International law firm Bird & Bird launches today its 24/7 Business Fraud and Crisis Response Hotline, in response to the rise in businesses suffering from corporate crises and the pace at which they unfold.
When a crisis hits, businesses and employees are often unsure of their next steps – yet action in those first moments can set the tone for how an incident plays out. Bird & Bird's new hotline will be contactable 24/7 to any business or employee struck by a crisis involving internal and external corporate investigations or other business critical issues, and will swiftly connect the caller with a member of the Bird & Bird team in Europe, Asia-Pacific, the Middle East or the USA.
Part of the firm's wider Compliance & Investigations capabilities, the hotline provides support on internal and external corporate investigations, including:
| • HMRC investigations and associated fraud | • FSA investigations |
| • Pension fraud | • Self-reporting and investigations conducted by the SFO |
| • Corporate fraud including asset tracing | • Employee fraud |
| • Market abuse | • FCPA/ OECD advice |
| • Money laundering | • Trade secret theft |
| • Frauds on client funds |
Sophie Eyre, Dispute Resolution Partner specialising in crisis and fraud matters at Bird & Bird says:
"When you uncover fraud or another business critical issue, your company can quickly be thrown into crisis – a crisis which threatens to shatter your company's reputation, hit your market share and prevent your management from focusing on the future strategy and success of the business.
"One of the main problems is feeling two steps beyond – fraudsters have already attacked the business or valuable assets have already left the business. We want to help remove some of the stress of the situation for companies as they uncover a crisis, and guide them through the steps they should take immediately.
"Crisis response often needs to transcend jurisdictional borders, which is why we're offering an international service. In such cases it’s important to act swiftly to stop an attack on the business in its tracks. We’re hopeful that this hotline provides callers with a quick way to do just that. "
The Crisis Response Hotline joins other solutions designed to help clients navigate a crisis situation, including twoBirds Client Solutions Cyberbox, a one-stop-shop for cybersecurity needs, and our Dawn Raid App.
The hotline is contactable worldwide on:
+44 20 3167 8009
or
+852 2248 6188 (Asia-Pacific)
More information about our Global Compliance & Investigations capabilities can be found here.
