Andrea Cohen

Andrea joined Weightmans in March 2018 and is a Legal Director in the Compli team, Weightmans' bespoke regulatory consultancy service for the legal sector, advising on all aspects of regulation, compliance, risk management, disciplinary matters, including defence work for solicitors before the Solicitors Disciplinary Tribunal, claims and complaints handling. Andrea also delivers training on a wide range of areas, most recently on AML obligations, professional ethics and SRA Standards and Regulations.

Andrea qualified as a solicitor in 1988 and specialised in commercial litigation, with a particular focus on bringing professional negligence claims against professionals, including solicitors, accountants, surveyors, etc. She is a founding member and Chief Executive of the Professional Negligence Lawyers Association (PNLA). In 2006, Andrea moved into the management team of a Top 100 law firm, developing a niche expertise in risk and compliance. Following five years in her own risk and compliance business, and Head of Risk and Compliance and Training Principal at a law firm, she moved to Weightmans, where she continues to advise clients on a range of issues from setting up new law firms, retainers, policies and procedures, AML obligations and concerns and carrying out independent AML audits, to disciplinary investigations. Andrea acts for solicitors, including partners, employees, and entities, from sole practitioners to ABSs.

One client wrote to our Managing Partner to say: “Andrea has a professional, engaging manner and she provided high quality advice and documents backed up by an understanding of what the regulator would require… she has been an outstanding support to my business, and I shall not hesitate to work with her again.”

In addition to her position in the PNLA, Andrea is a member of The Law Society Regulatory Processes Committee, the Manchester Law Society Regulatory Affairs Committee and COLP and COFA Forum, and the Editorial Board of the Journal of Professional Negligence. She has a monthly column in a number of Law Society publications and is a contributor to Practical Law.