In the aftermath of the Sigelman FCPA criminal trial, the FCPA Paparazzi is in full force hyperventilating about “trends,” “messages,” and “lessons learned.” As a former prosecutor with plenty of trial experience (over 75 criminal trials, two of which lasted six months or more, just to establish bona fides), I hate to disappoint everyone, but there is not much to be learned from the recent...
Happy 4th of July to Everyone! We live in a great country. It is important to express our gratitude for the amazing opportunities we share with our family, our community and our country. This year, my wife and I are in Sicily, enjoying my wife’s heritage and our family. We may not be in the United States today, but we embrace the values we carry...
Some things are really clear in life – everyone knows something has to change but no one acts. Maybe it goes back to a common theme in corporate cultures – an unwillingness to stand out and instead rely on silence or what some like to call – “The GM Nod,” meaning everyone acts like they are in agreement but no one is “bold” enough to...
We all know the jokes about lawyers – I have to repeat just one of them: Q. Why won’t sharks eat lawyers? A. Professional courtesy. The Chief Legal Officer is a vital player in a corporate compliance program. There is no question about this issue. However, lawyers can get a little defensive and insecure (no, really?) when they are not the center of attention, or viewed...
As the compliance profession continues to develop and increase its influence in the corporate governance landscape, there are no hard and fast rules. We all quickly repeat the compliance profession mantra: there are “no one-size-fits-all solutions” in the compliance field. There has been considerable debate over the proper role of the Chief Compliance Officer in a corporate organization. In the last few years, in many...
The sprawling Petrobas corruption scandal continues to grow and stretch across Brazil’s political and economic landscape. Prosecutors handling the case continue to reach new targets and arrest more individuals who profited from the corruption schemes. For global companies that conducted business with Petrobas, there are real enforcement risks as investigators uncover bribery activity. Recently, it was reported that Brazil prosecutors referred four companies to US...
I always enjoyed economics – understanding “rational” behavior and applying it to business situations can be very productive. Of course, there were many detractors who argued that economics is filled with assumptions that take the discipline away from reality, but I find those arguments unpersuasive. There has been a fair amount of research on corruption and the impact that bribery has on a functioning market....
Now that the dust has settled a little on the FIFA criminal case, I wanted to throw my two cents into the commentary pot. Those who focus on whether the FIFA case is a “corruption case,” “an FCPA case” or some other short-handed description are missing the point. The FIFA case represents the best that DOJ can do – it was a classic, long-term investigation...
Okay, everyone take out their tea leaves and let’s get started on the IAP corruption case – DOJ announced a Non-Prosecution Agreement with IAP Worldwide Services and the criminal plea of a former executive who funneled bribes through a third-party to a Kuwait government official. When you read the facts, the case is like many other FCPA fact patterns. Illegal bribes were paid to a...
To state the obvious (and this shows my age), we are way past George Orwell’s 1984. Yes, I know 30 years past it. But we are way past the privacy concerns expressed in Orwell’s book; we are in a new era where technology and instant communications have collided with new privacy concerns. Companies are fast becoming enamored with quick and easy detection systems for employee...
