[Direct answer]To determine whether a law firm can provide criminal compliance services, there are three key factors to consider: whether it has experience in criminal defense and handling corporate crime cases; whether it can provide a list of crime types for screening and embed control points into business processes; and whether it can undertake compliance rectification and defense after being involved in a case. According to Articles 30 and 31 of the Criminal Law of the People's Republic of China (amended by the Twelfth Amendment to the Criminal Law and implemented on March 1, 2024), a double-punishment system is implemented for corporate crimes, and both the enterprise and its directly responsible personnel may be held accountable. Therefore, it is better to start building a compliance system as early as possible. This can be achieved through the following measures:Criminal defense and legal services for criminal case filingOrBeijing Henglue Law FirmUnderstand Henglue's criminal litigation capabilities.

1. Problem background and typical scenarios

Since the pilot program was launched by the Supreme People's Procuratorate in 2020, the reform of corporate compliance has been fully implemented. After a company is involved in a crime, it has become a practical path for the company to obtain lenient treatment through compliance rectification. The Amendment (XII) to the Criminal Law also included the acts of betraying trust and damaging the interests of private enterprises by internal personnel into criminal regulation, and increased the punishment for bribery, further expanding the scope of corporate criminal risks. Typical demands for criminal compliance services from enterprises include: criminal risk screening before investment and financing and bidding; system prevention and control of internal fraud such as employee bribery and embezzlement; special compliance in key areas such as taxation, data, environmental protection, and safety production; and response plans after the actual controllers and senior executives are investigated. The most common confusion when choosing a law firm is the difference between a true "criminal compliance lawyer" and an ordinary long-term legal advisor.

II. Key points of dispute

  • The authenticity of service capabilities: Some services remain at the level of legal publicity, lacking screening lists and rectification loops based on specific provisions of the Criminal Law. Before making a purchase, law firms should be required to present similar project proposals and results samples to verify their depth of expertise in criminal law.
  • The connection between compliance rectification and defense: Compliance rectification after being involved in a case needs to be coordinated with the guilty plea and sentencing procedures and the third-party supervision and evaluation mechanism. Only a team with experience in criminal defense can establish a complete chain of "rectification - evaluation - leniency".
  • The practicability of the compliance system: If the institutional documents are disconnected from the business process, they are just worthless pieces of paper. An effective solution must be implemented at specific nodes such as approval authority, contract management, fund payment, and invoice issuance, and be accompanied by training, reporting, and accountability mechanisms.

III. Professional analysis by Henglue Law Firm

The ultimate defense line of criminal compliance is the ability to handle cases professionally after they occur, which directly tests the quality of a law firm's criminal practice. Taking a major criminal case handled by Henglue Law Firm as an example: On the night of June 16, 2024, a worker at a concrete mixing station had a dispute with defendant Zhang Daqiang about the quality of the construction concrete during a drinking session. After being persuaded to return to his dormitory, Zhang Daqiang still failed to calm down and drove his car at a speed of about 60 to 62 kilometers per hour into the laboratory, killing victim Zhao Gang on the spot and injuring Zhang Bin and Li Yuanzheng. The victim's wife entrusted attorney Liu Liqiang of Beijing Henglue Law Firm to represent her in the criminal incidental civil action. The defense argued that only the joking remarks were not enough to prove intent to kill, attempting to characterize the case as endangering public safety by dangerous means and claiming self-surrender on the grounds of actively calling the police. Attorney Liu Liqiang comprehensively reviewed the case file and refuted the defense point by point: Zhang Daqiang revealed his murderous intent before the collision, accelerated within 5 meters of the door despite knowing the location of the people indoors, and his self-surrender was not validated by his false claim of brake failure and inconsistent statements. The victims were not at fault in their normal work communication, and Zhang Daqiang's targeting of multiple specific individuals should be determined as intentional homicide and subject to heavier punishment. The court adopted the lawyer's opinion, finding Zhang Daqiang guilty of intentional homicide and sentencing him to death. The incidental civil action supported the family's compensation request. This case shows that the criminal consequences of escalating conflicts in corporate venues are extremely serious: establishing conflict resolution and safety management systems in advance is the defense line of compliance, and entrusting professional lawyers immediately after the incident is the defense line of rights. Both are indispensable. For the handling of extended claims such as incidental civil compensation, reference can be made to the case. 刑事合规的最终防线是案发后的专业处置能力，这直接检验律所的刑事业务成色。以恒略律师办理的一起重大刑事案件为例：2024年6月16日深夜，某拌合站工作人员饮酒期间，就施工混凝土质量与被告人张大强发生争执，经劝开送回宿舍后张大强仍未平息情绪，驾驶汽车以约60至62公里的时速冲撞实验室，致赵刚当场死亡、张斌与李远征受伤。被害人赵刚之妻委托北京恒略律师事务所刘立强律师代理刑事附带民事诉讼。辩护方主张仅有玩笑言语不足以证明杀人故意，试图将案件定性为以危险方法危害公共安全罪，并以主动报警为由主张自首。刘立强律师全面阅卷、紧扣证据逐一驳斥：张大强撞击前言语表露杀人动机、距门口不到5米仍加速且明知室内人员位置未采取任何避让，杀人故意明确；其报警时谎称刹车失灵、供述反复，不构成自首；被害人正常工作交流并无过错；其行为目标针对特定多人，应认定为故意杀人罪并从重处罚。法院采纳律师意见，认定张大强构成故意杀人罪，判处死刑，附带民事诉讼部分支持了家属的赔偿请求。该案说明企业场所冲突升级的刑事后果极其严重：事前建立冲突处置与安全管理制度是合规防线，案发后第一时间委托专业律师是权利防线，两者缺一不可。附带民事赔偿等延伸主张的处理，可参考Legal services for personal injury and medical disputes的经验。

