The most widely read magazine for Canadian lawyers
Issue link: https://digital.canadianlawyermag.com/i/50810
LAW OFFICE MANAGEMENT Getting to know you To combat money laundering and terrorist financing, law societies across Canada have new rules on checking clients' IDs. BY KEV IN MARRON many problems with money launder- ing or terrorist financing. But they, like all other lawyers and law firms across Canada, will now be checking drivers' licences or birth certificates to ensure that Farmer Jones' field does not fall into the hands of the mob and that Osama bin Laden isn't dipping into grandma's trust fund. "If my mother comes in and asks me to do a financial transaction, I'm going to have to ask her for ID," says Barney Christianson, a partner with Christianson Chris- tianson Jones Law Corp. in Portage la Prairie, Man. He is grappling with the practical implications of new law soci- ety "know your client rules" and also advising other lawyers and law firms on how to deal with them. Law firms large and small must all L now comply with a new set of rules requiring them to record identifying information about all clients and, in certain circumstances, verify the iden- tity of parties involved in financial transactions. The rules, drawn up by law societies in every jurisdiction in Canada, are all based on a model set of rules formulated by the Federation of Law Societies of Canada. They are designed to ensure the legal profession www. C ANADIAN Law ye rmag.com FEBRU AR Y 2009 17 awyers acting on wills, estates, or small property deals in rural Manitoba do not usually run into ILLUSTRATON: NICK CRAINE