Investigations

We help businesses fulfil their regulatory obligations to train their employees adequately, put in place and maintain appropriate governance structures, implement key policies, and horizon scan for new risks.

Governance structures and compliance processes are of vital importance in mitigating risk and maintaining a strong sustainability and ESG proposition. We help our clients navigate the "G" in ESG, which comprise complex and competing undertakings, requiring boards to keep track of regulatory change at a time when policy agendas are experiencing conflicting political and economic pressures, at the same time as meeting shareholder expectations of strong financial returns and the fundamental interests of stakeholders and wider society in the creation of a long-term sustainable business.

Our clients trust us to help them to navigate these complex and sometimes competing considerations with robust and practical advice which takes account of the specific needs of their business and the realities of the business environment in which they operate.

Please see our Crisis Management and Investigations, and our ESG pages for more information

Our lawyers are market-leading experts in regulatory investigations, enforcement actions and disciplinary proceedings across a range of sectors. We know how to engage with regulators across the spectrum to achieve the best outcome for you. Our lawyers have a keen and nuanced understanding of the way regulators think as many have previous experience working for regulators and within regulated institutions.

We are highly experienced in dealing with regulators in the UK, USA and Europe, including investigations by:

• The Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) and Prudential Regulation Authority (PRA)
  
  
• The Serious Fraud Office (SFO)
  
  
• The Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) and the European Commission
  
  
• His Majesty's Revenue and Customs (HMRC)
  
  
• The US Department of Justice
  
  
• The Environment Agency
  
  
• The Health and Safety Executive (HSE)
  
  
• The Pensions Regulator
  
  
• UK Visas and Immigration

The European Securities and Markets Authority (ESMA)

Several authorities have statutory powers to conduct unannounced visits to investigate potential wrongdoing, known as "dawn raids", including the FCA, SFO, HMRC and the CMA. Each regulator has its respective jurisdiction and all have statutory grounds for obtaining a search warrant, with the CMA and HMRC also having limited powers to carry out a dawn raid without a search warrant.

Businesses must consider the impact of remote working on its raid protocol, as authorities may arrive at key individuals' homes. The Digital Markets Competition and Consumers Act has strengthened the CMA's powers to "seize and sift" evidence when conducting raids on domestic premises and to access documents stored remotely.

From a corporate governance perspective, it is imperative to have procedures in place which are tailored to your

business, ensure you understand the authorities' powers, and appropriately safeguard data. We work with clients to proactively put in place protocols, data processes and training of key employees, to support them in the event of a dawn raid and to implement any remedial advice.

We regularly advise clients across a range of sectors, from financial services and technology providers to sporting bodies, on the regulatory implications of transactions, including in European Commission competition investigations on alleged anti-competitive practices and investigations and market studies by the Competition and Markets Authority. We also provide compliance advice across the full range of competition issues.

Internal (including workplace) investigations continue to be on the rise, owing to a greater focus on conduct, culture and governance, an increase in whistleblowing, and heightened interest from regulators.

We get involved when there has been a trigger event, for instance a data breach or where an employee has blown the whistle or made formal complaints of bullying or harassment. We also conduct investigations when a client wants to take pre-emptive steps to manage a perceived potential risk: for example, where no formal complaint has been made but the organisation is aware of rumours.

We conduct internal investigations for existing clients and new clients who want to involve an independent firm, for example where their existing legal advisors are conflicted or credibility of the investigation is key.

Investigations typically involve complex and challenging situations, with associated high levels of risk for the client from a reputational perspective. We will interview appropriate individuals, review relevant documents, assess and analyse these collated facts and reach conclusions, producing and presenting a report of our findings. Our skill set enables us to conduct these investigations in a thorough manner and at the same time with sensitivity, practicality and business intelligence.

Where the nature of the investigation requires it, we bring in other lawyers within the firm to provide additional expertise (for example, from a corporate, regulatory or tax perspective). We are also well used to project managing external providers where their input is necessary for part of the investigation, such as accountants, auditors or IT forensic specialists.

A cyber-attack or security breach can manifest itself in many different ways and the risks that any particular breach poses to your business will be different every time. It may be that money has been intercepted or extorted, your confidential information may have been compromised or your business relationships put at risk. Our lawyers have experienced all of these situations and can guide you through them if the worst happens.

If, despite your best efforts, your business does have a security breach, you can rely upon our team of specialists to provide reassuring support and guidance.

We will work alongside you and your crisis management teams to advise on sensitive, business-critical, and potentially reputation-damaging, data security breaches. With our help, you can comply with regulatory requirements and mitigate the effects of the crisis as far as possible. Working closely with you is essential in this process and our lawyers are very used to becoming part of your crisis team. We will play a key role in liaising with regulators and other interested parties on your behalf.

We also help our clients to be proactive in planning for a security breach and will help you to devise strategies to minimise the effects.

Tax enquiries and investigations, whether they are informal enquiries, formal investigations or disputes in the tax tribunals and courts, can be costly and time-consuming for taxpayers.

Our commercial, practical and strategic advice means that we can ease that burden. Tax authorities have in recent years become more assertive in pursuing taxpayers and challenging their tax affairs. As well as the direct financial costs, taxpayers should be mindful of any potential reputational damage that can be caused by a tax enquiry or investigation. How taxpayers arrange their tax affairs is increasingly becoming a matter of significant public interest, with the media, general public and politicians increasingly focused on whether taxpayers are paying their 'fair share' of tax.

We encourage clients to be proactive and consider tax risk at the planning or the implementation phase of a transaction or arrangement. However, even the most careful of business is likely to be subject to some form of tax enquiry at some stage. Whilst the vast majority of these enquiries do not result in formal disputes, involving us early in the process means that potentially significant challenges by tax authorities can often be prevented or straightforwardly resolved. Although there is no "one size fits all" approach to resolving an enquiry or dispute, and possible solutions can range from relatively informal discussions with the UK tax authorities to full litigation, we have the knowledge and experience to help you choose and implement the most effective route for your business.

What happens if the UK tax authorities raise an enquiry and what should clients do? This interactive timeline breaks down the constituent parts of an early-stage tax dispute into practical, bitesize chunks.