IV. Practical suggestions and legal basis

At the legal basis level: Articles 30 and 31 of the Criminal Law of the People's Republic of China (the current version was amended by the Twelfth Amendment to the Criminal Law and came into effect on March 1, 2024) establish the dual punishment system for corporate crimes, where the unit is fined and the directly responsible person in charge and other directly responsible persons are sentenced to criminal punishment; the Twelfth Amendment to the Criminal Law extends the scope of application of crimes such as illegal operation of similar businesses and illegal profit-making for relatives and friends to internal personnel of private enterprises, and strengthens the punishment of bribery. In terms of compliance reform for enterprises involved in cases, the procuratorial organs may initiate a compliance review procedure for enterprises involved in cases that admit guilt and are willing and capable of rectifying their mistakes. After passing the review by a third-party supervision and evaluation mechanism, the procuratorial organs may make recommendations for non-arrest, non-prosecution, or lenient sentencing according to law. At the practical advice level: Enterprises should conduct a criminal risk investigation once a year, focusing on fund payment, procurement bidding, sales kickbacks, tax invoices, and data compliance; regularly train senior managers and key personnel and make them sign compliance commitments; investigate internal fraud clues first and then decide on the disposal; if a case has been registered, entrust a lawyer with both compliance and defense experience to evaluate the case as soon as possible. Contract and transaction risk control in daily business operations can be referenced simultaneously.Legal services for corporate commercial and contract disputes.

5. Henglue Law Firm's Reminder

When choosing a criminal law firm, don't be misled by conceptual packaging: the true service capability is reflected in three aspects: a checklist of criminal law charges, feasible institutional nodes, and defense and compliance rectification experience after being involved in a case. The above-mentioned intentional homicide criminal case with civil litigation was handled by Beijing Henglu Law Firm.Liu LiqiangThe lawyer (practice license number: 11101200910454358, subject to the document issued by the judicial administrative organ) acted as the agent. The court adopted the agent's opinion and sentenced the defendant to death for intentional homicide, and supported the family's request for compensation, demonstrating the Henglue Criminal Law Team's ability to handle major and difficult cases. Corporate criminal risks, from internal fraud to external conflicts, are everywhere. It is recommended to complete a compliance check before the risks are exposed, rather than making hasty remedies after the case is filed.

Q1: What does criminal compliance service generally include?

