Firms lose access to dawn-raid apps at crisis point
A growing number of businesses are equipping executives with mobile-phone apps designed to guide them through dawn raids by competition authorities and regulators, and ALG briefing has noted.
While these apps are often promoted by legal and compliance advisors as convenient tools, ALG lawyers warn that they may offer a false sense of security.
Unannounced inspection
In theory, the apps provide a quick, accessible summary of what executives should and should not do during an unannounced inspection.
But in practice, there are concerns about their effectiveness in real-world scenarios.
There are three main issues.
First, such apps are typically installed on mobile phones and laptops, which are often the first items seized by authorities during a raid.
For example, the European Commission regularly clones the data on-site, while Ireland’s Competition and Consumer Protection Commission (CCPC) may remove devices altogether.
This means that executives may lose access to the app at the exact moment they need it.
Second, legal privilege may not apply to the content of these apps.
Because the guidance is general and available to anyone who downloads the app, it is unlikely to be considered confidential legal advice tailored to the specific company involved in the raid.
Backfire
Third, the very convenience of these apps can backfire.
Many executives assume they can consult the app when a raid occurs and therefore neglect to familiarise themselves with the procedures in advance, potentially leaving them unprepared in a high-pressure situation, the ALG note points out.
While these apps are unlikely to cause harm, they should not be relied upon as a primary compliance tool, the lawyers state.
Rather, the firm says, executives should undergo regular dawn-raid preparedness sessions and keep a printed, company-specific guide, protected by legal privilege, on hand.