Standard I cases: knowledge of the law and dissociation

In short

• Which law applies depends on the facts: where you work, where the client is, and what the law itself says about who governs. Only then compare it with the Code.
• Stricter wins: a weaker law, or no law at all, leaves the Code in charge; a stricter law takes over. An act can be legal and still violate the Code.
• 'Knowingly' means know or should know: you answer for violations you take part in or assist, including ones you ought to have recognised.
• Dissociate in steps: talk to the person, take it to a supervisor or compliance, then remove your name, refuse the work or, in the extreme, leave. Going to the regulator is not a Code duty unless the law requires it.
• Legal comfort is no defence: counsel's view that wrongdoing would be hard to prove does not lift your duty to comply.
• Keep up: know the rules that directly govern your work, including new channels such as social media. You need not be a legal expert; compliance exists for the doubts.