New client

How the tool works

1. The client and the parties. The client's name and type (natural person, company, non-profit association, foundation, trust), the enterprise number or date of birth, the matter, the matter reference, the responsible lawyer and the bar. Then the other parties: opposing party, co-client, the client's directors and beneficial owners, the opposing party's group. These details feed every later step.
2. Conflicts. Each name is compared with the conflict register on this device, with the same rules as the conflict check tool: particles, accents, legal forms, enterprise number. You assess each match and record your decision. If the firm checks in its own software, you record that check and its reference.
3. Anti-money laundering. The questions of the AML client risk assessment, without those already answered: the scope of art. 5, §1, 28°, then, if the matter falls within it, the mandatory cases, the risk factors, the level, its reasons and the measures to tick.
4. The engagement letter. The choices of the engagement letter: consumer or business client (suggested from the type of client), where the agreement is concluded, the fee method, costs, the provision and the firm's details. The fee information sheet and the withdrawal form are added when the law requires them.
5. Privacy. The client's privacy notice (art. 13 GDPR), drawn up from the firm's details, or the address of the notice the firm already publishes.
6. The file. The new client record sums up the client, the parties, the state of each step and the documents drawn up, with a signature line. Each document downloads as PDF or Word, in the language you choose.

What the new client file contains

• The new client record: who, which matter, which bar, the state of the four steps (done, to do, not applicable) and the list of documents.
• The conflict-check note: the names searched, the scope of the register consulted, each match with its reasons, the rule it raises and your assessment, the decision.
• The AML file note: the scope, the risk level and its reasons, the measures and their state, the next review proposed.
• The engagement letter, with, where they apply, the fee information sheet for a consumer client and the withdrawal information and form.
• The privacy notice, with its version and date, which the letter mentions as attached.

Each document is free, one by one. The whole file in a single ZIP, each document as PDF and Word, is a firm feature, free with a verified e-mail address.

The rules behind each step

• Conflicts of interest: AVOCATS.BE Code of Conduct, art. 5.41 (internal procedures to detect conflicts when a new client arrives); OVB Codex, art. 8 and 9.
• Anti-money laundering: Law of 18 September 2017, art. 5, §1, 28° (the scope for lawyers), art. 19 (individual risk assessment) and art. 26 onwards (identification and verification).
• Fees: art. 446ter of the Judicial Code; CJEU, 12 January 2023, C-395/21 (price information before the contract is concluded); Code of Economic Law, books III and VI.
• Privacy: GDPR, art. 13 (information when the data are collected).

Points to watch

• The tool neither accepts nor declines a client: it gathers the elements and records your decisions. A match in the register is not a conflict, and no match only covers the entries in the register.
• The beneficial owners identified in the AML step should also go through the conflict check: add them as parties related to the client, then check again.
• Nothing is kept when you close the page, except what you keep yourself: the documents downloaded and, with the encrypted vault, the register and the check log.
• Once the matter is accepted, add the client and the parties to the conflict register so the next check finds them.