Is anti-money laundering training mandatory for law firms?
For most firms, yes. Legal practices that carry out conveyancing, form companies or trusts, or manage client money are in the regulated sector under the Money Laundering Regulations 2017, and regulation 24 requires those firms to train relevant employees and keep a record of that training.
The Solicitors Regulation Authority checks AML compliance when it inspects firms in England and Wales, and missing or stale training records is a routine finding.
Which legal work do the regulations cover?
The regulations apply to independent legal professionals taking part in financial or property transactions: buying and selling property or businesses, managing client money or assets, opening or managing bank accounts, and creating, operating or managing companies and trusts. Most litigation and advocacy work sits outside the regulated sector.
A high-street firm doing residential conveyancing is squarely inside the regime even if it never touches corporate work.
What is client due diligence at a law firm?
Client due diligence means identifying the client, verifying that identity against reliable documents, identifying any beneficial owners, and understanding what the retainer is for. Enhanced due diligence applies where the risk is higher, for example politically exposed persons, clients connected to high-risk third countries, or a transaction with no clear commercial purpose.
As a rule the checks come at the start of the retainer rather than after completion, and the regulations allow only narrow exceptions to that timing.
Why do source of funds checks matter so much in conveyancing?
Property is the classic integration route: one large, legitimate-looking purchase turns criminal cash into a clean asset. A source of funds check asks where the money for this specific transaction actually came from. Gifted deposits, third-party payments and unexplained cash savings are the patterns that need documentary evidence behind them.
A conveyancer who cannot say where the deposit came from cannot show the check was ever done.
What happens when someone in the firm suspects money laundering?
They report internally to the firm’s nominated officer, who decides whether to send a suspicious activity report to the National Crime Agency. Staff do not report to the NCA themselves, and they must not tell the client that a report has been made. Tipping off is a criminal offence in the regulated sector.
Where a transaction still needs to go ahead, the nominated officer can ask the NCA for a defence against money laundering before any money moves.
Does legal professional privilege stop a solicitor from reporting?
Sometimes, and the boundary is narrow. The Proceeds of Crime Act 2002 contains an exemption for information received in privileged circumstances, so a legal adviser is not always required to disclose. That exemption falls away where information is passed with the intention of furthering a criminal purpose.
This is one of the most contested corners of AML law. Questions about a live matter belong with the firm’s nominated officer, not a training certificate.
Who at a law firm needs this course?
Anyone whose work touches client onboarding or transactions: fee earners, paralegals, legal secretaries, conveyancing assistants and accounts staff. In a small firm that is usually everyone. The regulations use the phrase “relevant employees”, and a receptionist who photocopies ID documents at the front desk counts.
For staff outside legal practice, the general Anti-Money Laundering course covers the same law without the sector detail, and the UK anti-money laundering training guide explains who must train and how often. The course ends with a CPD accredited certificate, and the £35 fee is not per course: it covers this one and 130+ others for 12 months, for one person, with a 14-day money-back guarantee.
