was required and ended up pushing that uncertainty onto the client – saying things like “Compliance told me to ask for this”. That kind of language undermines the whole process.

Sometimes I’ve stepped in and spoken to clients directly. That’s quite unusual in a law firm – it means the fee-earner really trusts you. But it can help to create a bit of breathing room and protect the client relationship.

Ideally, we avoid getting to that point at all. If the process is clear from the start, and the rationale is well explained, those situations become much less likely.

Q: If you could change one thing about how fee-earners and compliance teams work together, what would it be?

I’d change the perception that compliance is a separate function. The best relationships I’ve had with teams are where they’ve seen me as an extension of their team – not some support service on the sidelines.

That means being physically present too. I’ll go and sit with the residential property team on a Friday to see what completion day is like. I want my team to understand what their week looks like, what pressures they’re under – so we’re not blindly adding to it.

You don’t shift mindsets by saying “this is important” on repeat. You do it by showing that you understand their reality – and that you’re here to help them succeed within it.

Final thoughts

Many thanks to Eloise for this illuminating conversation. Compliance demands on fee-earners are only going to increase. However, as she highlights, empathy, efficiency and education can help build trust between compliance and solicitors while also protecting the firm.

If you want to read more expert insights on how UK fee-earners are managing compliance demands with their other duties, make sure to read our full report: Under pressure: How fee-earners are balancing compliance, client expectations, and growth in 2025

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