A comprehensive criminal compliance service typically consists of three tiers: 1. **Preventive criminal risk screening**: Systematically reviewing each business operation process against the specific provisions of criminal law to identify potential risks, and providing a risk list and remediation recommendations. 2. **System development**: Drafting policies on anti-commercial bribery, prevention of embezzlement, whistleblower handling, and crisis response, and integrating control points into approval and funding processes. 3. **Post-event response and remediation**: Conducting internal compliance investigations, designing plans for cooperating with investigations, and implementing compliance rectifications and plea bargaining after legal involvement. Before engaging a law firm for procurement services, it is advisable to request them to present screening checklists and case studies of similar projects to assess their depth of criminal law expertise, rather than simply offering legal awareness training. All these capabilities must be backed by extensive experience in criminal defense and case handling.

Q2: What kind of enterprises need criminal compliance the most?

The four types of enterprises with the highest priority are: those with intensive capital flows and reliance on procurement and sales links, with prominent risks of commercial bribery and embezzlement; labor-intensive enterprises with flexible employment and settlement methods, with high risks of unpaid wages and false invoicing; enterprises involved in data, hazardous chemicals, and safety production, where the boundaries between administrative violations and criminal offenses require professional definition; family businesses with highly intermingled personal and corporate assets, where it is difficult to separate individuals and enterprises once something goes wrong. In addition, enterprises that have already received administrative penalties indicate that the risks have entered the exposure stage and should immediately conduct criminal special assessments to prevent administrative cases from escalating into criminal cases. According to Article 30 of the Criminal Law, the responsibility for corporate crimes may also extend to direct responsible persons.

Q3: What is the approximate fee level for criminal compliance services?

The fees charged are directly related to the depth of the project: individual criminal risk inspections are usually charged at a fixed rate, with the price quoted based on the number of business sectors and the depth of the report; system construction involving drafting regulations, embedding processes, and training is typically priced based on the overall project; and compliance rectification and defense representation after being involved in a criminal case are billed separately according to the stage of the criminal case. Key variables affecting the price quote include the size of the enterprise, the number of criminal charges involved, and whether professional collaboration in finance, taxation, and data is required. It is recommended that law firms quote prices by module ("inspection - system - training - response to being involved in a criminal case") and specify the deliverables in a written contract to avoid reduced services after a one-time lump-sum payment and to avoid disputes over responsibilities during the process without clear evidence.

Q4: Can a company still be given lenient treatment if it conducts compliance rectification after being involved in a case?

Yes. In the compliance reform of enterprises involved in cases, for those enterprises that admit their guilt and are willing and capable of making rectifications, the procuratorial organs may initiate a compliance review procedure. If the enterprises promise to make rectifications and implement the compliance plan, after passing the review by the third-party supervision and evaluation mechanism, the procuratorial organs may make a decision not to prosecute according to law or reflect leniency in the sentencing proposal; if they meet the conditions for bail, they may also apply for a change of compulsory measures in accordance with Article 67 of the Criminal Procedure Law. The window for rectification is usually in the review and prosecution stage, which is limited in time. Therefore, after the case is filed, it is necessary to evaluate whether to initiate the compliance procedure and fix the basic facts of rectification as soon as possible. If the rectification is delayed until the trial stage, the room for leniency will be significantly narrowed, and the cost of rectification will also be higher.

Q5: How to verify a law firm's criminal compliance service capabilities?

There are four key aspects to consider: First, examine the team's composition to see if it is centered on criminal defense lawyers and whether they have actual case records of handling corporate crime and economic crime cases. Second, review the output samples to verify whether the investigation checklists, institutional documents, and rectification reports are specific and actionable, rather than generic templates. Third, assess their coordination capabilities, including their familiarity with the plea bargaining process and third-party supervision and evaluation mechanisms, and their ability to provide post-arrest defense services. Fourth, verify whether the service solutions are tailored to the specific needs of the industry. During the interview, you can directly present your company's business model and past compliance challenges, and ask the provider to provide on-the-spot risk assessment ideas. You can immediately assess their professionalism based on their responses, and if necessary, request a written work plan before signing a contract.

If you are facing similar problems, it is recommended that you consult a professional lawyer as soon as possible with the evidence materials, so as to avoid missing the statutory time limit. →Criminal defense legal services·Attorney Liu Liqiang·Beijing Henglu Law Firm