Pre-panel due diligence
Are your prospective panel firms a safe bet?
Selecting the wrong firm can expose you to regulatory scrutiny, indemnity claims, and reputational damage. Complex Risk provides the thorough, independent assessment you need before adding a firm to your panel.
Independent support for anyone assessing panel law firms
We review your target firms’ regulatory, financial, operational, and conduct risks, and provide expert analysis of their governance and compliance policies and processes. That means less legwork for your in-house teams, a clearer view of the strengths and weaknesses of the firms you’re dealing with, and fewer surprises down the line.
PII/ATE insurers
Funders
Investors
Brokers
We’ll help you ensure you only appoint panel firms that meet your standards and protect your reputation.
Whatʼs included in the assessment?
Every pre-panel due diligence assessment we conduct is tailored to your specific priorities. You’ll receive a comprehensive report detailing all risks relevant to your operation, plus clear mitigation actions.
The most common areas of focus include:
Claim & disciplinary history
Review of past claims and disciplinary actions to uncover patterns and assess historical risk.
Professional competence
Verification of key employees’ qualifications, training records, and regulatory knowledge.
AML systems & controls
A thorough evaluation of AML policies to ensure robustness and full compliance.
Compliance framework
Examination of the firm's compliance structure to identify gaps and areas for improvement.
Data protection & cyber risk
Analysis of data handling and cybersecurity protocols to safeguard against breaches.
Operational resilience
Assessment of the firm's capacity to withstand disruptions and ensure business continuity.
Actionable outcomes
Working with Complex Risk gives you the best possible overview of a firm's true risk profile, backed by expert analysis. Once our evaluation is complete, you’ll have all the information you need to make a confident, evidence-based decision on which firms to instruct.
Reduced claims exposure
Lower regulatory risk
Early sight of governance issues
Pre-panel due diligence
Speak to Complex Risk today. We’ll build a tailored assessment and reporting strategy to uncover governance, compliance or risk issues before you instruct or renew with panel firms.
Frequently asked questions
If you don’t find the answer to your question here, get in touch with us and we’ll be happy to help.
Assessments vary in length and scope, depending on the firm to be assessed, the insurer's or funder's specific requirements, and the complexity of the required reporting. Generally, we require 2 to 8 weeks to complete our assessments. Each follows a structured roadmap, agreed with you during the scoping meeting, with regular milestones for progress updates, so you have a clear picture of the timeline in advance.
Pre-panel assessments are only part of the services we offer. Our involvement can extend to implementing and monitoring the changes needed to ensure the firms you work with meet critical governance and compliance thresholds. This includes file audits, tailored training programmes to close skills or process gaps, and ongoing monitoring and follow-ups. You’ll find more details on our Services page.
Our team has experience working with and within law firms across the full spectrum – from smaller specialist practices to larger, multi-disciplinary firms. Our approach is flexible by design, tailoring, scaling, and adapting our assessments to extract the most valuable and relevant insights you need to make confident, data-driven decisions about the firms you instruct – regardless of size, sector or structure.
Insurers, funders and brokers work with Complex Risk for two main reasons: capacity and capability. Pre-panel due diligence can be a complex and time-consuming process that diverts attention from core business activities. Having an independent partner on board not only reduces this burden but adds specialised, market-wide expertise that your internal teams may not possess.
We operate on a least-privilege basis, requesting only the access we need to carry out an effective review. All data is stored and processed in compliance with relevant legislation and subject to strict secure handling protocols. Access is restricted to vetted personnel trained in data protection regulations, and post-engagement, all client data is securely and permanently deleted.