The Challenge

General counsel and chief compliance officers at growing organizations were under pressure to support business expansion while reassuring boards and enforcement agencies that third‑party risks were under control, without the budget or appetite to build a large internal due diligence, screening, and technology infrastructure. Legacy processes driven by spreadsheets, emails, and inconsistent local practices made it difficult to run consistent, risk‑based third‑party due diligence, track how potential red flags were assessed, or demonstrate that enhanced reviews were performed where warranted. As expectations around sanctions, anti‑corruption, export controls, and broader corporate integrity programs increased, GCs and CCOs needed a way to standardize due diligence across geographies and business units, while still enabling the business to move quickly.

Taft in Action

Taft partnered with these organizations to implement Taft Total Third Party (Taft TTP), a technology‑enabled solution that centralizes screening, risk‑based due diligence, approvals, and documentation while leveraging Taft’s legal and compliance judgment. Taft TTP supports a structured due diligence process that segments third parties by risk profile and tailors the depth of review based on factors such as jurisdiction, nature of services, payment structure, access to data or systems, and ownership. Through the integrated platform and ERP connectivity, relevant third‑party information is routed for sanctions and restricted party screening, integrity checks, and, where needed, enhanced due diligence, including ownership verification, adverse media review, and additional questionnaires, before a relationship can be activated or paid. A secure client portal records diligence steps, risk factors, mitigation measures, and final decisions, creating an audit‑ready trail that shows how higher‑risk third parties were evaluated and approved, conditioned, or declined.

Results and Impact

With Taft TTP, GCs and CCOs gained a defensible, enforcement‑ready framework for third‑party due diligence and ongoing oversight that also served as a cost‑effective alternative to building out a full in‑house compliance technology stack and dedicated screening team. Automated intake, risk‑based routing, and integrated controls reduced the internal effort required to collect information, perform screenings, escalate concerns, and document how due diligence issues were resolved, allowing legal and compliance departments to focus scarce headcount on complex, judgment‑intensive matters. When boards, auditors, or enforcement agencies requested evidence of the organization’s third‑party program, in‑house leaders could point to centralized records showing risk classifications, diligence activities performed, red flags identified, mitigation measures applied, and approval outcomes — all housed within Taft TTP and embedded in business workflows rather than ad hoc manual practices. The result was more consistent, transparent due diligence, stronger governance, and greater confidence that third‑party risks were being managed in a way that supports both business growth and regulatory expectations.

For more information on Taft TTP, please reach out to Taft partners Trent Sandifur or Daniel Solomon.