On May 1 2025, the Federation of Law Societies of Canada released a landmark report detailing how Canadian law societies meet international Anti-Money Laundering (AML) standards, ahead of Canada’s scheduled review by the Financial Action Task Force (FATF). This report is the first of its kind to provide a comprehensive technical compliance analysis of how law societies support national AML efforts, in alignment with the FATF’s 40 Recommendations.
The document, developed by the Federation’s Standing Committee on AML and Terrorist Financing with input from all 14 Canadian law societies, outlines key regulatory tools used to safeguard the legal profession. These include the Model Rules on Client Identification and Verification, Trust Accounting, and No-Cash Transactions, as well as the Model Code of Professional Conduct, which reinforces the ethical duty of lawyers to avoid facilitating illicit activities.
In addition to legal rules, the report highlights educational initiatives aimed at equipping lawyers with AML knowledge and outlines the strong enforcement powers of law societies to audit, investigate, and discipline non-compliant legal professionals. The document also maps how Canadian legal regulators meet specific FATF recommendations relevant to legal professionals.
This technical compliance report represents the first stage of the FATF’s three-part evaluation process. A follow-up effectiveness report will be released in summer 2025, and an on-site FATF review is scheduled for later this year. The Federation’s publication underscores Canada’s commitment to safeguarding the integrity of the legal profession and supporting national and global efforts to combat money laundering and terrorist financing.
Read the full story here (pdf).