Specialized services
Whistleblower Hotline
Your organization's internal whistleblower hotline, for reports and inquiries, run by DCLAW as an independent external recipient, with the record and the audit trail required by law and expected in any subsequent review.
No company learns what is happening inside it from its organizational chart. It learns when someone is willing to say so and finds somewhere to say it without fear of reprisal. That somewhere cannot sit inside the same chain of command that may itself be implicated, and that is the source of the fear in the first place.
When Warren Buffett took over as interim chairman of Salomon Brothers in August 1991, he asked every employee to act as their own compliance officer. This was his message to the firm.
"Lose a shred of reputation for the firm, and I will be ruthless".
Si le hacen perder a la firma un ápice de reputación, seré implacable.
Warren Buffett, testimony before the subcommittee of the United States House of Representatives, September 4, 1991.
Traducción de DCLAW.
The decision underneath
Why an external operator
Anyone with something to report weighs one thing before writing it down: whether what they say can reach the person it could harm. Where the hotline is run by the same department that reports to the person named, that doubt alone is enough to make sure the report is never made.
In the DCLAW model, intake, recording, and classification therefore happen outside the organization. The identity of the person reporting is withheld from the institution and disclosed only with their consent, or where a specific legal obligation requires it.
External does not mean displacing the client's governance
DCLAW runs the hotline, receives and classifies what comes in, and conducts the investigations assigned to it. It does not assume or displace the organization's own duty to oversee the compliance program it is required to put in place under Article 8 of the Criminal Code.
Who runs the service
The hotline is operated by the firm
The legal classification of each report and the handling of sensitive cases are carried out under the direction of DCLAW.
The service
What it covers
It works as a single solution. Where the organization already has some of these pieces in place, DCLAW reviews them and brings them into line with the way the hotline runs.
One
Design and rollout
Intake routes, public portal, and launch, with the plan for making the hotline known to staff and to the third parties covered by the law.
Two
Governing instruments
Whistleblower and anti-retaliation policy, code of ethics and conduct, and investigation protocol, drafted for the business as it actually operates.
Three
Running the hotline
Every report handled by the firm, from the moment it arrives to the moment it closes.
Four
Sensitive cases
Direct investigation of the cases the policy reserves to the firm, reporting to the board without passing through the chain of command.
Five
Training
For staff on using the hotline, for the board on its duties and for the team that will investigate. Delivered through DCLAW Academy.
Six
Periodic verification
Regular review of how the hotline is working in practice, with a report to the board.
The new corporate criminal liability regime
From November 5, 2026, Articles 8 to 11 of the Criminal Code establish the general regime of criminal liability of legal entities and set the minimum elements of a compliance program, among them anonymous reporting channels, protection against retaliation, investigation procedures, and a documented audit trail.
See ethics, compliance, and integrity
Tell us about your organization
Tell us what your organization needs. The scope of the engagement follows from that.