Let’s try and put this all in perspective.  Last fiscal year, the Antitrust Division collected over $1 billion in criminal fines and sent a number of senior executives to prison.  The Antitrust Division’s enforcement record is impressive and is likely to grow with the LIBOR investigation and the ever-expanding investigation of auto parts suppliers. Based on this clear enforcement risk, you would expect that antitrust...

Chief Compliance Officers are basically optimists.  In the face of a mountain of worst case scenarios (typically referred to as “risks”), CCOs keep smiling and work incredibly hard.  They are “religious” zealots in business clothing.  CCOs indoctrinate their staff to fight the same cause and they spread the word on the importance of ethics and compliance. The perception of CCOs is far different.  Management and...

In the age of superstar CEOs who command media attention and excessive compensation packages, a company’s performance can often boil down to the relationship between the Board and the CEO. Corporate governance can succeed or fail based on the CEO’s performance.  Numerous studies have focused on the personality types of CEOs.  In a recent article, a British study found that CEOs are four times as...

Chief Compliance Officers are usually very proud of their anti-corruption training programs.  Most companies rely on a combination of live and on-line training programs to communicate the message of compliance. The FCPA Guidance was very clear on the subject of training programs.  The Justice Department and the SEC took a little bit of time to underscore the importance of making a training program relevant and...

Every compliance program depends on collaboration.  No one actor at a company determines the success or failure of a corporate compliance program. One key component of this collaborative effort is the relationship among the Chief Compliance Officer (”CCO”), General Counsel and Internal Auditor.  Neither one of them can do it all no matter how hard they work or how good they are at their respective...

There is a lot of grumbling these days over the Justice Department’s use of Deferred and Non-Prosecution Agreements.  Some think the deals are too lenient and corporations should be required to plead guilty.  Capitol Hill continues to question why individuals are not prosecuted in recent mega-settlements.  Another area of criticism focuses on the detailed compliance conditions imposed on companies. One thing is clear – the...

The bottom-line:  If you do not conduct a risk assessment, then you should start praying.  The FCPA Guidance made it clear – conduct a risk assessment and tailor your compliance program to the risk assessment. In the unfortunate event that your company is involved in an FCPA enforcement action, DOJ and the SEC conduct a thorough review of a company’s compliance program.  If the program...

As the Jodi Arias criminal trial winds down, I have to go out on a limb and make my prediction. I have tried a lot of cases and have a good sense of which way a criminal case will usually break.  Figuring out the Jodi Arias case is compounded by the notoriety of the case and the media coverage (some might say obsession). The trial...

Hospitals continue to be under the Department of Justice-HHS/Office of Inspector General microscope.  DOJ-OIG is a potent combination and carry with them the threat of criminal prosecution, civil false claims enforcement and civil exclusion from federal healthcare programs. Intermountain Healthcare is a hospital chain in Utah, which has 22 hospitals and 185 physician clinics.  In 2009, Intermountain voluntarily disclosed potential Stark Law violations.  In April...