Terms of use

8. Confidentiality and money laundering

8.1. In some cases, a matter that we are handling for a client is of such a nature that we must comply with notably the provisions of the Ordinance dated February 12, 2020 concerning fighting Money Laundering and any similar legislation or regulation enacted in France or otherwise in the European Union.

8.2. In such cases, we may need to carry out checks on the identity of individuals, companies or the owners of companies, even if we have acted for the client before or the client is known to us personally. If funds are to be transferred we may need to investigate the source or destination of those funds. Where it is appropriate to return funds that we have previously received, either from you or from another source on your behalf, we may refuse to return these to a destination that is different from the source from which they were received. Any costs incurred by us in making such investigations may be charged to you.

8.3. We are under a professional and legal obligation to keep the affairs of clients confidential. This obligation, however, is subject to a statutory exception: recent legislation on money laundering and terrorist financing has placed solicitors under a legal duty in certain circumstances to disclose information to the relevant authorities. Where we know or suspect that a transaction on behalf of a client involves money laundering, we may be required to make a money laundering disclosure.
8.4. If we need to make a report to a relevant authority to comply with our statutory obligations, we may be required to do this without notifying you.

8.5. If a dispute arises over payments made to the firm or balances due, for example card holder chargebacks, we reserve the right to share confidential information with external parties who may have a legitimate interest in the information being shared without notifying you. Such organisations include law enforcement authorities, investigative services, financial institutions and parties involved in the processing of payments.