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The Eversheds Crisis Hotline

What to do if you are the subject of a dawn raid

Immediately contact your internal Legal team / Eversheds Sutherland Attend the officials in reception as soon as possible (ensure at least two colleagues accompany you to assist with subsequent tasks and briefings to others) and follow the officials’ reasonable instructions (including allowing them access to IT systems and storage media in order to preserve evidence)
Ask the officials if they will await the arrival of your internal Legal team / Eversheds Sutherland before commencing their inspection Inform the CEO (or the most senior person in your organisation) and your Communications team
Inform the Head of IT
If the officials will not wait for legal support (internal Legal team / Eversheds Sutherland):
  • check the officials’ authorisation documents
  • sign the minute of notification, which acknowledges receipt of the authorisation documents but doesn’t imply that they are valid
If the inspection starts:
  • assemble a team to “shadow” each official and make detailed notes of what the officials look at / any questions asked (and answers given) brief the “shadow” team on the scope and subject matter of the investigation as set out in the authorisation documents so that they are able to ensure the officials’ investigation doesn’t stray beyond its permitted scope
  • bring internal Legal team / Eversheds Sutherland up to speed with any additional information you have received so far
  • brief staff not to destroy or tamper with evidence and not to make contact with anyone outside the company (stress the need for strict confidentiality)
Identify key employees likely to be implicated and ascertain their whereabouts
Download our dawn raids app
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Eversheds Sutherland is the name and brand under which the members of Eversheds Sutherland Limited (Eversheds Sutherland (International) LLP and Eversheds Sutherland (US) LLP) and their respective controlled, managed and affiliated firms and the members of Eversheds Sutherland (Europe) Limited (each an "Eversheds Sutherland Entity" and together the "Eversheds Sutherland Entities") provide legal or other services to clients around the world. Eversheds Sutherland Entities are constituted and regulated in accordance with relevant local regulatory and legal requirements and operate in accordance with their locally registered names. The use of the name Eversheds Sutherland, is for description purposes only and does not imply that the Eversheds Sutherland Entities are in a partnership or are part of a global LLP. The responsibility for the provision of services to the client is defined in the terms of engagement between the instructed firm and the client.