PRIME LEGAL ABOGADOS also has a Compliance Department which is made up of a multidisciplinary team of expert jurists, economists and consultants who provide preventive legal advice for all types of organizations, foundations, associations and business federations on regulatory compliance, corporate security and risk prevention and management.
In view of the international recommendations by the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) on the prevention of corruption and bribery in business, our legislators decided to add various legal figures in 2010 to the Spanish Criminal Code by means of article 31 bis of the Criminal Code such as Criminal Compliance Programs and the Compliance Officer so that they would oversee, supervise and control the application of policies, procedures and protocols within their companies to prevent and detect possible violations and thus prevent any criminal liability for the company, its governing bodies and management.
Recently added to these recommendations was Directive (EU) 1937/2019 on Whistleblowers’ protection (also known as the “Whistleblowing” Directive) which would require certain private companies and all public sector entities to implement these measures to prevent and detect conducts constituting violations as of December 2021.
For these reasons, PRIME LEGAL ABOGADOS has a firm commitment to offering its business clients outstanding consulting services through its Compliance Department to design, prepare, implement, train on, manage and audit Criminal Compliance Programs.
These consulting services are particularly aimed at all types of companies in the private sector (from large enterprises to SMEs) as well as the public sector (municipal corporations, mixed enterprises, schools, vocational training centers, etc.).
Besides, at Prime Legal Abogados we are aware of the new risks faced by companies and private individuals, and of the necessity of giving them proper coverage, with the highest standards of ethics, seriousness and quality. For that end, we collaborate with external consultants of our trust, with the aim of offering reputational due diligence and fraud prevention services, private investigations (giving support to the other departments of Prime Legal Abogados), industrial espionage prevention, trade secrets and intellectual property protection, digital reputation protection, cybersecurity, forensics and electronic evidence, and security consulting.
The Risk Management team is coordinated by Daniel Paes Julián and is led, as external consultant, by Enrique de Madrid – Dávila, who will be in charge of providing all services in this area. Enrique is a professional private detective and consultant since 1986. Specialized in Corporate Security, Information Protection, Risk Management and Compliance. He has a broad experience handling fraud, corruption, extorsion, blackmail, bribery, white collar crimes, reputation attacks, espionage and related issues. He has been trained at specialist security centers and universities in the US, Israel, England, Italy and Spain, and has been distinguished with “A” and “B” mentions in the Spanish Ministry of Interior National Police Force. Also, he has been Vice-Chair of the Official Private Detective Association of Catalonia.
The professional services offered by our Compliance Department consist of:
a) Designing, preparing, implementing and reviewing Criminal Compliance and Anti-Bribery Management Systems (criminal risk maps and analyses, protocols and controls, etc.)
b) Managing situations of conflict and possible criminal risks which may arise within a business organization when doing business.
c) Providing legal-criminal advisory services on Compliance and Anti-Bribery for those responsible for regulatory compliance and/or Compliance and Corporate Security Departments.
d) Face-to-face and virtual training on Compliance and Anti-Bribery for members of governing bodies, management and employees of all types of organizations.
e) The design, preparation, implementation and review of Whistleblowing Channels or Ethics Channels pursuant to international and national standards (ISO – UNE) as well as European and Spanish laws.
f) Internal investigation or verification procedures aimed at verifying the existence of a possible breach, non-conformity or violation within the company.
g) Pre-audits and audits for Criminal Compliance and Anti-Bribery Management Systems in order to obtain ISO 37301, ISO 37001 and UNE 19601 certification.
Situations of distrust and conflict often arise in business, which must be handled with checks and due diligence to monitor third parties. Asset verifications and searches, personal and corporate reputation reports as well as know-your-client investigations are some of the necessary activities in this area. Also, eventually and in the frame of business acquisitions, it might be convenient to carry out a minimum verification activity on the reputation of the target company and of its key managers, all the foregoing in full conformity with the Law and with the highest ethical standards.
People often find themselves in personal or family conflicts and need to submit evidence to the Courts. Such conflicts can at times affect economic interests as well as child custody, inheritances issues, threats and coercion, among other kind of problems that must be solved. In this sense, our Risk Management Department is at the disposal of the professionals of Prime Legal Abogados to give support to their clients whenever needed, so that their interests are always preserved in the best possible manner.
Industrial espionage is a habitual practice in aggressive business atmospheres. The fight for assets such as R&D, production processes, customer lists, strategic plans, market launches, etc. can provoke information struggles between companies and their competitors. Tapped phones, tracking, email monitoring, document theft/copying and recruiting personnel from the competition are all classic examples of the activities involved. For these reasons, our Risk Management Department supports you in facing such risks, by implementing the adequate security measures.
Brand names, products, designs, production processes, market studies, reports, etc. They’re all precious assets which the competition may copy or falsify, thus taking advantage of the prestige and investments made by third parties. Given that they are of crucial value, they must be protected with activities aimed at legally, organizationally and financially incapacitate any type of unlawful parallel use or commercialization network. Gathering information and finding evidence are basic defensive measures.
Individual profile preparation based on open sources (OSINT). Internet and social media tracking services to detect defamatory or false information about a natural person or legal entity. Guidance on how to eliminate electronically published information.
The virtual accessibility of information and communication systems has opened up all sorts of previously unknown vulnerabilities due to the ease of finding and using tools to commit crimes, not to mention the possibilities of anonymity, distances, lack of clear legal limitations and the difficulty of securing solid evidence for submission in Court proceedings. The number of “open doors” and “criminal tools” that may be used to harm someone’s interests have multiplied exponentially. Electronic evidence gathering and forensic examinations of computing resources are thus essential to face said threats.
Advising on risk management for corporations, initiatives, projects and events. We have extensive experience planning corporate security in addition to protecting facilities and people. Support with security and risk management needs in third countries.
