Legal skills

Compliance, a demand formulated as the obligation for an enterprise to show that it is organised in such a way that any person depending upon it behaves in accordance with the rules in force, is an American idea.

The enterprise proves in advance that its whole structure and any person depending upon it meets the general rules of the system upon which it itself depends. This considerable effort enables it to circumvent the charge of a risky Ex Post: compliance is the noun corresponding to the English probative maxim “Comply or Explain”.*

When it comes to compliance, also known as conformity, the office has several years of acknowledged expertise across the following fields :

• Personal data;
• Software licences;

With the entry into force :

• In March 2017 of the Act on enterprises’ duty of care;
• In June 2017 of the provisions of the law on transparency, the fight against corruption and the modernisation of economic life (Sapin 2);
• In May 2018 of the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR);
• In July 2018 of the “anti-gift” Act;
• In December 2018 of the declaration of extra-financial performance (DPEF).

The office has substantially expanded this expertise on a transverse basis, in terms of both advice and litigation.

It now offers a full spread of services, enabling “compliance programmes” to be put in place and tracked.

Within the conduct of the tasks entrusted to it, the office :

• Carries out audits, either alone or in partnership with outside technical consultants;
• Participates in the drafting of processing logs;
• Drafts and negotiates data processing agreements;
• Participates in risk mapping;
• Draws up charters and codes of conduct;
• Participates in the drafting and updating of vigilance plans;

Compliance, a demand formulated as the obligation for an enterprise to show that it is organised in such a way that any person depending upon it behaves in accordance with the rules in force, is an American idea.

• Validates ethical alert mechanisms;
• Supervises respect for obligations in terms of personal data associated with anti-corruption measures and vigilance plans;
• Participates in the framing of all the internal documents necessary for the implementation of compliance programmes;
• Assists its clients during control operations carried out by the French National Commission for Data Protection and Liberties (CNIL) and the French anti-corruption agency (AFA);
• Assists its clients in the event of sanctions.

Lastly, the office is a member of the “Cercle de la compliance” www.lecercledelacompliance.com, within which it runs thematic workshops and delivers presentations at conferences.

*Freson-Roche, Le Droit de la Compliance, Working Paper, 2016, http://mafr.fr/fr/article/le-droit-de-la-compliance/