Identity, ownership, sanctions and litigation checks on a prospective client — before the matter is opened.
A client who cannot be verified is a client who may not be able to pay, may not own what they claim to own, or may be routing a transaction through your firm precisely because your firm's name closes doubts. Intake is the last cheap moment to find that out.
The ABA has set out how far a lawyer's duty to inquire runs when the facts around a prospective representation raise questions; a documented, dated intake file is what shows that inquiry was actually made.
Most intake decisions turn on a threshold question: is this who they say they are, and is there anything on the record that should stop the engagement? Level A answers that in under an hour, with a four-dimension risk rating. Escalate the matter to Level B when the screen returns litigation or ownership flags that need to be read rather than merely listed.
Registry record confirms incorporation and filed officers; one director shares a name with a sanctioned individual in a different jurisdiction — examined and excluded as a namesake on date of birth and registry history.
CheckRisk is built for business-purpose diligence and is not a consumer reporting agency; reports may not be used for employment, credit, insurance or housing decisions under the FCRA. Reports are a research product, not legal advice, and do not substitute for a conflicts check run against your own firm's systems.