The outside lawyers assisting the foreign company have an important role to play, both before and during the verification. The lawyers should be actively involved. Too often lawyers are only passive participants in the process, letting the Commerce Department staff completely control the verification. Lawyers who watch passively during the verification are not serving their clients' interests.

The lawyers should ensure that the verification preparations are thorough and complete. They should review all of the documents prepared by the company, advise as to what additional materials should be prepared, and suggest how to present sensitive topics. Often the company has several alternative ways to verify the same information; the lawyers can help decide on the best approach. To uncover any problem areas or weak points in the company's preparations, the lawyers should be even more demanding and suspicious than Commerce Department staff will be during the actual verification. Although this approach may seem harsh and burdensome, it is more likely to ensure a successful verification.

Once the verification begins, the lawyer's role changes. The Commerce Department is usually suspicious if the lawyer makes all of the presentations at a verification. The lawyer and the company officials must therefore decide in advance who should present what portion of the verification. This balance between lawyer and client is part of the overall planning for the verification. This planning should also include consideration of what must be proved during the verification, and what topics should be avoided. This planning continues even during the verification, with the company and lawyers consulting regularly on the progress of the verification, and about changes that might be necessary in the strategy for the verification.

The lawyers can also help during the verification by steering the Commerce Department staff away from sensitive topics. In some cases, where it is impossible to avoid the topic, the lawyers may choose to make the presentation directly. Non-native speakers of English sometimes convey the wrong impression and encourage the Commerce Department to pursue the topic. Presentations by the lawyers in English, which avoid the need for translations, can sometimes avoid such problems.

Source: Business Guide to Trade Remedies in the United States: Anti-dumping, countervailing and safeguards legislation practices and procedures