The Competition & Markets Authority urges unregulated legal services that offer face-to-face and online services to comply with consumer protection law, as reflected in the recent changes to their guidelines.

When did this come into effect?

On the 30th of January 2026, the CMA updated its Unregulated Legal Services guidelines in line with an update to UK consumer protection legislation. You can read the updated guidelines in their entirety using the following link - https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/unregulated-legal-services-consumer-protection-law-guidance The guidelines section on Will Writing begins on page 26, containing guidance, case studies and a list of do's and don'ts that professionals should align their current practices with.

The following excerpt from The Competition & Markets Authority's latest guidance summarises their aims:

"The purpose of this guidance is to help unregulated businesses active in providing will writing, online divorce and/or pre-paid probate services to understand and comply with their obligations under consumer protection law. By ensuring their practices are consistent with consumer protection law, businesses can mitigate the risk of harm to consumers, minimise the risk of enforcement action being taken against them, and support trust in unregulated legal services generally."

How do you apply this guidance from a software perspective?

Firms that use software to personalise and send their client communication should find that amending their existing practices, in line with CMA's guidance, is a straightforward process that could potentially save your firm time in the long term. Referencing page 27 onwards, your initial communication with new clients should be clear, transparent and informative. Some key areas to review in your software-based communication could be:

• Do you include the total price of the service you are marketing, including VAT and including likely expenses or associated costs?
• Is information that allows the client to make an informed decision, such as a description of the main characteristics of the services you will provide, included?
• Do you provide comprehensive details or guidance on additional services that you provide?

Can WillSuite help?

Providing our users with as many compliance tools as possible has been a long-term priority for us; some highlights include:

• Easily create, amend and update your automated client communication to reflect changes in legislation and guidance.
• Automatically populate client-facing documents with firm branding, company information, client details and other dynamic data.
• Access to Connect, a client-facing portal that offers electronic signing of terms of business documents, KYC & AML and much more.

To learn more about the functionality that is helping firms with their compliance effort, please get in touch with our specialist software team - https://willsuite.co.uk/contact

*This article does not constitute or represent legal advice, we strongly encourage all readers to follow the official guidance provided by the Competition and Markets Authority - https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/unregulated-legal-services-consumer-protection-law-guidance