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The judicial commission is at your company. Demand the warrant, delete nothing, cooperate no further than required. Immediate legal assistance around the clock.
In brief. Call your lawyer before opening the door if possible, and in any event immediately: you are entitled to legal assistance during the search. Demand the judicial warrant and read it, because it determines what may be searched and seized; a search exceeding the warrant is a challengeable search. Do not obstruct, but do not cooperate beyond what is required, and delete nothing: destruction of evidence is an autonomous offence.
Call your lawyer before opening the door if possible, and in any event immediately: you have the right to legal assistance during the search. Demand the judicial warrant and read it. It determines what may be searched, what may be taken and with what scope; a search that exceeds the warrant is a challengeable search. Do not obstruct, but do not cooperate beyond what is required: nobody is obliged to hand over passwords or to explain where compromising documents are kept. Delete nothing, not a single e-mail: destruction of evidence is an autonomous offence and turns a defensible matter into a lost one. And document everything: what they take, from where, who seals it and in what condition. That inventory will later be the basis of the challenge.
Three errors ruin these cases. Panic: calls to half the workforce, deleted messages, moved files; it all leaves traces and becomes evidence of consciousness of guilt. Excessive cooperation: the well-meaning manager who opens every drawer, hands over personal devices and explains transactions nobody asked about is, in reality, handing over the case. And failing to separate interests: the company and the director can have opposing interests from the first minute, and a single lawyer for everyone is, in many cases, a conflict of interest that is paid for dearly.
| Moment | What to do | Why | Typical error |
|---|---|---|---|
| Arrival | Call the lawyer and demand the warrant | Legal assistance during the search | Opening everything before reading the warrant |
| Reading | Verify places, objects and scope | A search beyond the warrant is challengeable | Assuming the commission may take anything |
| During | Do not obstruct; do not volunteer | Excessive cooperation hands over the case | Explaining transactions nobody asked about |
| Passwords | Decide with advice, at the moment | No obligation to self-incriminate | Handing over credentials by reflex |
| Privilege | Assert professional secrecy there and then | Lawyer correspondence cannot be seized | Letting it end up in the forensic image |
| Evidence | Delete nothing, not one e-mail | Destruction is an autonomous offence | Cleaning up while they knock at the door |
| Minutes | Place every irregularity on record | What is not in the minutes does not exist | Arguing instead of recording |
| Inventory | Document what is taken, from where, who seals | Basis of the future challenge | Signing without reading or copying |
This guidance is general; the correct response depends on the warrant, the authority acting and the specific circumstances of each search.
We attend the premises during the search, verify that it does not exceed the warrant, safeguard the documentation protected by professional privilege, which cannot be seized, and place on record every irregularity that occurs. What is not in the minutes does not exist afterwards. In parallel we activate the internal response: communication with the workforce, analysis of the real scope, and an internal investigation that tells you, before the Prosecutor’s Office, what the documentation actually contains. The following 72 hours weigh as much as the search itself: separate defences for the company, the directors and the affected employees; preparation of the summons that will arrive soon; and a strategic, data-driven assessment of cooperation, which in certain scenarios mitigates the liability of the legal person.
Companies undergoing a judicial search: control of the raid, challenge of excesses and corporate defence under Article 31 bis.
Directors whose interests may diverge from the company’s from the first minute: independent defence.
Employees whose personal devices are seized or who are summoned to testify: separate advice.
Compliance officers managing the internal response: investigation, communication and cooperation strategy.
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Société de Conseil Juridique et Expert es un despacho de abogados con sedes en Madrid, Alicante, Londres y París, especializado en defensa y acusación penal, delitos económicos y corporativos y derecho tecnológico. Trabajamos con orientación estratégica en procedimientos penales complejos, propiedad intelectual y análisis forense avanzado, y prestamos consultoría jurídica, compliance y escudos de protección a particulares y empresas. Atendemos desde Alicante y Madrid, con consulta online en toda España y asistencia al detenido 24 horas. Resuelva sus dudas en las preguntas frecuentes o solicite una primera consulta.
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