Client ID Verification

If you have an appointment with one of our lawyers or consultants, we need to know who you are. We need to see two pieces of government-issued identification, one must be a picture-ID.

The Law Society of British Columbia: A lawyer is obligated to know his or her client, to understand the client’s financial dealings in relation to the retainer, and to manage any risks arising from the professional business relationship with the client. Law Society Rules, Part 3, Division 11, Rules 3-98 to 3-110 require lawyers to follow client identification and verification procedures when retained by a client to provide legal services. There are six main requirements:

1. Identify the client (Rule 3-100).
2. Verify the client’s ID if there is a “financial transaction” (Rules 3-102 to 3-106).
3. Obtain from the client and record, with the applicable date, information about the source of money if there is a “financial transaction” (Rules 3-102(1)(a), 3-103(4)(b)(ii), and 3-110(1)(a)(ii)) effective January 1, 2020).
4. Maintain and retain records (Rule 3-107).
5. Withdraw if you know or ought to know that you would be assisting in fraud or other illegal conduct (Rule 3-109).
6. Monitor the lawyer/client professional business relationship periodically while retained in respect of a “financial transaction” and keep a dated record of the measures taken and information obtained (new Rule 3-110 effective January 1, 2020).