Solicitors Certificates: Practical Compliance, Advice and Risk Management

Solicitors certificates are not a routine signing exercise. Common mistakes in identifying clients, checking conflicts, reviewing documents or giving and recording advice can expose the solicitor and law practice to significant risk. Pressure for a quick turnaround, particularly with walk-in guarantors and family-supported lending, can compound these risks. This seminar examines the Rule 11 requirements, common pitfalls and practical steps for giving effective advice, managing risks and maintaining a defensible file.

This seminar will discuss:

• Rule 11 compliance: Prescribed forms, mandatory VOI and required safeguards.
• Identity verification: Face-to-face VOI, prescribed identification and record-keeping requirements.
• Reviewing the transaction: Loan, guarantee, indemnity and security documents
• Independence and conflicts: Borrower, guarantor, lender, broker and related-party interests.
• Advice to guarantors: Liability, secured assets, enforcement exposure and practical consequences.
• Capacity, voluntariness and undue influence: Private meetings, language needs and warning signs.
• Walk-ins and urgent settlements: Engagement, conflicts, timing, costs and when to decline.
• Defensible files: Documenting advice, testing understanding and recording execution.