For the second year, the Paris Bar School (EFB), led by its director, Gilles Accomando, has launched a professional training course on the practice of internal investigations for lawyers and now also for in-house counsels and French magistrates. Stéphane de Navacelle, Julie Zorrilla, Roxane Castro and Pauline Bomm, lawyers at Navacelle, are in charge of coordinating this program and will lead the ten sessions of this training course scheduled from October 2024 to June 2025, alongside speakers selected for their in-depth knowledge and experience of internal investigations in a variety of fields.

Although various practical guides provide guidelines or recommendations, there is currently no dedicated standard binding framework for internal investigations and the status of investigating lawyer, while this practice developed tremendously in France in recent years in all sectors.

The aim of this training course, with its practical approach based on the development of specific professional skills, is to establish good practice in internal investigations and to provide participants with the tools to plan, conduct and assess the consequences of internal investigations.

Practical, ethical and legal issues will be addressed by professionals from various fields (criminal law, compliance, employment law, public law, data protection law, regulatory, etc.). The sessions will follow the progress of an internal investigation, from the initial contact and identification of the client to the submission of the internal investigation report and its follow-up, including the drafting of an internal investigation plan, the anticipation of the steps to be taken, in particular the collection and processing of data, and the preparation and conduct of interviews. The course will begin with an introductory session outlining the legal framework that applies specifically to certain stages of the investigation and presenting the practice of internal investigations beyond our borders.

During the various sessions, made of lectures, hands-on exercises and professional feedback, participants will have the opportunity to interact with legal directors, audit directors, ethics and compliance managers, forensic experts, IT engineers, as well as magistrates, members of regulatory authorities, criminal investigators, psychologists and other personalities from the legal and judicial world.

Navacelle would like to thank the EFB for their trust and support, and the speakers for responding so enthusiastically to the invitation for this new training year!

***Course in French. ***

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PRACTICING INTERNAL INVESTIGATIONS

Training Coordinators

Julie Zorrilla

Member of the Paris Bar

Roxane Castro

Member of the Paris and New York Bars

Stéphane de Navacelle

Member of the Paris and New York Bars, AMCO

Pauline Bomm

Member of the Paris Bar

October 2024 – June 2025 // 40 hours // 3 parts – 10 sessions // On-site (EFB)

A theme, a training curriculum, a new profession: the investigating lawyer

Well-known in Anglo-Saxon countries, the internal investigation has progressively taken root in France in a wide range of fields (in the fields of competition law, criminal law, labor law etc.). In doing so, it has become a central tool for anticipating and resolving disputes.

Although various practical guides offer guidelines or recommendations, there is currently no dedicated normative framework for internal investigations. It is therefore a subject in constant evolution, dealing with issues as diverse/essential as the rights of defense, professional secrecy and criteria for assessing internal investigations.

In this context, it seemed necessary to provide professionals who have to deal with this practice, such as lawyers, magistrates or in house counsels with an in-depth training dedicated exclusively to internal investigations. As this is above all a rigorous method, this training was designed with a concrete approach and focused on the development of specific professional skills.

PART 1: FRAMEWORK OF THE INTERNAL INVESTIGATION

Session 1 – General presentation on internal investigations and comparison with practices abroad

(Thursday 3 October 2024, on-site EFB, 9am-1pm)

 Speakers:

• Foreign lawyers
• Legal counsels

1^st part: Presentation of the training course (EFB)        

1. Program/objectives
2. Assessment
3. Teaching approach
4. Presentation of participants
5. Discussion with the participants regarding their background and their expectations of the training course

2^nd part: Context and legal framework of the internal investigation

1. Presentation of the main steps of internal investigation
2. Genesis and latest updates
3. Presentation of the legal and regulatory framework applicable to internal investigation
4. Presentation of recommendations / guidelines for internal investigations

3^rd part: The practice on internal investigation abroad

1. Presentation of speakers and their internal investigations practices
2. Brainstorming

Learning objectives:

• Understanding the legal framework applicable to internal investigations
• Gain insight into practices in other countries
• Understanding the aim of an internal investigation

Session 2 – The different contexts in which internal investigations are likely to be conducted

(Thursday 24 October 2024, on-site EFB, 9am-1pm)

Speakers:

• A lawyer
• An administrative judge
• A member of French anti-corruption agency (AFA)
• A member of a development bank
• A member of HR department

1. Internal investigations and anti-corruption authorities       

2. Internal investigations and financial regulators

3. The internal investigation in public law

•  Case study

Learning objectives:

• Understanding the different contexts in which an internal investigation may be initiated
• Understanding and managing authorities’ expectations
• Managing relations with the authorities involved
• Conducting an internal investigation alongside that conducted by an authority

Session 3 – Defining the scope of the internal investigation (1/2): focusing on the relationship between the investigating lawyer and the client

(Thursday 21 November 2024, on-site EFB, 9am-1pm)

