A Legal Cashier is a specialized type of bookkeeper /

accountant An accountant is a practitioner of accounting or accountancy. Accountants who have demonstrated competency through their professional associations' certification exams are certified to use titles such as Chartered Accountant, Chartered Certif ...

for

law firm A law firm is a business entity formed by one or more lawyers to engage in the practice of law. The primary service rendered by a law firm is to advise consumer, clients (individuals or corporations) about their legal rights and Obligation, respon ...

s responsible for the accounting and finance functions of a

solicitor A solicitor is a lawyer who traditionally deals with most of the legal matters in some jurisdictions. A person must have legally defined qualifications, which vary from one jurisdiction to another, to be described as a solicitor and enabled to p ...

's practice such as recording day-to-day financial transactions and ensuring compliance with the Solicitors' Accounts Rules. The term "Legal Cashier" is in common use within the legal profession in

England England is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is located on the island of Great Britain, of which it covers about 62%, and List of islands of England, more than 100 smaller adjacent islands. It ...

and

Wales Wales ( ) is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is bordered by the Irish Sea to the north and west, England to the England–Wales border, east, the Bristol Channel to the south, and the Celtic ...

, and Outsourced Legal Cashiering is the name given to the outsourced provision of Legal Cashiering services. A number of business provide Outsourced Legal Cashiering Services.

Solicitors' Accounts Rules

Depending on the category of legal work being carried out, solicitors regularly handle client monies, and due to the risk of

fraud In law, fraud is intent (law), intentional deception to deprive a victim of a legal right or to gain from a victim unlawfully or unfairly. Fraud can violate Civil law (common law), civil law (e.g., a fraud victim may sue the fraud perpetrato ...

money laundering Money laundering is the process of illegally concealing the origin of money obtained from illicit activities (often known as dirty money) such as drug trafficking, sex work, terrorism, corruption, and embezzlement, and converting the funds i ...

, they must adhere to a strict Solicitors' Code of Conduct and comply with the Solicitors' Accounts Rules. Although there is no legal requirement for a Legal Cashier to have received formal training in England and Wales, the Solicitors Accounts Rules 1998 state that "the person who maintains the books of account must have a full knowledge of the rules and the accounting requirements of solicitors' firms".

Qualifications

The Institute of Legal Finance & Management (ILFM) (formed in 1978 as The Institute of Legal Cashiers) provide a formal qualification, The ILFM Diploma, to "provide a sound comprehensive and practical knowledge of the maintenance of solicitor's internal financial records, to meet compliance requirements". Candidates who pass receive a Certificate but must complete two years experience in the accounts department of a law firm before they can get associate membership or use the designatory letters. In 2007, the University of Chester accredited an employer based training program, "Professional Certificate in Legal Account Management" which provides a foundation degree course combining academic study with workplace learning. However, this is only available to employees of Quill Pinpoint, the employer associated with the scheme. Professional Certificate in Legal Account Management

References

{{Reflist Legal professions Accountancy occupations

Solicitors' Accounts Rules

Qualifications

See also

References