A newsletter from West providing Westlaw® search tips for corporate counsel and staff

The tabbed Anti-Money Laundering page on Westlaw is a painless way to investigate people and businesses—whether you're a banker or not.

Q: Why should financial institutions (including insurance companies) establish anti-money laundering programs and conduct due diligence on individuals and businesses?

A: That's an easy one: Under the USA Patriot Act and related regulations, it's the law.

That's why the tabbed Anti-Money Laundering page was created. While this new tabbed page can't do the investigation and recordkeeping for you, it does the next best thing: It makes background and public records searches as intuitive and painless as possible.

The page accomplishes this thanks to two powerful attributes:

Breadth of content
You can use this page to quickly access any of a wide array of materials. These include the public records, business and people finder tools, international watch lists, news sources, lawsuit records, and court dockets you will need to meet your legal obligations. They also include the statutes, regulations, training resources, and practice guides you may need to help clarify what your obligations are.

Intuitive format
Perhaps more surprising than the large number of resources is how simple and uncluttered the page is—with white space to spare. The Resources section consists of short names of document types or research tasks, e.g., Verify Identity. The links are categorized into a manageable display of intuitive document types. You waste no time scanning the page for links or deciphering database names.

And if you're not in the banking field? Then select the Anti-Money Laundering page, anyway*: You will likely find this page to be an ideal starting point for your public records searching and other background research, regardless of the practice area.