Orchestrate for Legal
AML compliance, client onboarding and Failure to Prevent Fraud procedures - automated, evidenced and audit-ready.
Orchestrate automates the compliance workflows that UK law firms still handle manually - with built-in Failure to Prevent Fraud procedures that constitute your ECCTA reasonable procedures defence, not just a policy statement.
Manual compliance processes are costing your firm more than time - and the regulatory bar has just risen.
UK law firms face a compliance environment that is getting tighter, not looser. AML obligations, KYC requirements, sanctions screening and GDPR are not optional. And since 1 September 2025, the Failure to Prevent Fraud offence under ECCTA means law firms in scope must evidence ‘reasonable procedures’ - or face criminal liability and an unlimited fine. A policy document is not a defence.
Slow onboarding delays case starts
Manual AML checks across multiple tools and websites routinely take hours or days for checks that should take minutes - and each day the client relationship starts on the back foot.
Inconsistent checks create compliance risk
When compliance depends on individual staff remembering to run the right checks, the results vary. One missed PEP flag or undocumented sanction check is all it takes to face serious regulatory scrutiny.
Audit trails that don’t hold up
Regulators and auditors need a complete, timestamped record of every check performed and every decision made. If that evidence lives in email threads and spreadsheets, it is not an audit trail - it is a liability.
ECCTA reasonable procedures: asserted, not evidenced
The Home Office guidance is clear: firms cannot simply state they have fraud prevention procedures in place. The guidance warns that a high-level risk assessment and generic training may not be sufficient. Documented, auditable workflows that are consistently applied are required.
Orchestrate for Legal: one automated workflow from initial check to audit-ready record.
Orchestrate replaces the patchwork of manual checks, third-party websites and spreadsheet records with a single, automated workflow that runs every AML check, records every result and flags every risk - without your team managing each step.
Every new client triggers the same consistent process. API connections run checks against fraud databases, AML watchlists, PEP registers, sanctions lists and adverse media simultaneously. Results are returned in real time, flagged as clear, amber or red, and stored with the client record automatically.
Clear cases move to onboarding immediately. Amber flags route for review with all evidence assembled. Red flags escalate without delay. No chasing, no missed steps, no gaps in the audit trail.
- Real-time AML, fraud & sanctions screening
- PEP register and adverse media checks
- Automated decision flagging (clear / amber / red)
- Timestamped audit trail stored with every client record
- Role-based access and Azure AD (EntraID) single sign-on
- GDPR-compliant document storage and retention
Integrates with your existing case management system and Azure Active Directory / EntraID. Full integration scope confirmed during discovery.
A policy document is not enough. ECCTA requires evidenced procedures.
The Home Office guidance on the Failure to Prevent Fraud offence is clear: “a high-level risk assessment, a policy statement and generic training may not be enough to discharge the reasonable procedures defence.” The onus is on your organisation to prove - on the balance of probabilities - that documented, consistently applied, auditable procedures were in place at the time of any alleged fraud.
For law firms in scope of ECCTA - those meeting two of: 250+ employees, £36m+ turnover, £18m+ in assets - Orchestrate includes four pre-built compliance workflows that map directly onto the Home Office’s six reasonable procedures pillars. For firms below the threshold, implementing these workflows demonstrates a standard of compliance that goes well beyond what regulators and professional indemnity insurers expect.
Orchestrate includes four pre-built workflows that map directly onto the six pillars of the Home Office’s reasonable procedures framework:
Fraud Risk Assessment Manager
Third-Party Fraud Risk Assessment
Annual Fraud Governance Review
Whistleblowing Form
Each workflow produces a complete, timestamped, auditable record. The Fraud Risk Assessment Manager and Annual Governance Review are configured to your organisation’s specific risk profile. The Third-Party Fraud Risk Assessment runs as part of your standard onboarding and supplier engagement process. The Whistleblowing Form creates a secure, evidenced channel for internal reporting - with automated case routing and a full audit trail.
