Prove you checked — before you accept the instruction.
A conflict check is the first professional act on a file, not a formality you complete once the deposit has cleared. It should be quick to run, and it should leave something behind that survives scrutiny.
The first hour of a new instruction, handled
Search before you say yes
Run a name and see every client, matter, contact and counterparty already on file — including the parties to matters you inherited.
Record the outcome, not just the search
A dated acknowledgement attaches to the file. Three years later, “we checked” is a document rather than a memory.
Onboard the client properly
Capture identity and KYC details, the documents you need, the referral source and any intermediary — before work starts.
What it changes
- No instruction is accepted on a hunch. The search happens before the retainer conversation.
- Disqualification risk becomes something you can show, not something you hope nobody asks about.
- Referral sources and intermediaries are tracked, so the firm knows where its work actually comes from.
- The engagement letter and onboarding documents are collected on day one — not chased for a month.
We will run a live conflict search in your demo using a name you choose, so you can see exactly what it catches.
Three minutes before you say yes
Short, on purpose. A long process is a process people skip.
Run the check
Client name, counterparty, company, director — whatever you have heard so far.
Read the matches
Clients, matters, contacts and parties, with the context you need to judge it.
Record the decision
Clear, or clear with conditions, or declined — and who decided.
Send the engagement letter
From the same file, with the onboarding documents requested in the same breath.
Conflicts, walls and onboarding
All of it — clients, matters, contacts and the counterparties recorded on existing files. That is usually where the surprise lives.
Yes. The check runs at enquiry level, so you can decline politely before anyone has paid a retainer.
Yes. Matter-level access can be limited to named people, and the grant is recorded in the audit trail.
Test it against a name you know
Bring a counterparty name from a real file and watch what the search returns — that is the fastest way to judge a conflict system.