SHORTLY HAVE AN AUTHORISED COMPLIANCE OFFICER FOR LEGAL PRACTICE (COLP)…. YOU NEED THIS NEW TOOLKIT FROM THE LAW SOCIETY, WITH ACCOMPANYING CD-ROM An appreciation by Phillip Taylor MBE and Elizabeth Taylor of Richmond Green Chambers Yes, that’s right. From January 2013, every law firm must have an authorised compliance officer for legal practice (COLP), following the impact of the Bribery Act 2010 and the Legal Services Act 2007. If you’re a practitioner, whether a sole practitioner, or in a firm, we can think of no reason more compelling than acquiring this extremely useful book, one of the Law Society’s highly regarded and eminently practical ‘toolkits’ (part of the Law Society’s risk and compliance service). In force as of 1 July 2011, the Bribery Act 2010 requires that -- in the words of the Law Society -- commercial organisations of any size must ‘review their procedures and look to their lawyers for the development of policies and training to establish anti-corruption safeguards,’ one of which is of course, the appointment of a compliance officer. The Law Society has therefore produced a series of extremely informative and helpful new ‘toolkits’, each designed to help practitioners cope with the new regulatory environment. Produced in handy paperback format with accompanying CD, each ‘toolkit’ contains supremely clear and practical advice that has emerged following this significant new legislation. If you or your clients are or might be directly affected by the new legislation, (or possibly indirectly) you might decide to acquire all three, namely the ‘Anti-Bribery Toolkit’… ‘the COFAs Toolkit’… and the ‘COLPs Toolkit’. For purposes of this review, we are focusing on Michelle Garlick’s ‘COLPs Toolkit’, which contains draft policies and procedural checklists, from governance policies and draft letters, to recording and nomination forms and a compliance checklist. The contents cover the rules themselves and their application and further chapters deal with compliance and reporting to the SRA, the Solicitors Regulation Authority. The CD-ROM provides useful appendices, including relevant policies, draft communications and forms which you can immediately use, providing they’re adapted to specific needs. Distinguished for convenience, clarity and practical approach, this toolkit and its two companion volumes have all been designed for the benefit of busy practitioners, particularly sole practitioners. Published in the summer of 2012, this indispensable toolkit is available now from Law Society Publishing.