Focus on what really matters
We support companies in anchoring compliance and integrity effectively and sustainably – with sound expertise and innovative tools and solutions that prove their worth in everyday life.
Our advice combines legal precision with entrepreneurial understanding and a clear eye for the essentials.
We also ensure that compliance management systems, whether anti-corruption compliance, data protection compliance or environmental and human rights compliance, are checked for effectiveness and adapted where necessary.
Our approach is holistic: we provide support in setting up preventive compliance structures, conduct effectiveness analyses to check whether existing compliance management systems are appropriate and effective, and develop tailor-made strategies for environmental and human rights compliance.
We always keep an eye on both the regulatory requirements and your business objectives.
Preventive compliance
Compliance is more than risk minimization. Robust compliance creates trust, protects a company and strengthens sustainable corporate governance. We advise on the development and implementation of effective compliance management systems, from risk analysis, guidelines, training and communication to internal control mechanisms and the digitalization of key compliance processes.
Whether for sensitive decisions, challenging situations or when it comes to avoiding individual liability: We support you with legal precision, entrepreneurial vision and a clear focus on practicable, effective and future-oriented solutions.
Our services:
We work with you to develop an effective compliance management system that is tailored to your specific business needs and risks. We advise you on the strategic and organizational anchoring as well as on the design of the individual elements – be it training and communication, whistleblowing and case management, dealing with business partners, guidelines or compliance in connection with company mergers and acquisitions.
We plan and carry out systematic compliance risk analyses in the areas of corruption, fraud, antitrust law, export control, money laundering, data protection and environmental compliance. We support you in identifying and evaluating company-specific compliance risks and integrating the results into company-wide risk management and overall reporting.
We draft compliance regulations and work with you to design your House of Policies, derived from your corporate values and your code of conduct. In doing so, we attach just as much importance to guidelines that are consistent and tailored to the target group as to a clear hierarchy of standards, a uniform approach (policy of policies) and regular adjustments to the individual rules in line with the latest regulations and case law.
Raising awareness of compliance issues among governing bodies, managers and employees and training them in how to deal with them is the best guarantee for successful compliance in practice. We design company-specific training concepts, work with you to determine the right target groups and provide you with training material on all relevant compliance topics. On request, we can, upon request, also train executive bodies, managers and employees who are particularly exposed to risk or advise you on suitable online training providers.
An essential core of our consulting practice is the development and implementation of innovative compliance tools and IT-supported compliance applications. Our cloud-based Compliance Risk Monitor module, for example, analyzes the extent to which a company is exposed to potential corruption, antitrust, fraud, money laundering and other risks worldwide. The module also supports compliance officers in defining, assigning and managing suitable measures to minimize risks and offers the option of creating reports in real time and documenting compliance measures on a daily basis.
Effectiveness tests & monitorships
We have repeatedly demonstrated our many years of experience in reviewing existing compliance management systems and analyzing their effectiveness, particularly as an independent compliance monitor. Our experience let’s us know that: An effective compliance management system is not a product of chance.
That’s why we have a high standard of objectivity, thoroughness and quality when assessing how well existing structures work in your company – fact-based, risk-oriented and with a trained eye for gaps and potential for improvement. As part of gap analyses and compliance health checks, we evaluate the appropriateness and effectiveness of your CMS, both in terms of design and operational implementation. For comprehensive effectiveness checks, we also analyze risky transactions.
Our services:
Our gap analyses and health checks give you – as a board member, General Counsel or newly appointed Chief Compliance Officer – a well-founded overview of the status quo of your CMS. The results enable fact-based decisions to be made on the further development of the system and are also suitable for preparing for external audits and certifications (e.g. IDW PS 980, ISO 19600/37001). When assessing the appropriateness and effectiveness, we look at both the structural and procedural organization and examine the design as well as the operational implementation of all central components, from guidelines and control mechanisms to processes and standards of conduct.
If your CMS is already fully developed, we go further than a gap analysis or a health check: we specifically analyze risky transactions and the rollout of the compliance program in particularly risk-exposed departments or subsidiaries. This allows us to check the effective implementation across all parts of the company and processes – with a critical eye on how effectively your CMS is implemented company-wide.
Under certain circumstances, it may be of interest to companies to initiate a “voluntary monitorship” in order to check the maturity and effectiveness of a compliance program and internal control system. We know the relevant minimum requirements and best practice standards for this, including in an international environment. This is why clients rely on us when it comes to optimizing their processes or having the degree to which they have dealt with compliance violations (remediation) tested by an independent party.
We navigate our clients through the compliance and governance complexity of their M&A transactions: from the preparation and structuring phase through negotiations to the final closing and post-acquisition integration. We conduct deal and IPO readiness checks, carry out independent integrity assessments after closing with a view to possible successor liability of the acquirer (“safe harbor policy”) and also review post-deal compliance.
Environmental and human rights compliance
Environmental and human rights compliance is not just a legal obligation: it is a central pillar of modern corporate management and essential for long-term success.
Compliance with environmental regulations not only secures the operating license, but also strengthens the market position. It protects companies from liability and reputational risks and secures access to equity capital and financing.
At the same time, the regulatory framework surrounding environmental, social and governance (ESG) issues and environmental health & safety (EHS) is becoming increasingly complex, both nationally and internationally.
In order to provide you with professional support in this area as well, we created a specialized team for environmental compliance from experienced environmental lawyers and management consultants at an early stage.
Our services:
We support you when it comes to complying with environmental regulations and help you to avoid legal pitfalls and liability risks. Our advice covers the construction and operation of environmentally relevant facilities (especially in the industrial, energy and chemical sectors, as well as other legally relevant activities). In doing so, we take into account the entire spectrum of environmental law provisions at national and European level that are relevant to your company – from emissions law, soil protection law, recycling and waste management law to water law. We also regularly advise on the new requirements of climate protection, emissions trading law, ESG and supply chain law as defense against and avoidance of greenwashing or climate lawsuits.
We represent you in dealings with authorities – in application, approval, administrative and objection proceedings – and in court proceedings when it comes to enforcing or defending against claims. We develop strategic solutions for defending against or amicably settling regulatory measures, but are also available for comprehensive defense in regulatory offense or environmental criminal law proceedings.
Compliance with environmental laws is an integral part of a compliance management system. Our experience from countless due diligence audits and disputes with environmental authorities puts us in a position to uncover environmental risks in real estate and corporate transactions and violations of environmental regulations within the company and to provide support in taking practical remedial action in such cases.
We guide you through complex regulatory processes for environmental damage, including large and complex contaminated site cases. We help you to meet legal obligations and minimize costs.
We support you in communicating with the relevant authorities, developing remediation concepts and coordinating experts and remediation companies. We negotiate remediation contracts under public law with the authorities on your behalf and examine recourse options vis-à-vis polluters or insurance companies. Our goal: legally compliant and economically viable damage remediation that meets both ecological requirements and your business interests.
We review the design and effective implementation of your environmental compliance management system and make specific recommendations regarding the organization of your company. We help you set up efficient structures and integrate them into the existing organization and relevant processes. In this way, we ensure that the regulatory requirements are implemented in a way that precisely matches the company’s risk profile and that responsibility is sensibly distributed within the management and, if necessary, among plant managers and other representatives.
Sound legal expertise paired with practical and innovative solutions.
