SmartSuite for the Compliance Counsel

Compliance management. Links legal requirements to obligations, policies and controls so counsel's interpretations are recorded against the obligation they affect.

Policy management. Routes policies through legal review and approval with version history.

Issues and actions. Supports investigations and regulatory responses as cases with restricted access and document logs.

Reporting. Gives counsel a view of open compliance matters, inquiries and deadlines.

What does Compliance Counsel do within the compliance program?

Compliance Counsel is the lawyer embedded in the compliance program: interpreting regulations and advising on their application, reviewing policies, procedures and training for legal accuracy, supporting investigations and privilege decisions, drafting and reviewing responses to regulatory inquiries, advising on remediation and self-disclosure and tracking legal developments that affect the program. Their job is to make compliance decisions legally defensible and documented, and SmartSuite is where that documentation lives alongside the obligations it concerns.

How does SmartSuite record Compliance Counsel's interpretations against obligations?

SmartSuite links legal requirements to the obligations, policies and controls they give rise to, so counsel's interpretation is recorded against the obligation it affects rather than in an email or memo that later cannot be found. When the Compliance Director asks why a control is designed as it is, or a regulator asks how a requirement was read, the interpretation and its date are on the obligation. Compliance Assessments & Testing then tests against that reading.

How are policies routed through legal review?

Policy Management routes policies through legal review and approval with version history, so counsel reviews the exact draft the policy owner proposes, records the approval and can later show which wording was approved and when it changed. Procedures and training materials can follow the same route. The Regulatory Affairs Manager and Ethics and Compliance Lead, who own many of the policies, see counsel's review status without asking.

How does SmartSuite support investigations and regulatory responses?

Investigations and regulatory responses are handled as cases with restricted access and document logs, so privilege can be protected by limiting who sees the case and the record shows what was collected and when. Regulatory Inquiries holds the inquiries with their deadlines and the responses counsel drafts, and Legal Matter Management holds matters that escalate beyond compliance, so an investigation that becomes a legal matter carries its record with it.

How does Compliance Counsel keep sight of open matters and deadlines?

SmartSuite gives counsel a view of open compliance matters, inquiries and deadlines, so nothing that needs a response or a privilege decision is lost between the General Counsel's priorities and the Chief Compliance Officer's. Counsel reports into both, and the shared view means each sees the same open list and the same deadlines, with the Privacy Counsel's matters visible where they overlap with compliance ones.

What does counsel need in order to start using SmartSuite?

Counsel starts with the obligations the program already tracks and the policies due for review, recording interpretations as they are given rather than back-filling history. Open inquiries and investigations are entered as cases with their access restrictions set. New customers can start with SmartSuite Onboarding, a guided four-week program around one or two priority workflows, and from then the record of legal advice accumulates where the compliance team works, which is what makes a decision defensible when it is questioned years later.