Compliance + Internal Investigations
Our Compliance & Internal Investigations practice group advises companies from the local to the global level. This encompasses preventive advice to implement and refine effective compliance systems, conducting internal investigations to check for breaches, and representing clients in administrative or judicial proceedings as needed. We have a strong team that successfully manages crises and can support you on short notice.
In the face of increasing regulation and sanctions, it is paramount to invest in compliance to reduce risk and liability. Even with a fully operational system in place, potential breaches must be investigated and whistleblowers must be protected from reprisal. It must be clearly communicated within the company that compliance is both expected and valued.
We can provide regular training and targeted information so that everyone is on the same page, from the management to the employee level. Effective leaders set the tone from the top when it comes to compliance.
Dieter Thalhammer: “Naturally we help companies develop compliance programs, but we also regularly evaluate existing ones. Our goal is to prevent breaches and minimize liability risks as far as possible. Many years of experience have proved to us that a fresh look from the outside and the associated adjustments can often greatly impact a program’s effectiveness.”
If a breach is suspected, it is important to react immediately by conducting an internal investigation to determine how the company can best be protected.
Erika Stark-Rittenauer: “We provide discreet and efficient support to domestic and international clients in all areas of law, especially in white-collar defense and antitrust. Together, we complete an internal investigation and decide on the optimal strategy. Sometimes simple adjustments are sufficient; other times the most prudent course is to report to and cooperate with the authorities. We are committed to finding customized solutions with strategic foresight.”
If official investigations are already underway, we can provide professional crisis management. Allegations, whether civil or criminal, can put a company under a lot of stress as it potentially faces not just fines or penalties, but also damage to its reputation.
We can capably advise you on parallel criminal and competition law proceedings, defending against claims for damages, and questions of corporate criminal liability. It is our goal to craft a proactive defense strategy specific to your needs that begins as early as the preliminary investigation.
OUR FIELDS OF EXPERTISE
Compliance & Investigations
- Creating, evaluating, and optimizing compliance management systems (CMS), guidelines, manuals, and compact codes of conduct
- Company-specific risk analyses
- Prevention, early detection, and response
- Customized training, e-learning programs, and workshops (in particular on white-collar defense, antitrust law, dawn raids, and anti-corruption)
- Whistleblowing systems: implementation, support, and advice on the Austrian Whistleblower Protection Act
- Compliance as a Service (CaaS) – Your external compliance department or compliance officer
- Conducting internal investigations
- Forensic investigations to preserve evidence
- Advice and legal support during audits by the court of auditors
- Crisis management and legal communication advice (internal/external)
- Advice on compliance issues in the supervisory board
- Antitrust compliance
- Advice on cooperation between competitors
- Internal investigations
- Support during dawn raids, seizures, and confiscations by competition and criminal prosecution authorities (including mock dawn raids and training)
- Advice on white-collar crime
- Advice on corruption law
- Advice on corporate criminal law (VbVG)
- Support during dawn raids, seizures and confiscations by law enforcement authorities
Key experts
