How to get fee earners to own compliance in your law firm

Why "it's with compliance" is a problem

Telling a client their matter is "with compliance" can quietly undermine the fee earner. It suggests they aren't really in control of the matter, and that someone else in the building is holding things up.

It also reinforces a common workaround, where compliance becomes the place difficult decisions get sent. Over time, fee earners lose confidence in their own judgement, and compliance ends up carrying risk decisions that are better made with the person who knows the client.

It's a familiar picture. In a live poll during the webinar, a quarter of attendees (25%) said the never-ending stream of questions landing on compliance was the workaround they recognise most.

Fee earners know things compliance doesn't

One of the most effective ways to shift this is to show fee earners how much knowledge they bring to the table. Compliance can run checks, review documents and search online, but it's usually a step removed from the client. The fee earner is the one who has actually spoken to them, understands the transaction and knows what looks normal in their area of law.

When a query comes in, try turning it into a conversation rather than just sending back an answer. Share the background and the risks you can see, then ask the fee earner what they think. It draws out what they already know and makes them part of the decision, and over time it builds their confidence to ask the right questions themselves.

It's worth remembering that the fee earners who ask for a second opinion are usually the ones who care most about getting it right. The aim isn't to stop them asking, but to make sure they leave a little more confident each time.

Give people the words to use with clients

A lot of "it's with compliance" comes from fee earners not knowing what to say. Some parts of the process, like asking residential clients detailed questions about their source of funds, can feel intrusive. When people aren't sure how much to explain, it's easiest to point the blame at someone else, or say the law requires it.

Compliance can help by giving fee earners the language itself, such as a few simple, approved ways to explain why information is needed and what happens next. That way they stay in charge of the conversation without oversharing or blaming another team.

For trickier situations, role-playing a difficult client in training is often more useful than another policy reminder, because people get to practice what they'll say when a client pushes back. In exceptional cases, compliance might join a client meeting with a junior fee earner, but that's best kept as a confidence builder rather than becoming another workaround.

Make compliance something people know, not a name they pass things to

Ownership is also easier when compliance feels approachable, and what that looks like depends on the size of your firm.

If you have a team, a shared inbox or phone line means queries go to the team rather than one named person. Involving junior members in inductions and training, paired with someone more senior, means fee earners get to know several friendly faces.

Plenty of compliance leaders don't have that luxury, and in smaller firms compliance is often one person, sometimes alongside another role. There, the aim is to be visible and approachable, so people come to you early and leave each conversation a little more able to handle the next one.

Whatever the size of the firm, once compliance is seen as part of the team, it stops being the thing fee earners blame for a delay.

From gatekeeper to partner

Getting fee earners to own compliance comes down to recognising what they already know, giving them the confidence and words to handle client conversations and making compliance a partner rather than a department they hand things to. When that happens, clients hear one consistent voice from the firm, and compliance can focus on the decisions that really need it.