Business ethics and anti-corruption

Doing business internationally exposes companies to an increasingly complex, multi-national legal framework. The lawyers in our Business Ethics and Anti-Corruption Team in Canada are at the forefront of this rapidly evolving area of national and international law. We offer clients in all industry sectors and of all sizes legal advice on business ethics and anti-corruption. We are a leading practice because:

We offer a full range of legal services – Our lawyers assist clients with risk assessments, development of policies and compliance programs, internal investigations, external investigations and prosecutions by national and international regulatory authorities and litigation defence services. We also provide structuring and due diligence for international business transactions in an increasingly complex, multi-national framework. Our clients include businesses in the mining and energy sectors, financial institutions and transportation and telecommunications companies.
We advise on reputation management and risk mitigation – We help clients to manage legal, reputational and operational risks and to achieve best standards both nationally and internationally. Our team advises Canadian companies on compliance with anti-corruption legislation and policies in force at the provincial, federal and international levels. We identify risky practices and provide concrete measures to eliminate them. We not only assist in the development of policy and audit procedures, but provide training to ensure that it is put into practice. Where an event giving rise to reputational risk has occurred, our experienced team conducts an internal investigation in order to deal with the situation as proactively as possible and thereby mitigate any consequence to our client.
We provide valuable advice on procurement and due diligence - Where our clients are expanding their operations into new markets, merging or acquiring new businesses or working with new partners, our lawyers identify potential risks and propose strategies to reduce our clients’ exposure. We advise clients competing for government contracts and contracts funded by development banks to minimize their risk of disqualification from participation in government and other tenders. Our team assists business to identify and manage actual and potential conflicts of interest, avoid any illegal use of confidential information and comply with lobbying legislation.
We have extensive experience in investigations and litigation defense - Our team provides assistance, advice and representation with respect to the Corruption of Foreign Public Officials Act (CFPOA), Canada’s Criminal Code, the Proceeds of Crime (Money Laundering) and Terrorist Financing Act, as well as similar laws in other countries that apply to the international activities of Canadian businesses. We help our clients avoid potential consequences such as fines, imprisonment and debarment from participation in future government tenders.
We provide a unique international team and perspective – Our Canadian team is part of the global business ethics and anti-corruption team. This gives our firm the unique ability to offer clients a comprehensive multi-jurisdictional approach to business ethics and anti-corruption issues in Canada, the United States, South America, Europe, Asia Pacific, Africa and the Middle East. Our one-team approach and international reach means our clients get full support from one firm globally.