Lawyers and compliance professionals repeatedly tout the importance of an internal investigation to protecting a company from devastating consequences from an enforcement action. An internal investigation is important for the company: (1) to evaluate the facts and the potential legal consequences from the events; and (2) to demonstrate the company’s commitment to remediate any deficiencies in its internal controls and compliance program. An effective internal...

Can you imagine being the public relations director for China these days?  Even in the limited world of foreign bribery, the Chinese have had a rough couple of weeks.  Add the latest news to the mix and you have a recipe for a public relations nightmare. JP Morgan disclosed it may have violated the FCPA in hiring of relatives of Chinese foreign officials.  They are...

People make bad decisions.  Companies make bad decisions.  In fairness, sometimes a bad decision is the result of a failure to act, or a failure to prioritize. We are surrounded by oxymorons in our world.  I enjoy identifying them.  We all know the classics – Compassionate conservatism, military intelligence, etc. In the compliance world, my favorite oxymoron  is – reactive compliance.  What happened to proactive...

The hottest commodity on the job market is the compliance officer.  It is about time.  No longer are compliance officers considered second-rate professionals, relegated to back office positions and authority. Two trends are responsible for this professional transformation – aggressive enforcement programs and corporate governance focus on risk management.  It is important to recognize that these trends are not transitory in nature, they are defining...

Compliance is hard enough even when the issues are simplified, the tasks are defined, and the strategies are straightforward.  It is all too easy to complicate an issue, wrap it in legalese, and technical terms which are used to justify some type of “expertise,” and then claim victory once the problem is solved. The challenge for practitioners is to communicate practical solutions to what appear...

Returning to the theme of profound grasps of the obvious, compliance officers face numerous challenges where they need creativity and persistence.  One area which is not as hard as others is training.  A good training program requires common sense. Here is the rocket-science question – How do you make your training program interesting?  Well, the Justice Department and SEC’s FCPA Guidance provided a little bit...

Chief Compliance Officers are creative people.  What appears insurmountable to us mere mortals and attorneys, is just another daily challenge for a CCO.  It is a wonder that the compliance profession continues to grow in membership and importance in the business world.  After years of neglect, CCOs have become everyone’s best friend in the corporate governance world.  CEOs, COOs, CFOs and all of the acronymed-senior...

Just when you thought the risks for businesses could not get any worse, the government recently found yet another hook for a criminal investigation.  The False Claims Act continues to create significant and real risks for government contractors.   Prosecutors enjoy wide authority to use the False Claims Act for criminal and civil violations. Just last week, we learned that a criminal grand jury is now...

Corporate board members face a very tough environment.  Prosecutors are gunning for a criminal case against a board and/or some of its members.  Shareholders regularly sue board members whenever a company suffers a business or legal setback. The life of a board member has dramatically changed.  No longer is the job a “cushy” way to dabble in business management from high up in the ivory...

Life as a Chief Compliance Officer is not so easy.  The job, as defined, means living with day-to-day risks, any one of which is significant enough to damage or even destroy the company for whom you work.  CCOs learn to live with risk. When a CCO has the backing of the board and the CEO, their job is relatively easier.  That does not mean it...