The secret of life is honesty and fair dealing. If you can fake that, you’ve got it made. Groucho Marx We are all taught the importance of honesty. But there are very different aspects to this otherwise simple proposition. People are sometimes honest with each other, and sometimes they are not. Honesty, however, is a much harder concept when speaking to your self – you...
CCOs face many challenges in their jobs. One area that is difficult but usually can be solved with common sense is where to draw the line on attorney-client privilege issues. As a practicing attorney, I can attest to the importance of the attorney-client privilege. It is a principle that is critical to the functioning of a corporation or any other organization. Communications for the purpose...
It is hard to imagine how prosecutors were able to bring cases before there was email communications. When I was a prosecutor, we looked for evidence in a lot of other sources, internal memos, calendars and other places where people would write incriminating messages. The routine use of emails, texting and instant messaging systems has changed everything. Each of these technologies are often used by...
A Chief Compliance Officer can get lost in terms, titles, risk management solutions, effective services, magic bullets, absolute requirements and ultimately confusion. Whether the strategy is called lines of defense or some other moniker of professionalism and deep thought, the real work occurs in the trenches and with a practical eye to minimizing risks while protecting the company. When a CCO adheres to common sense...
A company that does not back up its words with deeds is doomed to suffer compliance and cultural breakdowns. When a company commits to building a culture of trust and integrity, the company has to keep its word. This is not a hard principle to follow. Yet, we hear all too often about company’s leaders who commit to compliance in words and promises of commitment...
When it comes to corporate compliance programs, change does not occur quickly. CCOs are extremely pleased with their improved delivery of code of conduct training. Across the board, companies are refining their codes of conduct and following up with robust training programs to emphasize the importance of a company’s code of conduct. That is all well and good. But it is really only the beginning...
As the headlines continue to point to major misconduct and scandals involving senior corporate executives, compliance officers need to refocus their efforts and address a critical need. All too often, CCOs have difficulty in requiring board members and senior executives to undergo annual training programs. Board members and senior executives often laugh off such requirements by arguing that they know the code, the policies and...
My good friend and colleague, Tom Fox, has written an interesting post (here) on the SEC’s recent United Airlines settlement for $2.4 million for domestic bribery. As Tom has noted, the interesting aspect of the SEC’s enforcement theory is that United violated its Business Code of Ethics (and Continental’s Code of Ethics, which was in force in 2011 as well), resulting in the failure to...
Tom Fox, Matt Kelly, Jonathan Armstrong and Jay Rose recently recorded Episode 3 of Everything Compliance. Here is a link to the Episode — HERE. In this episode, we discuss a variety of topics including anti-corruption enforcement across the globe, the new French anti-corruption law, Sapin II, the Agricultural Bank of China compliance enforcement action by the state of New York Department of Financial Services;...
How to Embed a Speak Up Culture (Part III): December 13, 2016, 12 PM EST Sign Up Here The Volkov Law Group is pleased to offer a three-part series of free webinars on the essential aspects of a Speak Up culture: a prompt, efficient and fair internal investigation system; effective interview strategies; and the elements of a Speak Up culture in which employees report misconduct,...