Speakers:

• A lawyer
• A legal director
• An ethics and compliance officer

1^st part: Internal investigation framework          

1. Application of attorney-client privilege to internal investigation
2. The means of the investigating lawyer

2^nd part: The investigating lawyer’s position towards their client and third parties

1. The involvement of the person ordering an internal investigation
2. The relationship between the investigating lawyer and the lawyer assisting a person during the investigation
3. The internal investigation conducted into a third company (hypothesis of an investigation within a group)

• Case study

 Learning objectives:

• Mastering the scope of attorney-client privilege in internal investigations
• Understanding the role of the investigating lawyer
• Keys to assisting individual during an internal investigation

Session 4 – Defining the scope of the internal investigation (2/2): internal investigation sources and the investigation plan

(Thursday 23 January 2025, on-site EFB, 9am-1pm)

 Speakers:

• A lawyer
• A legal counsel
• An ethics and compliance officer

1. Receiving alerts

2. Processing and exploiting alerts

3. Decision-making process for conducting an internal investigation

4. The internal investigation budget

5. Drawing up the investigation plan

6. Case studies/ workshop

• Case study:
  • Processing and exploiting alerts
  • Should you advise your client to conduct an internal investigation in a given situation?
• Workshop: Drawing up an investigation plan

Learning objectives:

• Learn how to advise on the handling of alerts within companies
• Learn how to advise on the need / benefit of conducting an internal investigation
• Get the keys to draw up an internal investigation plan

PART 2: METHODOLOGY

Session 5 – STEP 1 of the internal investigation: Data collection

(Thursday 13 February 2025, on-site EFB, 9am-1pm)

 Speakers:

• A lawyer
• A forensic analyst
• An IT engineer
• A GDPR officer / CNIL representative

1. The different type of media to be collected (messages, phones, documents)

2. Rights to be respected when collecting information

   1. Right of access
   2. Confidentiality of private correspondence and professional secrecy
   3. Personal data

• • • Case study

Learning objectives:

• Understanding the challenges of data collection
• Understanding the legal framework for data collection
• Understanding the data processing environment
• Understanding how data processing companies operate

Session 6 – STEP 2 of the internal investigation: Interviews (1/2) – Main principles

(Thursday 6 March 2025, on-site EFB, 9am-1pm)

 Speakers:

• A lawyer
• A police officer
• A member of HR department

1. Wording questions and interviews techniques

2. Identifying the people to interview (inside/outside the company)

3. Responsibilities and rights of the interviewee

4. Recording issues

5. Reports

6. Examples of possible challenges / pitfalls to avoid

Learning objectives:

• Defining the strategy of data collection
• Defining the persons to be interviewed
• Drafting invitations for interviews / preparing the interviews
• Assisting, advising and preparing an interviewee

Session 7 – STEP 2 of the internal investigation: Interviews (2/2) – Putting it into practice

(Thursday 10 April 2025, on-site EFB, 9am-1pm)

 Speakers:

• A lawyer
• An investigating magistrate

Workshop / case study

• Role play: conducting interviews
• Feedback and discussion

Learning objectives:

• Understanding different methods of interviews
• Conducting interviews during an internal investigation
• Reporting their content

Session 8 – STEP 3 of the internal investigation: the investigation report

(Thursday 22 May 2025, on-site EFB, 9am-1pm)

 Speakers:

• A lawyer
• A general counsel
• A audit manager

1. The authors of the internal investigation report

2. The format/drafting/contents of the investigation report

3. Recipients of the investigation report /pitfalls to avoid

• • Case study

 Learning objectives:

• Drafting an investigation report
• Understanding the purpose of the internal investigation report
• Identifying and anticipating the recipients of the internal investigation report

PART 3: INTERNAL INVESTIGATION FOLLOW UP

Session 9 – Internal investigation and disciplinary sanctions

(Thursday 12 June 2025, on-site EFB, 9am-1pm)

Speakers:

• A lawyer
• A HR Director

1. Employees’ rights

2. The internal investigation report as a basis for disciplinary decisions

3. The internal investigation in the context of labor court proceedings

Learning objectives:

• Anticipating the consequences of the internal investigation in terms of disciplinary sanctions
• Understanding employees’ rights during an internal investigation

Session 10 – Internal investigation and criminal investigation

(Thursday 26 juin 2025, on-site EFB, 9am-1pm)

 Speakers:

• A lawyer
• A member of the National Financial Prosecutor (PNF)
• A legal counsel
• A public prosecutor

1. Conduct interviews while a criminal investigation is underway

2. Preparation of the internal investigation report as part of the criminal investigation

3. PNF guidelines

4. Filing a criminal complaint relying on the results of an internal investigation

• • Case study

Learning objectives:

• Understanding the challenges involved in conducting an internal investigation while a criminal investigation is ongoing
• Managing an internal investigation while a criminal investigation is ongoing