These are scary times.  We have not experienced such a crisis in our lifetimes.  9-11 was a traumatic event with a tragic impact on our country.  The COVID-19 crisis is presenting all of us with enormous challenges.  Health and safety is our primary concern while the COVD-19 virus spreads.  Our economy is being devastated by the need to ensure health and safety of our country. ...

The future doesn’t belong to the faint-hearted; it belongs to the brave. – President Ronald Reagan Confidence… thrives on honesty, on honor, on the sacredness of obligations, on faithful protection and on unselfish performance. Without them it cannot live. – President Franklin D. Roosevelt There are risks and costs to action. But they are far less than the long range risks of comfortable inaction.  — President...

Many global companies are behind the eight-ball (translation, slow to implement) effective antitrust compliance programs.  A small number of companies, some of which have suffered antitrust enforcement actions or operate in high-risk industries, have implemented innovative antitrust compliance programs.  These programs stand out in the compliance landscape. An effective antitrust compliance program typically includes robust training programs, well beyond dry in-person or webinar-based recitations of...

Like all compliance programs, a company lives or dies based on its ethical culture.  A company with a poor culture that operates in a concentrated competitive market has significantly higher antitrust risks than companies with a strong ethical culture.  This basic and well understood premise has to be considered in designing an antitrust compliance program.  If senior management does not walk the walk, antitrust risks...

In July 2019, the U.S. Justice of Department’s Antitrust Division ended a long-running controversy surrounding compliance program credit by issuing its Evaluation of Corporate Compliance Programs in Criminal Antitrust Investigations (“Antitrust Guidance”).  The Antitrust Guidance is a terrific resource, filled with excellent ideas and innovative suggestions.  Companies need to review and enhance their antitrust compliance programs, especially those companies with tangible antitrust risks.  In designing...

We all are familiar with the “horror” stories circling numerous infamous corporate scandals – Wells Fargo, Boeing, General Motors, Airbus, Ericsson, HSBC and on and on.  When you read about each of these scandals, layer by layer, the corporation is infected with a culture of wrongdoing.  In these situations, senior management, middle management and employees embrace differing levels of commitment to wrongdoing, ranging from intentional...

I have to admit that it is hard to maintain this blog under the current circumstances.  It is hard to ignore the “elephant in the room.”  The coronavirus crisis is having a serious impact on our country, society, communities and families.  I am deeply troubled by the current handling of this crisis at the federal level and the coming tsunami for our healthcare system.  In...

In this global pandemic crisis, every company is being tested.  No matter how much time was put into emergency planning it is difficult to imagine that anyone could have foreseen the scope and nature of the current crisis.  But we are about to experience and witness an important test. Companies have to recognize the nature of the crisis, the impact on their operations, prepare consumers,...

Compliance professionals face extraordinary risks – not just for the enterprise but personal risks.  CCOs should not panic or overreact when the government brings an enforcement action against a compliance officer for a company’s compliance failure. The lesson for compliance officers who work in regulated industries is fairly straightforward – when faced with real compliance problems, compliance professionals have to document efforts to address the...

We all know that economic incentives are critical to promoting performance.  Going back to the days of Adam Smith, the U.S. economic growth is the result of a basic motivation – hard work can result in significant revenues/profits. Companies create incentives for their employees as well – sales performance is linked to salary, bonuses and promotions.  We have observed skewed sales incentives, such as the...