Investigations & Compliance 360°

In an increasingly demanding regulatory, litigation and reputational environment, compliance and internal investigations can no longer be addressed in silos. They must be designed as a comprehensive framework, integrating prevention, detection, investigation, remediation, defence and the enhancement of compliance programmes. 

CMS Francis Lefebvre supports French and international companies with an integrated “Comprehensive investigations et compliance” offering, providing coverage of the full compliance risk lifecycle, both in France and abroad. 

Our aim is simple: to offer our clients a one-stop shop capable of designing, implementing, testing, defending and, if necessary, transforming their compliance and crisis management frameworks, across all relevant areas and in all jurisdictions where they operate. 

Thanks to our full-service model and the strength of CMS’s global reach (around 400 CMS lawyers worldwide working on investigations and compliance matters), we draw on the necessary legal, sector-specific, litigation and international expertise from our Paris office to handle the most sensitive issues. This approach enables us to deliver a solution that is comprehensive, coordinated, operational and defensible, bringing together teams specialising in corporate criminal law, competition law, employment law, data privacy, litigation, corporate law, international trade, tax law, ESG, customs, public law and cross-border investigations. 

Our organisation is based on a comprehensive project management approach, enabling us to support clients at every stage: risk assessment, mapping, programme design, operational implementation, due diligence and audits, internal investigations, assistance during regulatory inspections or authority-led investigations, remediation, monitoring, criminal or regulatory settlements, litigation, reporting and compliance communications. 

We therefore act not only in response to issues or crises, but also proactively, helping companies secure their growth, including in complex or high-risk environments. 

Our offering covers all the key elements of the core of our comprehensive approach. 

Design and structuring 

We help our clients assess their risks, conduct risk assessments and translate these analyses into robust, actionable risk maps tailored to their business activities, geographical locations, third parties and operations. 

We also design and structure comprehensive and proportionate compliance programmes: governance frameworks, codes of conduct, policies and procedures, whistleblowing systems, controls, training, documentation, remediation plans and defence architecture. 

Operational implementation 

We support companies in the operational implementation of their compliance programmes, ensuring that they are embedded within the business and adapted to ground realities. 

This includes, in particular, third-party due diligence, third-party audits, M&A due diligence, post-acquisition integration, as well as the implementation of compliance measures across operations, the supply chain, subsidiaries and joint ventures. 

Auditing, testing and defence readiness 

We carry out group compliance audits, country audits, targeted reviews and stress tests of existing systems. We also assist companies in preparing for and managing regulatory controls, inspections and reviews. 

We therefore work both on the substance of the programme and its defensibility vis-à-vis authorities, investors, business partners, auditors, NGOs or courts. 

Investigating and managing sensitive situations 

We conduct internal investigations in France and abroad, including in sensitive or multi-jurisdictional contexts, drawing on the firm’s relevant expertise and, where necessary, forensic technology and forensic accounting specialists, particularly through our dedicated service: CMS Evidence. 

We also assist with supply chain investigations, allegations involving third parties, books and records reviews, accounting or transactional analyses, as well as the preparation of materials for submission to authorities, ad hoc committees or governance bodies. 

Supporting crisis, negotiation and monitorship phases 

We assist companies in their dealings with prosecuting, regulatory or supervisory authorities in France and abroad, including in the context of regulatory or criminal investigations, CJIPs/DPAs, negotiated settlements, supervised remediation or monitorships. 

Our approach combines internal investigation, cooperation strategy, legal protection for the company, defence of executives and ensuring the operational sustainability of the remediation. 

Defending, reporting and enhancing 

Finally, we represent our clients in compliance-related litigation and assist them with reporting on and enhancing their compliance frameworks, particularly in the context of regulatory reports, sustainability reports, reference documents, institutional communications or responses to the expectations of investors and stakeholders. 

Our Comprehensive investigations and compliance offering covers all matters relevant to businesses, including: 

Anti-corruption	Fraud	Economic sanctions	Export controls	Regulatory Compliance and AML/CFT (Anti-Money Laundering and Counter-Terrorist Financing
Human Rights	Environment	Personal Data	Competition law	Tax law

In other words, we do not treat compliance as a standalone practice area, but as a cross-cutting approach that can be applied to all areas where the company may be exposed to regulatory, criminal, civil, commercial, employment, reputational or ESG risks. 

One of CMS Francis Lefebvre’s distinctive strengths lies in its ability to bring together, under a single coordinated approach, the expertise required to handle complex matters: corporate criminal law, competition law, employment law, data privacy, corporate law, M&A, international trade, tax law, litigation, ESG, public sector law, customs and sector-specific regulation. 

With over 90 CMS offices across over 50 countries where our firm operates, we can thus assemble integrated teams to conduct investigations, audits and remediation projects across multiple jurisdictions, with a high level of methodological consistency, risk management and operational pragmatism. 

Our Comprehensive investigations and compliance offering is built on hands-on experience of sensitive cases, often cross-border, both in France and abroad. 

It draws on teams whose partners and lawyers include pioneers in these areas, some with more than twenty years’ experience in major investigations, complex remediation programmes and the first monitorships involving French companies on a global scale. 

It also stands out for its strong corporate transactional background: some of our lawyers have held senior corporate roles in the areas of compliance, monitorship and major international investigations, giving us a hands-on understanding of internal processes, business constraints and the expectations of legal and compliance departments. 

We regularly assist companies with internal investigations, compliance audits, regulatory inspections, regulatory or criminal investigations, as well as with the resulting remediation, defence and system-strengthening measures, including during field assignments in complex or high-risk countries, notably Ukraine, Venezuela, Brazil, Bangladesh, Jordan, the United Arab Emirates, Romania and Morocco. 

This comprehensive approach enables our clients to: 

• have a single point of contact capable of coordinating all aspects of a sensitive matter;  
• avoid gaps between prevention, investigation, defence and remediation;  
• secure operations, development projects, acquisitions and value chains;  
• engage with the authorities using more robust and defensible frameworks; and 
• better integrate compliance issues into the company’s strategy, governance and sustainable performance. 
   

Corporate Crime, Investigations & Compliance

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Anti-Money Laundering (AML) & Regulatory Compliance

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GDPR

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Dispute Resolution

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Corporate 

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Public Law

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Employment, Labour & Pensions