Prevent before the investigation. Establish the facts when an alert arises. Train so that the right reflexes hold up under pressure.

Criminal risk rarely enters a company through the front door.

It appears in a report, an incident, a long-standing practice that no one has ever really questioned, an announced inspection or a decision whose logic may one day have to be explained.

Vouland Avocats assists companies, public bodies and their directors in identifying these risks, conducting the necessary investigations and preparing teams for sensitive situations.

Our approach is based on a simple idea: prevention is more useful when it is designed by those who know what an investigation will look for and what a court will require to be proven.

Prevention, through a criminal lawyer’s eyes

A compliance policy can be legally accurate and practically ineffective.

A procedure may exist without being understood. A delegation of authority may be signed without matching the power actually exercised. An alert may be received without anyone knowing precisely who must act, within what time frame and with what documents.

A procedure that no one knows about mainly protects the binder in which it is filed.

Our work consists in comparing internal rules with how the organisation really works:

• who decides and who approves;
• how information flows;
• where the controls lie;
• what records are kept;
• how an anomaly is escalated;
• who acts when the risk materialises.

It is not about adding a layer of paperwork. It is about making responsibilities clearer, decisions more explainable and the company’s response more reliable.

Auditing: looking at the organisation before an investigation does

A criminal law audit makes it possible to identify situations in which the company’s activity, decisions or failures could be classified as criminal offences.

It is not limited to a list of offences. It examines how the organisation really works.

Depending on the sector and the need, our work may include:

• analysis of the business, organisation chart and delegations of authority;
• review of procedures, approval channels and control systems;
• interviews with directors, in-house lawyers, control functions and operational teams;
• identification of risks specific to white-collar, environmental, employment, health or regulated-activity criminal law;
• assessment of the documents capable of establishing the company’s prevention, control and response;
• prioritisation of vulnerabilities and corrective measures.

The findings do not take the form of a generic risk map. They distinguish between what must be dealt with immediately, what must be organised and what simply needs to be better documented.

They may lead to revising a delegation, clarifying an alert channel, formalising a control procedure, preparing a crisis protocol or designing targeted training.

Investigating: establishing the facts, not confirming a hunch

An internal investigation is neither a private trial nor a cover for a decision already taken.

It must enable the organisation to understand what happened, distinguish established facts from hypotheses and decide on a sufficiently documented basis.

An investigation may be necessary following a report or suspicion of:

• fraud, misappropriation or conflict of interest;
• corruption or breach of probity;
• harassment, discrimination or violence at work;
• a breach of a safety rule;
• harm to the environment;
• a breach of an internal procedure or regulatory obligation.

Framing the assignment

Together with the competent body, we define the purpose of the investigation, its governance, scope, resources, timetable and the form of the report.

Preserving relevant material

We identify the necessary documents and data, taking into account the rights of individuals, the rules applicable to personal data and the organisation’s own constraints.

Interviewing

Interviews are prepared on the basis of the available documents. The people interviewed are informed of the framework within which the lawyer is acting. Statements are compared with the documents and other material gathered.

Analysing

We distinguish between established facts, unestablished facts and points that remain uncertain. The aim is not to force reality into a legal classification chosen in advance.

Reporting and deciding

The report, written or oral depending on the assignment, sets out the findings, the risks identified and the various possible next steps: further investigation, protective measures, disciplinary proceedings, reporting to the authorities, a complaint, corrective measures or no further action.

The company decides. Our role is to enable it to do so with full knowledge of the facts.

Why entrust the investigation to a criminal lawyer?

Because an internal investigation may become part of a judicial investigation.

The documents gathered, the questions asked, the interview notes and the conclusions drawn may be reread, sometimes long afterwards, by an investigative service, a judge, an administrative authority or a court.

A criminal lawyer’s perspective makes it possible to anticipate this interplay:

• preserve relevant material without altering the evidence;
• distinguish between an internal anomaly and what may constitute an offence;
• identify the possible liabilities of the legal entity and of individuals;
• spot conflicts of interest that may require separate counsel;
• prepare the next steps without compromising any future defence.

