Forensic services
SANDS is one of Norway’s leading law firms in investigation and compliance. We assist in investigating and managing crises in all phases – for unforeseen events, suspected censurable matters, whistleblowing and other situations where the facts of the matter may be concealed from view.
In addition, the investigation group at SANDS has unique expertise in performing expanded due diligence on companies and participants in markets with many unknown factors.
We work in small, intensive teams with a willingness to work in the field, based on the recognition that truly useful information that can trim a transaction or protect a client’s reputation is only uncovered by being present and asking the right questions.
What we do
Investigation and factual reviews
We assist enterprises in the event of suspicions related to employees’ performance of job duties, breaches of loyalty and trust obligations and unethical or illegal circumstances in the enterprise, at joint venture partners or at third parties. We also assist with reviewing and investigating findings from background checks (integrity due diligence) of companies and individuals. Investigations can also be carried out after consultation with a client as preliminary examinations or partial examinations. We are also an external whistleblowing facility and can conduct detailed examinations of whistleblower reports and notifications of concern that are received. Read more about our external whistleblower channel here.
Preventive investigation/review
Clients may need to conduct preventive investigations and reviews without having concrete suspicions, for example in connection with transactions and entering into contracts. This can be carried out as risk-based monitoring of companies in the supplier portfolio or other third parties. Read more about our role as a commercial advisor and what we can help your enterprise with here.
Legal assessments of facts discovered
The investigation group has broad overall legal and financial expertise for assessing the legal consequences of investigation findings, for example board of directors' liability, employment law issues, contractual wording, renegotiation or cancellation of agreements, possible damages claims, implementation of supplementary clauses in agreements, target pricing in a transaction, etc.
“Second opinions”/“quality assurance” for investigations and other services
Our specialists have thorough experience in providing “second opinions” and checking the quality of reviews conducted by other advisers. For example, we can help enterprises with analyses of information retrieval methods and the quality of the information in transactions, contract negotiations, employment law cases, disputes or economic crime cases.
Interdisciplinary collaboration
Taking an interdisciplinary approach is a strength of SANDS. We custom-design teams with expertise in order to conduct each individual investigation properly and effectively. Read more about selected practice areas where we collaborate closely:
- Company law
- Transactions – M&A
- Restructuring and insolvency
- Employment law
- Economic crime
- Tax and accounting
- EU, EEA and competition law
International presence and collaboration
Depending on the nature of the case, our specialists travel the world with our clients to ensure that the facts of the case are illuminated. We have a broad international network of collaboration partners, which ensures that we can always provide necessary insight in local commercial conditions and legislation. One example is our membership in The Interlex Group®, with 47 law firms in 61 countries and 155 cities, ranked in Tier 1 by Chambers & Partners.
Lectures and seminars on investigation or other related topics
We conduct courses and seminars in investigation, compliance, transaction support and other related topics and issues for boards of directors, executives, key personnel and legal departments in private and governmental companies and organisations.
Read more about our other practice areas:
- Compliance and Risk management
- Data protection | Privacy
- Intellectual property law
- Forensic services
- Company law
- Mergers and Acquisitions
- Restructuring and insolvency
- Employment law
- White-collar crime
- Taxation, duties and accounting
- EU, EEA and competition law
Due Diligence on steroids
Sometimes ordinary due diligence is not enough. SANDS’ uniquely composed investigation group combines business law, criminal law, auditing, finance and investigative experience to uncover the information which taken to the extreme might shave a transaction by hundreds of millions of kroner or avert a bad deal.
