Business criminal law

Presentation

The increasing criminalization of business exposes organizations and their managers to the risk of enforcement measures that require an appropriate legal response. We put our judicial DNA and criminal defense know-how into serving our clients.

Beyond now irrigating all sectors of business, criminal law enforcement is a powerful lever in economic warfare. Whether prosecuted by French or foreign authorities, or triggered by competitors or activists, criminal risk has become an essential parameter in any organization’s decision-making process.

With its experienced, multidisciplinary lawyers, our firm advises and defends companies and their legal representatives in all areas of white-collar crime: tax criminal law, corporate criminal law, stock market criminal law, offences against competition and consumer law, labor criminal law, compliance law, environmental criminal law, etc.

Thanks to our solid experience in criminal defense and the diversity of our practices, we are able to provide our clients with tailor-made, sector-specific defense, in line with their operational constraints.

Our team advises and assists companies and their legal representatives before the occurrence of any criminal risk (training of directors and key employees, drafting compliance programs, conducting audits, document review, drafting legal advices, drafting contractual provisions, conducting internal investigation, etc.) and after the initiation of criminal proceedings (preliminary investigation, judicial investigation, negotiating agreements with the public prosecutor’s office, defense before the criminal court, etc.).

We advise and defend our clients, whether they are victims or defendants in criminal proceedings.

Related distinctions 3

ADVISING

Conducting audits to prevent criminal risks (document review, assessment of criminal liability transfer, criminal qualifications, drafting contractual provisions, etc.)
Structuring report lines and powers of attorney between management, control and supervisory bodies, officers and operating divisions
Drafting programs and action plans to mitigate criminal risks (risk mapping, anticorruption program, gift policy, economic sanctions program)
Training directors, corporate officers and key employees (practical trainings, crisis units, preparing for police custody, preparing for a hearing, preparing for a search, business ethics awareness, training on the conduct of an internal investigation, etc.).

INTERNAL INVESTIGATION

Assisting clients on steering internal investigations (scope, resources to be deployed, dedicated team, conducting interviews, etc.)
Cooperating with other partners (forensic or business intelligence firms)
Determining the outcome of the internal investigations (closure of the investigations, voluntary disclosure to the authorities, civil liability action, dismissal of legal representatives, contract termination, etc.)
Defining remediation measures
Interfacing with French/foreign authorities in case of parallel judicial proceedings
Determining the impacts on criminal liability of the facts identified in the course of the internal investigation
Determining the criminal status of facts identified during the internal investigation

DEFENDING

Defending at each stage of the proceedings (preliminary investigation “enquête préliminaire”, judicial investigation “information judiciaire”, criminal court “tribunal correctionnel”)
Negotiating agreements with the public prosecutor’s office (deferred prosecution agreement “convention judiciaire d’intérêt public – CJIP”, guilty plea “comparution sur reconnaissance préalable de culpabilité – CRPC”)
Litigation relating to victim compensation
Processing of disputes arising from internal investigations (disciplinary sanctions, dismissals, contractual termination, etc.)
Interfacing with foreign lawyers in multi-jurisdictional cases and coordinating defense teams
Assisting with sentence enforcement