Your case management system does exact-match searches. Your agent does fuzzy matching, related parties, and company group structures.
SRA Code of Conduct paragraphs 6.1-6.2 require conflict checks before accepting every new instruction. For small firms, this typically means searching the PMS for party names — but most small firm systems only do exact-match searches. They miss: spelling variations, maiden names, trading names, company group structures, and connections between parties that aren't obvious from the name alone. A missed conflict can result in SRA disciplinary action, professional negligence claims, transactions being set aside, and devastating reputational damage. Your agent provides intelligent conflict checking: fuzzy name matching, related party identification, company group structure awareness, and structured conflict reports that document the check for SRA compliance.
What Your Agent Actually Does
Your agent provides intelligent conflict checking with fuzzy matching, related party identification, and company structures — catching conflicts that exact-match PMS searches miss.
Fuzzy name matching beyond exact search
Smith vs Smyth. MacDonald vs McDonald. O'Brien vs OBrien. Your agent searches with phonetic matching, common spelling variations, and name format variations (initials, shortened names, titles) — catching matches that a basic PMS search would miss.
Related party identification
The director of the company you're acting against is the spouse of an existing client. Your agent identifies related party connections from your matter data — family relationships, directorships, business associations — that create potential conflicts not visible from name searches alone.
Company group structure awareness
Acting for a subsidiary while the parent company is on the other side of another matter. Your agent checks Companies House data for group structures, common directorships, and corporate connections that create conflicts at entity level, not just name level.
Structured conflict reports
Every conflict check produces a documented report: parties searched, matches found (or not found), the assessment, and the decision (accept, decline, or manage with safeguards). Creates the audit trail the SRA and Lexcel expect to find on every file.
Historical matter searches
A conflict can arise from previous matters, not just current ones — confidential information from a former client relevant to a new instruction. Your agent searches across closed matters within the retention period, not just open files.
The real numbers.
| Fee earner time on conflict checks (15-30 min per matter) | £1,500–£3,000/year |
| Risk of missed conflict (SRA investigation + negligence claim) | Variable (severe — potentially practice-threatening) |
| Enterprise conflict systems (Intapp, etc.) | £5,000–£20,000/year (priced for large firms) |
| Realistic annual cost | £2,000–£5,000 |
| Agent build (one-off, configured to your PMS and matter database) | £2,500–£4,000 |
| Monthly running costs (hosting + AI usage) | £60–£120/month |
| Companies House integration and updates | Included in first year |
| Realistic first-year total | £3,220–£5,440 |
Conflict checking in small firms is a high-stakes task done with inadequate tools. Most PMS systems offer basic name-matching that misses spelling variations, related parties, and corporate connections. Enterprise conflict systems (Intapp, etc.) are priced for City firms.
Your agent bridges the gap: intelligent conflict checking at a price that works for a 3-partner firm, with the documented audit trail the SRA expects.
Good fit / not a fit.
This works brilliantly for:
- Firms where conflict checks rely on basic PMS name searches
- Practices handling conveyancing (where related party conflicts are common)
- Multi-practice-area firms where cross-matter conflicts are harder to spot
- Firms that have had a conflict issue they wished they'd caught earlier
This probably isn't for you if:
- You already use a dedicated conflict management system (Intapp, etc.)
- You're a sole practitioner with a very small, stable client base
- Your PMS has robust conflict checking functionality you're satisfied with
Let's talk.
We'll start with how you currently run conflict checks, what your PMS can do, and whether you've ever had a conflict issue arise after accepting instructions. Usually a 10-minute conversation.
hello@nimblecroft.com