Adams Kaye + First AML

When Adams Kaye's compliance team started growing fast, the London-based property law firm needed one system everyone could work from and a source of funds process that didn't eat up hours chasing clients.

They turned to First AML to find a solution that could scale their compliance function, improve how fee earners and compliance teams work together and optimise the client experience.

Background

Adams Kaye is a boutique London law firm that specialises in residential conveyancing. The firm needed an AML operating model that could keep pace - one with consistent process, clear ownership and a reliable audit trail.

Matthew Coutinho, Head of Compliance at Adams Kaye, led the firm's effort to build that model. The challenge wasn't just technology. It was about creating a way of working that compliance and solicitors could both trust.

The challenge

Growing compliance teams create real operational risk if everyone isn't aligned on exactly how AML gets done. At Adams Kaye, new hires are required to get up to speed quickly on systems and ways of working.

At the same time, the handoff between fee earners and compliance had become ad hoc. Solicitors weren't always clear on who to go to, and compliance didn't have a structured way to provide consistent support across the firm. The result: slower matter progression and no single thread of ownership.

Source of funds was where the friction was most visible. The firm's existing process involved extensive back-and-forth with clients - chasing documents, clarifying evidence and manually assembling an audit trail that could stand up to regulator scrutiny. It was time-consuming, inconsistent and left too much room for things to fall through the cracks.

"What once involved extensive back and forth with clients is now significantly streamlined." 

The solution

Adams Kaye chose First AML as the system of record for the entire AML function, not as a point solution for a single task, but as the platform compliance runs on.

New team members are trained on First AML as part of onboarding. The firm has restructured its internal model so that each solicitor has a named compliance counterpart, with First AML providing the shared workspace that makes that pairing productive. Everyone knows where AML records live, what stage they're at, and what's needed next.

For source of funds, Adams Kaye integrated Armalytix open banking directly within First AML. Configured journeys, covering residential property purchase, giftors, company property purchase and standard cases, mean that clients receive a consistent, secure request rather than a chain of emails. Open banking reports come back automatically, flag potential issues early and sit alongside the rest of the AML case file in one place.

Outcome 

The results are clearest in source of funds, but the impact runs across how compliance operates day-to-day. 

In their words

"Since integrating Armalytix into our source of funds process through First AML, what once involved extensive back and forth with clients is now significantly streamlined. The open banking reports save a huge amount of manual work by flagging potential issues early and give us a clear audit trail to work from. The result is a process that is much faster, more consistent and more secure."

Matthew Coutinho, Head of Compliance, Adams Kaye

Conclusion

Adams Kaye uses First AML as its core AML platform, scaling their compliance function, improving how fee earners and compliance teams work together and optimising the client experience. Source of funds is already faster, more consistent, and better documented through open banking inside First AML.

For a growing law firm where the compliance team is expanding and solicitor accountability matters, First AML provides the operational backbone that makes all that work.