With the revelations included in the leaked ‘Panama Papers’, the profession of lawyers – among other professional advisors – has come under scrutiny, with some critics referring to lawyers as ‘professional enablers’. On 21 February 2021, texts were published by the OECD and the FACTI Panel of the UN, expressing concerns on the role of advisors in enabling crime. Recently, the European Commission conducted a consultation on this issue in EU member states.

This idea of lawyers as potential criminal enablers threatens our work because, among other reasons, critics can use examples such as the Panama Papers to justify encroachments on professional rights, especially the attorney-client privilege – something that some lawyers are already experiencing in areas such as anti-money laundering.

This panel will consider the current state of affairs of the perception of lawyers as potential enablers to white-collar criminals, and will consider questions such as ‘How can the image of our profession be improved?’, ‘Do we need to accept certain restrictions?’, and ‘Are lawyers held to a high enough standard of business ethics?’