Solicitors constantly handle work that touches financial services — arranging insurance for a property, advising on commission, helping a client with an investment as part of a wider matter. Financial services are tightly regulated, and carrying on a regulated activity without authorisation is a criminal offence. The good news is that solicitors' firms can do a defined range of incidental financial work under an exemption, regulated by the SRA rather than the FCA — provided they stay within the rules. Knowing where that boundary sits is part of practising safely.
What this lesson covers:
- The General Prohibition and Regulated Activities — the default rule that financial activity is off-limits, and how to tell whether an activity is even caught in the first place.
- The Section 327 Exemption and Its Conditions — the route that lets a firm do incidental financial work without FCA authorisation, and the cumulative conditions that keep it available.
- The SRA Scope Rules — the activities a firm can never do under the exemption, no matter what.
- Conduct of Business Rules — the SRA conduct duties that apply when you act under the exemption, including status disclosure and commission.
- Consequences of Breach and FCA Authorisation — what goes wrong when the exemption fails, and the alternative of full FCA authorisation.