Featured Articles:

ECI Best Practice Forum: The Impact of DOJ Guidance on Corporate Compliance Programs

When: December 15, 2021 Time: 2 pm to 3:30 pm EST Sign Up HERE Over the past several years the Department of Justice has periodically issued material updates to guidelines related to compliance programs and enforcement.  The US Chamber of Commerce Institute for Legal Reform has underwritten an important and timely survey of ethics & compliance officers by ECI related to how they are interpreting and...

District Court Upholds Criminal Antitrust Charges for Labor Price-Fixing

The Antitrust Division won a preliminary skirmish against two co-defendants who challenged the criminal indictment against them charging price-fixing in the labor market. District Court Judge Mazzant, in the Eastern District of Texas, issued a decision denying the defendants’ motion to dismiss in United States v. Neeraj Jindal & John Rodgers, 20-CR-358. (Here). In rejecting the defendants’ motion, the trial judge ruled that price-fixing in...

FCPA Potpourri: Catching Up with FCPA Enforcement

While we wait for the coming FCPA enforcement storm, DOJ and the SEC have quietly continued to rack up and resolve several enforcement actions.  Here is short and sweet review of many of these actions: Luis Enrique Martinelli, son of the former Panama President, was recently presented in federal court in Brooklyn after the U.S. finally secured his extradition from Guatemala.  Luis Enrique Martinelli sought...

FCPA Enforcement Actions: “O DOJ, SEC, Wherefore Art Thou, DOJ & SEC?”

FCPA practitioners, In-house counsel and compliance officers, and yes, even the FCPA Paparazzi, have been patient enough. As the saying goes, talk is cheap.  It is action that counts. We have written often enough about the coming storm – the Biden Administration’s long-anticipated ramp up of white collar enforcement, and FCPA actions in particular.  The groundwork was set – the National Security Memorandum raising the...

Episode 217: The Growing Risk of Corporate Board Member Liability

The Delaware Chancery Court is continuing its trend of permitting Caremark claims against corporate board members who fail to exercise proper oversight and monitoring of compliance programs. Over the past few years, the Delaware Chancery Court has consistently raised the stakes and expectation for Board member performance on corporate boards. In this Episode, Michael Volkov reviews the current board member liability cases and the Court’s recent...

OFAC Implements New Ethiopia Sanctions Program

On November 12, 2021, the U.S. Department of Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (“OFAC”), pursuant to Executive Order 14046, Imposing Sanctions on Certain Persons With Respect to the Humanitarian and Human Rights Crisis in Ethiopia, issued sanctions against four entities and two individuals as part of a new sanctions program in Ethiopia. OFAC issued the  sanctions is in response to humanitarian and human rights...

Export Control Reform Focuses on Chinese Trade and Security Issues (Part II of II)

Alex Cotoia, Regulatory Manager and Compliance Consultant at The Volkov Law Group, rejoins us for the second part of his blog posting on Chinese trade and security issues. Alex can be reached at [email protected]. On November 17, 2021, a bipartisan congressional commission—the U.S.-China Economic and Security Review Commission—released a series of recommendations that called upon the Congress itself to assume a more proactive role in...

Emerging Developments in U.S.-China Trade Relations (Part I of II)

Alex Cotoia, Regulatory Manager and Compliance Consultant at The Volkov Law Group, rejoins us for a two-part posting on emerging developments in U.S.-China trade issues. Alex can be contacted at [email protected]. As diplomatic tensions between Washington and Beijing continue to escalate, U.S. owned businesses dependent on the sale and export of more sensitive advanced technologies to the People’s Republic of China (“PRC”) should take heed...

Boeing Settles Shareholder Litigation and Agrees to Reforms (Part IV of IV)

The crushing aftermath of the tragic 737 MAX scandal is disturbing at the least.  Innocent lives were lost because of Boeing’s culture misfires, poor leadership at the management and board level, and an arrogant disregard for the impact of safety concerns. Boeing’s 737 MAX fleet was grounded for twenty months, until November 18, 2020.  Boeing was ordered by the FAA to cure the defects in...

Episode 216 — Tom Fox Releases the Second Edition of The Compliance Handbook

Tom Fox is a leader in the ethics and compliance field. He is regularly referred to as the “Compliance Evangelist.” Tom has just released the Second Edition of The Compliance Handbook, a comprehensive review and guide to the elements of an effective ethics and compliance program. Tom is known for his practical and efficient approach to difficult ethics and compliance issues. His new Handbook is...