Law Times

Page 12 August 6, 2018 • LAw times www.lawtimesnews.com Amendments to federal laws are often changed after consult- ing with financial institutions such as banks, she says, but "lawyers don't operate like big banks." The CBA is proposing law- yers be allowed to hire an agent to get the credit report for them, says Senft. The federation's report also says a client's identity can be verified by two separate reliable sources that have their name and address or name and date of birth, the proposed changes say. Electronic images of documents are not acceptable; the federa- tion's consultation paper also says information from social media cannot be used. If the dual veri- fication method is being used, a client does not need to be present with the lawyer, the report says. Lawyers are also concerned about the proposed requirement that lawyers monitor their cli- ents' financial transactions on an ongoing basis, says Ross. "With a bank account, it makes sense," he says. "You've got an ongoing relationship with the client — the transactions carry on for a number of years. Law- yers are often retained for a single transaction and have neither the authority nor the practical ability to monitor the clients once the transaction is complete." "Banks have developed an anti-money-laundering culture because their awareness is high- er," says Mora Johnson, princi- pal of Compass Consulting In- ternational Ltd. in Ottawa, who specializes in anti-corruption. Banks have databases that show if a client is a high-risk individ- ual, she says. It would be good if lawyers have access to some- thing similar, she adds. The model no-cash rule, which prevents lawyers from re- ceiving cash in amounts greater than $7,500, has been very help- ful in protecting lawyers from money laundering, she says. Rules are important because lawyers are vulnerable to un- knowingly getting involved in money laundering, she says. "Money laundering is an extremely difficult crime to de- tect, investigate and prosecute and then lawyers present a bit of a double whammy," she says. "They're at high risk of money laundering if they perform fi- nancial services through their trust accounts, and then solici- tor-client privilege creates a net of secrecy that makes detection and investigation more difficult. It's clear that lawyers need to be part of the anti-money-launder- ing solution. The issue is: What's the best way of doing that?" The proposed amendments also say lawyers need to deter- mine the identity of an organiza- tion's owners and directors. But determining beneficiary owner- ship for complex corporations is almost impossible, says Ross. Provincial and federal laws don't allow for the creation of a regis- try that shows corporate owner- ship, he says. "In the absence of federal and provincial rules regarding trans- parency of private company beneficial ownership, any rules about guarding against money laundering for lawyers still have limited effect," says Senft. "That's not casting blame on the drafters of these proposed amendments. That's not some- thing we can control." The federation plans to re- lease its final proposed amend- ments in the next few weeks, Sheila MacPherson, president of the Federation of Law Societies of Canada, wrote in an email to Law Times. They will go before the federation's council for ap- proval in October, she said. The federation is also devel- oping comprehensive materials to help lawyers understand their obligations about preventing money laundering, she said. LT "remain in place until the U.S. eliminates trade-restrictive measures against Canadian steel and aluminum products." Lawyers are encouraging companies to look for solutions beyond the short term. Dan Ujczo, who co-chairs Dickinson Wright PLLC's coun- sel and cross-border Canada- U.S. practice group, and who is affiliated with the firm's Colum- bus, Ohio office, says companies need to lock in their contract prices now, because, even when this trade war ends, it's likely that steel and aluminum prices will remain higher than they are now. "Right now, it's basically the wild, wild West when it comes to steel and aluminum," he says. "Companies will sell to basically whoever's going to pay the high- est price." Companies may want to consider writing into their con- tracts that they will only pur- chase goods not made in the United States, says Horwitz. They may also want to con- sider splitting the surtaxes with FOCUS Continued from page 10 Continued from page 11 Economic doubts caused by shifts to NAFTA the vendor or writing clauses that will allow for them to adjust prices based on what happens in the future. "This area of law is changing fairly quickly and is very politi- cally driven," she says. "Things could change with very little no- tice." LT Meant to combat money laundering Jessica Horwitz says Canadian companies may want to consider writing into their contracts that they will only purchase goods not made in the United States. Powered by • Writing for Digital Channels • Harnessing the Digital Medium • Integrated Marketing • The Age of Analytics • Using Social Media to Gain a Competitive Advantage REGISTER NOW AND SAVE 15% OCTOBER 15 | TORONTO www.legalmarketingmasterclass.com Climb higher with digital marketing Your clients are online and they're increasingly social. To grow your firm you need to build and harness your own personal brand and maximize traffic to your digital assets. Untitled-4 1 2018-08-01 12:35 PM

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