Taken together, these four workflows constitute the documented, auditable ‘reasonable procedures’ that the ECCTA guidance requires you to evidence - not just assert.
Legal sector note: The Law Society’s guidance on Failure to Prevent Fraud notes that law firms should assess their exposure not just as potential perpetrators but as professional enablers. The Third-Party Fraud Risk Assessment workflow is specifically designed to cover the associated persons, agents and referral relationships that create exposure for legal practices.
Relevant legislation & guidance
From hours to minutes: how a London legal firm transformed their compliance process.
LEGAL SERVICES | London-based firm | Private sector
AML and compliance checks completed in under 5 minutes. Previously: hours or days.
A well-established London legal firm was running client due diligence manually across multiple third-party tools and websites. Checks were slow, inconsistently recorded and difficult to audit. Meritec built an automated compliance workflow connecting via API to fraud databases, AML watchlists, PEP registers, sanctions lists and adverse media. The firm now completes checks in under five minutes - every check recorded, timestamped and audit-ready.
Compliance completed
Under 5 minutes
Recorded
100% of checks
Full implementation
Frequently asked questions
What software can automate AML checks for UK law firms?
Meritec Orchestrate automates the full AML due diligence process for UK law firms, including real-time screening against fraud databases, AML watchlists, PEP registers, sanctions lists and adverse media sources. Each check is recorded, timestamped and stored with the client record. Checks that previously took hours or days can be completed in under five minutes.
How does Orchestrate help UK law firms evidence Failure to Prevent Fraud reasonable procedures?
Orchestrate includes four pre-built compliance workflows: Fraud Risk Assessment Manager, Third-Party Fraud Risk Assessment, Annual Fraud Governance Review and Whistleblowing Form that map directly onto the six pillars of the Home Office’s reasonable procedures guidance. Each workflow produces a complete, timestamped, auditable record - constituting evidenced reasonable procedures, not just an asserted policy.
What are the six pillars of ECCTA reasonable procedures that law firms need to evidence?
The Home Office guidance sets out six principles: (1) top-level commitment, (2) risk assessment, (3) proportionate risk-based prevention procedures, (4) due diligence, (5) communication including training, and (6) monitoring and review. Orchestrate’s four compliance workflows are pre-configured to evidence all six pillars through documented, automated, auditable processes.
Can Orchestrate integrate with our existing case management system?
Orchestrate is built on Meritec’s own low-code platform with a comprehensive API layer enabling integration with most major case management and practice management systems. Meritec has 30 years of systems integration experience. Integration scope is confirmed during the initial discovery session.
Is Meritec Orchestrate compliant with UK GDPR requirements for legal firms?
Yes. Orchestrate stores all due diligence records securely with role-based access controls, full audit trails and timestamped records that meet UK GDPR requirements. Meritec is ISO 27001:2022 certified and operates from UK-based Tier 3+ data centres. All personal data is handled in accordance with UK data protection law.
How long does it take to implement Orchestrate for a law firm?
Orchestrate compliance workflow implementations for legal firms are typically delivered in three months from discovery to go-live. Implementation timescales depend on the complexity of existing systems and integration scope. Meritec conducts a discovery session before project start to confirm scope, timeline and commercial terms.
ISO 27001:2022 certified
Independently audited information security management: the standard regulated firms require from technology partners.
In business since 1996
30 years delivering technology solutions to UK organisations. A proven long-term partner, not a start-up.
UK-based platform and team
Developed, hosted and supported entirely in the UK. Your client data does not leave UK jurisdiction.
Proprietary platform - no third-party dependency
Meritec owns its platform IP. Your workflows aren’t subject to a third-party vendor’s roadmap changes or pricing decisions.
It’s time to make your work flow.
Tell us how your firm currently handles AML compliance, client onboarding and Failure to Prevent Fraud obligations. We’ll show you how Orchestrate automates all three - and builds the evidenced audit trail that constitutes your ECCTA defence.
