With Trepidation and an Exciting Challenge: How I Found My Way Into AML

When Phase 2 of New Zealand’s AML and CFT regime was approaching, law firms were apprehensive. Some might even say kicking and screaming. The rules were complex, the expectations unclear, and the idea of lawyers becoming reporting entities felt foreign and inconvenient.

At the time, AML was widely seen within firms as an added burden. It carried responsibility, required care and attention, and sat outside traditional legal work. That alone explains why the role attracted very little enthusiasm.

No one wanted the job.

I remember when the firm began discussing who might take on the additional responsibility of being the AML Compliance Officer. Everyone already had their own files, clients, deadlines, and targets. Adding another role, one that came with accountability and scrutiny, was not appealing to anyone.

At the time, I was working in estates and trusts. My workload had eased slightly, the natural ebb and flow that anyone in law will recognise. Like many, I was conscious of meeting my billable hours, and when the question arose, I remember thinking that perhaps taking on AML, while different from traditional legal work, could still help me reach my budget because it was chargeable work.

So perhaps it was a little silly. Maybe even a touch brave. But curiosity won.

I stepped into the role cautiously, with genuine trepidation, but also with a quiet sense that it was an interesting challenge. Something about it felt important, even if I could not yet articulate why.

I did not know it then, but that decision would quietly change everything.

When lawyers officially became reporting entities on 1 July 2018, it marked a new chapter for the profession. Many firms viewed AML as an administrative obligation, something to be managed alongside legal work rather than part of it. But as I immersed myself in understanding the framework, something shifted for me.

What others experienced as red tape, I began to see as a safeguard. One that protected not just firms, but the integrity of the system we all rely on.

Over time, AML became deeply connected to what I admire about New Zealand itself. This country consistently ranks among the least corrupt in the world. It is known for fairness, transparency, and trust. These are not abstract ideals. They shape how institutions function and how people interact with them every day.

Coming from a place where the opposite was true, that contrast resonated deeply with me. Where I grew up, wealth built from corruption and dirty money was often celebrated. Those who benefited from it became influential, admired, even untouchable. Seeing that early on showed me how easily systems can be bent when integrity is optional, and how fragile trust can be.

That is what AML came to mean to me. Not paperwork. Not penalty avoidance. But a quiet defence of the values that make this country strong.

Keeping our systems clean helps keep our communities strong, our institutions fair, and our collective trust intact.

Looking back now, I sometimes smile at the irony. The role no one wanted became the work that defines my career today and, in many ways, who I am.