Professional secrecy and the lawyer’s ethical rules govern the assignment. The people interviewed must nevertheless be clearly informed of who the lawyer’s client is and of the framework of the interview.

Training: rehearsing before a crisis sets the pace

A search is a bad time to discover the organisation chart, look for the protocol or wonder who should call whom.

Training turns an abstract rule into an operational reflex.

Our training courses are built around three stages.

Assess

We gather needs, internal documents, the organisation chart, incidents already encountered and the risks specific to the sector. Training for a legal department is not designed in the same way as training for site managers or operational managers.

Role-play

We work on concrete cases drawn from practice: receiving an alert, an accident, an inspection, a voluntary interview, police custody, a search, an urgent request from an investigator or a sensitive decision.

Debrief

Each role-play is followed by structured feedback: what was understood, what was missing, what needs to be corrected and which reflexes to keep.

Training may cover in particular:

• the criminal liability of the company, the director and delegates;
• delegations of authority and the traceability of decisions;
• handling internal alerts;
• harassment and psychosocial risks;
• corruption and breaches of probity;
• environmental criminal law;
• workplace accidents and industrial risks;
• what to do during a search, an inspection or an interview;
• managing a criminal and reputational crisis.

Compliance: building rules that stand up to reality

Compliance does not mean promising that no incident will ever occur.

It must make it possible to reduce risk, clarify responsibilities, detect anomalies and demonstrate how the organisation prevented and handled a difficulty.

Depending on needs and the applicable obligations, we work on:

• internal whistleblowing systems and their handling protocol;
• preventing corruption and breaches of probity;
• delegations of authority and responsibility charts;
• procedures relating to harassment, safety and accidents;
• protocols for inspections, searches and crisis management;
• training programmes and keeping them up to date.

We work with the functions already present in the organisation: legal, compliance, human resources, audit, internal control, the DPO, site managers and regular advisers.

Our aim is not to replace their expertise. It is to add the perspective of criminal defence.

A method adapted to each organisation

Understanding the need

An initial discussion makes it possible to identify the situation, the people concerned, the time frames and the legal, human or reputational issues.

Building the team

The assignment is carried out by a team sized to its purpose: one or more partners, assisted where useful by an associate and independent technical experts.

Organising the assignment

We define the documents needed, the contacts, the stages, the rules for the circulation of information and the reporting arrangements.

Delivering usable tools

Our recommendations are prioritised and translated into actions: decisions to take, procedures to create or correct, people to train, controls to introduce and an implementation timetable.

For which organisations?

We work with:

• SMEs, mid-sized companies and groups;
• public bodies and local authorities;
• associations and foundations;
• industrial companies and regulated activities;
• legal, compliance and human resources departments;
• directors, managers and operational leaders.

The firm is based in Marseille with a presence in Paris. It acts throughout France.

Frequently asked questions

When should an internal investigation be launched?

When a report or incident is sufficiently precise or serious to require checks. Whether to launch an investigation, its scope and its resources depend on the nature of the facts, the applicable obligations and the initial information available.

Must an internal investigation always result in a written report?

No. The form of the report depends on the purpose of the assignment, the recipient, the risks identified and the intended next steps. It must be determined at the framing stage and may be reassessed if the situation changes.

Do the company and the people interviewed have the same lawyer?

The lawyer conducting the investigation acts for the client who entrusted them with the assignment, usually the company or one of its bodies. They do not become the lawyer of the people interviewed and must inform them of this. If their interests so require, those people may be assisted by their own counsel.

Does a criminal law audit imply that an offence has been committed?

No. An audit is a preventive exercise. It aims to identify areas of exposure, assess existing systems and propose improvements before an incident or proceedings occur.

Are training courses adapted to the company’s sector?

Yes. The content is built around the business, the organisation, the risks identified and the participants’ level of responsibility. Case studies and role-plays are adapted to the situations they may actually encounter.

An alert to deal with. A risk to map. Teams to prepare.

The right system is not the one with the most pages. It is the one the organisation will know how to use when the situation demands it.