Practise Areas.
We combine the in-depth legal knowledge and breadth of expertise and experience required to give unparalleled advice to our clients. Counsel Strategy has represented individuals and organizations across a wide variety of contentious sectors, providing quality advice which is commercially focused and personally delivered,
Global Regulatory & Compliance
From strategic planning to submission work to complete management of your regulatory needs, Counsel Strategy has a plan and solution that is right for your unique situation.
Counsel Strategy are experienced Guides in a Tough Regulatory Landscape. Our expertise covers all regulatory requirements and processes: finance, operations, business conduct, compliance, registration and enforcement. We offer the right combination of knowledge, practical expertise and independence to handle your regulatory needs as quickly and thoroughly as possible.
Regulatory Intelligence is an expensive, time-consuming and complex undertaking. Getting the regulatory strategy right, recognizing the potential pitfalls and understanding the requirements for your specific product is of utmost importance.
We analyse your particular projects and help you to fully understand the regulatory environment, taking into account precedents and current regulatory thinking. In close co-operation with your team, we develop the specific road maps that apply to your projects.
In addition to our Canadian, US, UK and EU regulatory work, alliances with companies from around the world can help our clients gain market access to most other countries.
International Expansion & Business Structures
Organizations today face more complex risks than ever before when expanding internationally. Rising expectations among boards of directors, audit committees, regulators, shareholders and other stakeholders are pressuring businesses to enhance their regulatory management and exposure. The situation is doubly challenging for regulated companies, where regulatory breaches frequently result in penalties, fines, management liability and reputational damage.
To help you manage these risks, Counsel Strategy offers a wide range of solutions:
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Risk strategy. Adopt the analytic tools and methodologies you need to identify, measure and control market and risks when selling regulated products. We also offer approaches to help you manage and control your future risks as the regulatory environment changes.
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Compliance planning. Prioritize your regulatory risks, identify and document mitigating controls, prepare for a regulator’s field review and focus resources using a risk-based compliance planning process.
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Anti-money laundering risk assessment. We can help you design a customized anti-money laundering (AML) risk assessment solution to enhance your regulatory compliance, facilitate AML reporting to senior management and the board, and identify AML risk in new products and jurisdictions.
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Third-party compliance reviews. Independently assess the effectiveness of your compliance programs and identify opportunities for improvement by sending our trained “mystery shoppers” to interface with front-line personnel.
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Compliance governance. Review your compliance mandate, structure, roles and responsibilities, processes, staffing and reporting to assess the performance of your compliance function against leading industry practices to meet stakeholder and regulator expectations.
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Go To Market Strategies. We help you plan your expansion into international markets, using our renowned Global Business Advice Services.
Marketing Content & Claims
Most governments and regulatory bodies generally classify the products they regulate based on the intended use and ingredients found therein. One way that this is determined is the intended use of a product based on statements, called “claims,” made about a product, i.e., what the marketer states that a product can do for the consumer.
Regulatory Bodies generally classify the products it regulates based on intended use and ingredients found therein, among other considerations, an initial stage in determining how a product will be regulated is by looking to the intended use.
Because in today’s information age, there are a number of ways to market and sell regulated products, and many types of media content is capable of “spilling” into international markets, it is important to consider how statements made about a product through these various mediums may impact how a product is regulated, and sold. In fact, many regulators consider statements made about a product through various media to constitute part of the overall “labelling” of a product, rendering any statements made through these means to reflect on the product itself. Accordingly, it is critical to ensure none of your marketing materials contain impermissible product claims, inasmuch as these claims have the potential to cause your product to be subject to increased regulation, or incur fines or penalties.
While there are different types of claims, i.e., health claims, disease claims, structure-function claims, some claims may cause a product to be subject to heightened regulation, and this varies market by market. For example, if a product is otherwise classified as a food but its labelling contains disease claims, many regulators will classify this product as a drug. On the other hand, certain claims, called structure-function claims, may be made about dietary supplement products and, if done correctly, will not cause these products to be subject to heightened regulation. Thus, when marketing a regulated product, it is critical to understand what types of claims may be used for your particular product and to ensure that these claims are properly worded.
Counsel Strategy can help you by:
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Reviewing your marketing materials to ensure that no impermissible claims are being made, both in a domestic and/or international context and Reviewing your product labelling, including your actual product labels, websites, and other marketing materials, to determine whether your claims are in compliance with the laws and regulations enforced by the regulatory bodies in which your product will be marketed.
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Providing guidance with respect to any changes that must be made in order for you to remain compliant with the laws and regulations enforced by regulators
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Suggesting alternative language that may lessen the risk of regulatory action, both now and in the future, should you have problematic claims in any of your marketing materials.
Contentious Industry Reputation Management
The increase in online media outlets both domestically and globally and the phenomenal uptake of social network sites has resulted in content and news spreading even faster. It is therefore more important than ever for Counsel Strategy’s Reputation Management Group to provide immediate, bespoke advice to clients.
Counsel Strategy’s Reputation Management Group understands and recognises the value of reputation and the damage that can be caused by unjustified or unwanted media attention.
The group’s experts have extensive experience of FMCG and the media and publishing industries which enables them to provide robust advice in time sensitive situations. Increasingly, the team also provides swift specialist advice in relation to international advertising, internet publications and electronic communications, including postings on social media sites, websites and blogs.
Clients include businesses, agencies, brands and regulatory bodies to whom advice is provided in relation to all aspects of reputation management, media, and global coverage and leakage of content.
Advice and representation is provided, both before and after publication, in respect of claims in defamation, breach of confidence, misuse of private information, breach of copyright, malicious falsehood, data protection and any other situations involving the media (including new media) which have the potential to affect adversely the reputation of our clients.
Intellectual Property & Brands
The issues surrounding intellectual property impact a number of industries across many sectors. Counsel Strategy’s specialists work hard to ensure that their clients understand the issues surrounding their individual case and are aware of all the options available to them.
Counsel Strategy’s intellectual property team provides the expert technical knowledge to advise clients in setting up, maintaining and exploiting their IP rights. The firm draws on its experience in advising on matters across all technology platforms including interactive, digital and online.
Services Counsel Strategy’s IP experts offer include: patents advice, brands and trademarks, copyright and moral rights, design rights, trade secrets.