Transactional lawyers were reminded of the importance of complying with anti-money laundering regulations in order to ‘uphold the profession’.

Suzie Ogilvie, head of AML at City firm Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer, and committee member of the Law Society's money laundering task force told the Society financial crime symposium today that she encounters extreme views on legislation. ‘On one hand the law enforcement agencies say privilege prevents them from getting where they need to go to tackle crime, while on the other hand, lawyers say they should not be subject to the regime,’ she said.

But Ogilvie said that her view and that of the Law Society sat in the middle of the two. She said lawyers are meant to help in the fight against organised crime and provide information to the authorities in accordance with the regulations.

But she said these obligations to report suspicious activities concerned transactional lawyers dealing with property, financial transactions and bank accounts, not defending clients in criminal matters.

A client’s fair trial and privacy rights, contained in the European Convention on Human Rights, are not absolute, she said, and are balanced with the need for law enforcement. ‘If your advice helps someone to commit a crime, why should you invoke privilege and why should the client have that right?’ said Ogilvie.

She said it was important to ‘uphold the profession’ that lawyers play their part, saying: ‘We want to have a profession where we can say that we are subject to the very laws we deal with.’