Financial services regulation reaches far further into ordinary legal practice than most people expect. A solicitor advising on a share sale, arranging a mortgage, or recommending an investment can stray into territory that, if handled wrongly, is a criminal offence. Knowing where the regulated line falls — and how a law firm can work safely on the right side of it — is an essential, everyday skill.
This lesson builds that skill step by step, from the core prohibition to the exemption that most law firms rely on.
- The General Prohibition — the rule that no one may carry on a regulated activity without authorisation or an exemption, and the four elements that bring an activity within it.
- Specified Investments — the broad range of things regulation attaches to, from shares to mortgages, and why land alone sits outside it.
- Specified Activities — the regulated activities a solicitor is most likely to perform, including advising, arranging, dealing and managing.
- Exclusions and Exemptions — how certain activities fall out of regulation entirely, and key exclusions for business sales and introductions.
- The Part XX Exemption — how a firm regulated by the SRA can carry on regulated work without separate FCA authorisation, and the conditions and conduct rules that apply.