Millions of dollars in client funds flow through lawyer trust accounts every year in Alberta. As lawyers  assist their clients with the purchase and sale of real estate, the creation of corporations and trusts, and the acquisition and sale of businesses, they can become vulnerable to targeting by criminals seeking to launder the proceeds of crime or facilitate the financing of terrorist activities.

To address this issue, the Law Society amended its client identification and verification rules, as well as accounting rules governing the receipt of cash and the permitted use of lawyers’ trust accounts to help lawyers protect themselves from risk. However, specific areas of practice are more vulnerable to money laundering and terrorist financing.

Lawyers working in real estate, shell corporations, private lending, trusts, and litigation need to be aware of specific risks that are more likely to arise in their practice area and need to be able to recognize where additional due diligence may be required.

The Federation of Law Societies of Canada, in conjunction with the Anti-Money Laundering and Terrorist Financing Working Group, has created specific Risk Advisories related to each of the abovementioned areas of practice. Each Advisory identifies the specific situations and issues that make that area of practice vulnerable to criminals and provides a detailed list of potential client and transaction risks lawyers need to be aware of when engaging in the practise of law.

Risk Advisories by Area of Law

• Risk Advisories – Shell Corporations
• Risk Advisories – Real Estate
• Risk Advisories – Private Lending
• Risk Advisories – Litigation
• Risk Advisories – Trusts

Risk Assessment Case Studies

• Case Studies for the Legal Profession