Conflict of interest check

How the tool works

1. The register. You record your clients, the adverse parties, related persons and companies, and also the people who only consulted the firm, the interests and outside mandates of the firm's members, and the files of a lawyer's former firm when that lawyer joins you. Each record has a role, a matter reference, a status, dates and, when you have it, the enterprise number. You can type records one by one, paste a list or import a CSV file (semicolon or comma, UTF-8, a header row): a preview shows the rows that are ready and those set aside, with the reason.
2. The names to check. The new client and co-clients, the adverse parties, the persons related to either side: one name per line, its role in the new matter and, when you have them, the enterprise number or the date of birth.
3. The comparison. Each name is normalised and compared with every record and its other names: capitals, accents, ß and umlauts, apostrophes, particles ("Van den Bossche" and "Vandenbossche", "Berg, Anna van den"), titles, current and former legal forms ("SPRL" and "SRL", "BVBA" and "BV"), close spellings, the same sound ("De Smedt" and "Desmet"), transliteration variants ("Mohamed" and "Muhammad") and the BCE/KBO number.
4. The strength of each match. "Certain match", "Likely match" or "To verify", with its reasons in plain words. A frequent surname without a first name, different dates of birth or two different enterprise numbers keep the strength at "To verify".
5. The rule. For each match, the tool shows the rule the combination of roles raises (acting against a current or a former client, for several clients, a person who consulted the firm, an indirect link, an own interest) with the articles of your bar's code.
6. The record. You note who checked, why, your assessment of each match and the decision. The check note exports as PDF, Word and CSV.

Deontological basis

• AVOCATS.BE Code of conduct, art. 5.41 (French- and German-speaking bars): internal procedures, adapted to the size of the firm, to detect a conflict with an existing or a former client when a new client comes in, and an assessment of the risk at all times.
• Arts. 5.40, 5.42, 5.44 and 5.45: when the lawyer cannot act, acting for several clients, acting against a former client, and the exceptions.
• Art. 5.48: lawyers who practise in common, or whose public communication suggests it, are bound as one firm.
• OVB Codex of conduct, arts. 5 to 9 (Flemish bars; revised on 27 May 2026, in force on 2 June 2026): assess and avoid conflicts at all times, inform each client in writing and obtain written agreement, never act for a client's opponent, even in another matter.
• Art. 17bis, para. 2, and arts. 171.12 to 171.13: the lawyer who moves firms, and the members of an association or a cost-sharing group.
• CCBE Code of Conduct for European Lawyers, art. 3.2.

Points to watch

• A match is not a conflict, and "no match in this register" does not mean "no conflict": the tool only sees the records you entered. The scope is stated under every result.
• The firm counts as one: the register should cover the files of every lawyer who practises with you. Import each lawyer's list.
• A mere consultation is enough to bar acting later for the other side in the same dispute (OVB advice 708): record the people who consulted you.
• Run the check again when a party joins the matter, when a matter closes, and after the AML step, which adds directors and beneficial owners.
• Labels stay neutral: no facts covered by professional secrecy, no offence details. For a refusal, "deontological reason" is enough.

Your data

The names are compared in your browser and never sent: the "Data sent" meter in the header stays at 0 bytes. Without the vault, the register lives in the open tab only. With a verified e-mail address, the register and the check log are kept in an encrypted vault on this device; each log entry carries a fingerprint linked to the previous one, so a change made outside the tool shows. An exported CSV file is not encrypted.

What the tool does not do

• It does not query the Crossroads Bank for Enterprises online and does not know links between companies (shareholders, subsidiaries) that you have not recorded.
• The list of frequent surnames is partial: a name that is not on it is matched more strongly, never less.
• Local bar rules are not included, except art. 5.100 of the Brussels regulation.

Verification and responsibility

The rules and the matching tables were verified on 7 October 2026. The tool helps you find names: the lawyer assesses each match, decides and remains responsible for complying with their professional obligations.