Here are some do’s and don’ts to ease your company’s situation if you find yourself the target of a dawn raid by the Office of Fair Trading, the European Commission or other regulatory body.

1...Ensure your receptionist is trained to ask for the most senior person in the building to attend the reception immediately before the officials are given access. Check the ID of the officials.

2...Contact your external solicitors immediately. Tell the officials that the solicitors are on their way and endeavour to persuade them to delay their inspection until the solicitors’ arrival.

3...Take detailed notes of what the officials inspect and where, what they ask for, whom they speak to etc. Suggest they delay questions and requests until your lawyers arrive. List up and take copies of what they wish to remove.

4...Whether or not your company has had a dawn raid, do not create a document trail (phone notes, emails, text messages, meeting minutes, hand-written jottings) concerning matters which may indicate that illegal conduct may have taken place. Ensure others in your company follow this advice – be they chairman, director, head of HR, line manager etc – whenever the sensitive subject is being discussed / investigated. Use the phone or meet.

5...Leave note taking exclusively to your in-house counsel, or let your external lawyers join into the meeting on speakerphone so they can take notes.

6...Documents which you consider to be privileged should be marked accordingly, kept separately in a file marked “privileged documents – for legal advice purposes”.

7...Do not show the officials a document which you consider to be legally privileged. If necessary tell them the name of the author and circumstances in which the document arose, but not the contents.

8...If the explanation is not accepted, record the fact in writing, put the document in a sealed envelope to await detailed external legal analysis and advice.

9...Remember that it is an offence to hide or destroy documents which are relevant to an investigation, and to obstruct relevant officials in the proper execution of their duties.