We always read that corporate leaders regularly identify data security as one of the top-five risks they face in the business world. Many companies are appointing a Chief Privacy Officer to oversee the proper handling of data. In some cases, Chief Compliance Officers are charged with responsibility for protecting a company’s data and making sure that the company does not violate any law or regulation...
Whenever a new competitor threatens an established industry, you can always count on entrenched competitors to use any strategy they can to frustrate the new competing technology. Our economic history is replete with examples of this phenomena. The virtual currency industry, which is rapidly growing, is a threat to traditional financial companies. As more e-commerce websites and Internet businesses embrace virtual currencies, there is likely...
It is almost a government rite of passage – when a new leader takes the reins, the chessboard has to be reorganized to reflect the new leader’s “new priorities.” When it comes to the SEC, and the new Chairwoman Mary Jo White, the “new priority” is the return to an oldie but goodie – accounting fraud. Let’s face it – the SEC does it best...
In a fitting tribute to the departing Deputy Assistant Attorney General Scott Hammond, the architect of the Antitrust Division’s criminal enforcement plan, the Department of Justice last week announced a record criminal settlement in its largest criminal investigation ever – the auto parts investigation. Nine Japanese companies and two executives agree to plead guilty and pay fines totaling more than $740 million for a price...
I would like to think of myself as an advocate for the Chief Compliance Officer. It is easy to see why the CCO and the General Counsel should be separate individuals but close colleagues who depend on each other. Separation and dependence is a hard act to put together in one relationship but it can be done. Just because a company has set up the...
The privilege to serve on a corporate board is no longer the cushy experience of our forefathers. The increase in enforcement actions has led to a dramatic change in the role – and the risks – facing corporate boards. Companies dread hearing lawyers recommend the need for an internal investigation. Alarm bells and whistles go off and corporate board members have to take a deep...
The growth of the compliance industry has included an increase in business surveys and specific attitudes towards corruption and compliance programs. They are interesting to read, not as the definitive source of business compliance trends, but as one of several pieces in the compliance puzzle. I try to follow most of the significant compliance surveys and look for interesting issues to highlight. Every survey is...
The Antitrust Division and practitioners live in their own world. It is part of the fabric when you work in the Antitrust Division – it is an entity unto itself within the Department of Justice. For years, the Antitrust Division has been able to fend off greater control by the DOJ heirchy by arguing that protecting competition and markets is a very specialized mission, requiring...
You never see the words “poor” and “JP Morgan” in the same sentence. It is a historical oxymoron – the words do not fit together. However, if you have been following the headlines lately – you have to think to yourself, “poor JP Morgan.” How can a company get hit so hard, so many times, and expect to survive? The timing could not be any...
The latest hub-bub about hiring of relatives of foreign officials under the FCPA has raised a number of interesting questions. JP Morgan’s recent disclosure of its hiring practices, the existence of a list of such hires which are apparently tied to foreign government contracts, raise serious questions about compliance with the FCPA. It is important to take a step back and analyze the issue under...
