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Professional Enabler or Gatekeeper? Reframing the Lawyer’s Role in AML Compliance


Man in shirt and tie working in office

The Language Matters

“Professional enabler” is a term that’s increasingly used in global financial crime reports — often pointing the finger at lawyers.


But this language can be misleading. It suggests deliberate complicity, when the vast majority of legal professionals are ethical, diligent, and committed to doing the right thing.


Yes, criminals try to exploit legal services. But that doesn’t make lawyers enablers.

It makes them targets — and potential gatekeepers.


How the Legal Sector Is Being Framed

International reports (including those from FATF and AUSTRAC) have identified lawyers, along with accountants and real estate agents, as high-risk for money laundering abuse. That’s not because lawyers are doing anything wrong. It’s because:


  • Legal services add credibility to transactions

  • Lawyers have access to structures that obscure ownership

  • Trust accounts and legal privilege can reduce transparency


But we need to separate risk of exploitation from wrongdoing.


Being involved in a transaction that is later linked to crime doesn’t mean a lawyer was complicit — especially if the red flags weren’t visible at the time.


Reframing the Role in AML Compliance: From Risk to Responsibility

Lawyers are uniquely positioned to stop money laundering before it happens. That’s what gatekeeping is all about. Your role involves:


  • Asking questions others don’t

  • Verifying information others assume

  • Escalating concerns others ignore


Done well, AML compliance is simply an extension of the values the legal profession already holds — diligence, fairness, and protection of the rule of law.


Being a Gatekeeper Doesn’t Mean Becoming a Cop

Let’s be honest: lawyers didn’t enter the profession to become financial crime analysts. And no one wants to alienate good clients or introduce friction into transactions. But gatekeeping doesn’t mean suspicion at every turn. It means:


  • Understanding the typologies

  • Following your internal procedures

  • Knowing when something needs to be checked — or reported

  • And, crucially, documenting those decisions


It’s not about doing the regulator’s job. It’s about protecting your firm and your clients.


Rebuilding Trust With the Regulator

One of the most powerful things law firms can do now is show the regulator that they take their responsibilities seriously — and that they’re capable of managing the risks without overregulation. That starts with:


  • Well-designed AML programs

  • Cultural buy-in from leadership

  • Practical training and internal awareness

  • Transparency and accountability


The better the profession demonstrates its gatekeeping capability, the stronger the argument against excessive external enforcement.


Final Thoughts

You are not the problem. You are part of the solution. The legal sector has a critical role to play in disrupting money laundering — not because it’s failing, but because it’s powerful.


Reclaiming the gatekeeper role in AML compliance isn’t just good compliance - it's good lawyering.


Need help strengthening your AML role as a firm-wide gatekeeper?

AML Sorted works with Australian law firms to embed AML controls that support legal professionals — not hinder them. Let’s talk.

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