Culture Counts Embedding Compliance Without Killing Morale

Culture Counts: Embedding Compliance Without Killing Morale

Firms know that healthy compliance culture is essential, yet many struggle to balance robust controls with the need to keep morale high and workloads manageable. With rising regulatory expectations, it has never been more important to get the human side of compliance right.

In this Coffee Conversation, Teal Compliance Associate Gemma Ellison will share what effective compliance culture looks like in practice, how firms can embed behaviours that stick, and how to avoid turning compliance into a burden that drains motivation.

Gemma & Emma will explore:

• The cultural traits that reduce compliance risk
  
• Why staff disengage from compliance processes and how to overcome this
  
• How leadership behaviour influences regulatory outcomes
  
• Practical steps firms can take to build a culture where compliance is part of everyday work

This session will benefit compliance officers, COLPs, COFAs, and senior management team leaders who want to improve culture, engagement, and day to day compliance habits.

About our speakers :

Gemma Ellison is an Associate at Teal Compliance with a background in behavioural change, culture, and people led compliance. Gemma works with firms to turn policies into real working practices that engage staff and reduce risk. Gemma started her career as a Family Law Solicitor, where Gemma was recognised both city-wide and nationally for her work in the child protection arena. As a lawyer, Gemma was fascinated by the psychology of people. Following a successful career in practice, Gemma turned her attention to workplace culture and leadership, becoming Director of Culture and Learning at a large law firm. Following a management buy-out, Gemma then spent two years helping acquired law firms assess and embed new values, behaviours and culture.

Gemma spent 15 years working in legal practice and so it is a profession she understands and deeply cares about. She is committed to helping organisations create healthy and inspiring working environments, which in turn leads to enhanced wellbeing, more collaboration and higher performing teams. Often, as we move through the ranks of our industry, we are rarely told to fully consider culture and the fundamental impact it has on the working lives of our people. Gemma wants to help change that.

About Emma

Emma Dimbylow qualified as a solicitor in 2001, initially specialising in Commercial Litigation before moving into risk and compliance in 2007.

Since then, Emma has worked as a COLP and MLRO and led risk & compliance teams for a number of national law firms, most recently as a Director/Head of Legal Practice for a large Alternative Business Structure.

Emma has been with Teal since 2021 and was appointed as Chief Operating Officer in 2022.

Emma brings many years of management experience with a strong foundation in leadership, coaching and operational strategy to her role as Chief Operating Officer at Teal. Alongside operational and legal expertise, Emma holds a qualification in counselling skills which enhances my ability to build trust, foster collaboration and lead the team with a people-first approach.

Date: 19 May 2026 at midday

Location: Online (link provided on registration)

Cost: Free (no suppliers - law firm compliance officers and law firm senior management only)

Join Gemma and Emma to gain some practical ideas for building a positive, resilient compliance culture.