The Solicitors Regulation Authority (SRA) is taking a significantly stronger stance in 2026 on anti-money laundering (AML), client-care standards and digital compliance. The latest thematic reviews highlight one clear message: law firms must be able to demonstrate compliance through consistent, trackable and auditable processes.
For many firms, this represents a major shift from traditional manual workflows. For those embracing AI-enabled tools such as Karli, it presents an opportunity to modernise operations, reduce risk and deliver a better client experience.
What the SRA Has Highlighted in Recent Reviews
Recent SRA findings show recurring issues across UK law firms. Many firms still have incomplete or inconsistent AML and KYC checks during onboarding. Client-care information is often delivered too late or without a clear record of acknowledgement. Risk assessments and due-diligence notes are scattered across emails, spreadsheets or individual staff members’ files, making it difficult to present a clear audit trail. The SRA also identified problems with firms that rely on multiple non-integrated systems, leading to gaps in compliance oversight.
The message is clear: firms must ensure their processes are consistent, centralised and easily evidenced.
2026 Marks a Shift in Regulatory Expectations
The SRA is moving from an approach of assuming firms follow the rules to requiring firms to prove they follow them. Compliance must now be visible, structured and verifiable at every stage of the client journey.
This is where AI-driven tools such as Karli play a key role. When a client progresses through a digital workflow that captures data consistently and records every action automatically, compliance becomes something you can demonstrate, not just describe.
How Karli Helps Firms Meet These New Standards
Karli supports firms by automating the initial capture of client enquiries, ensuring key details are collected at the very first interaction. It provides a guided onboarding process that includes ID verification, AML and KYC steps, risk assessments, conflict checks and other core compliance tasks. Client-care documents can be generated and delivered consistently, with acknowledgement captured and stored. Every step taken within Karli is logged and time-stamped, creating an audit-ready record that aligns with SRA expectations. Because Karli integrates with legal case-management systems, it reduces duplication, improves data quality and provides a single source of truth for compliance.
Karli is specifically designed for law firms and combines AI with operational structure, helping firms deliver a higher standard of service while reducing administrative burden. Fee-earners can focus on legal work while Karli handles intake, checks and workflow management.
The Risk of Maintaining Manual Processes
Firms that continue relying on email chains, inconsistent templates or manually updated spreadsheets face increased exposure to compliance failures. Missing documents, delayed client-care information and incomplete AML records can all lead to SRA action. Manual processes also slow down onboarding, reduce enquiry conversion rates and contribute to fee-earner burnout.
In contrast, firms using AI-driven structured workflows experience more reliable compliance, faster onboarding, cleaner data, better client communication and significantly reduced administrative pressure.
What Firms Should Do Now
Assess how client enquiries and matters currently move through your firm. Identify where information is captured inconsistently, where manual effort is required and where data is stored across multiple systems. Review your AML, KYC and client-care processes to ensure each step is captured and recorded.
Where workflows are fragmented, consider implementing an AI-enabled system such as Karli to centralise intake, onboarding and compliance tasks. Provide training to ensure your team understands the workflow and the importance of capturing accurate data. Once your workflows are in place, monitor metrics such as average onboarding time, enquiry-to-engagement conversion, and the completeness of AML records to drive improvement.
Conclusion
The SRA’s approach in 2026 represents more than just regulatory tightening. It sets a new operational standard for legal services. Firms that modernise their workflows and adopt AI-enabled tools such as Karli will not only reduce compliance risk but also create a smoother, faster and more consistent client experience.
For firms that continue operating manually, the risk of errors, omissions and regulatory findings will only grow.
This is the moment to transition from traditional fragmented processes to a fully traceable, AI-supported workflow that supports compliance, improves efficiency and strengthens your position in an increasingly competitive market. Complete our AI Assessment today to see if Karli is for your firm.
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