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Should You Hire an Accounting Firm or a Lawyer? (or Both?)

Should You Hire an Accounting Firm or a Lawyer? (or Both?)

In the compliance world, lawyers and accountants are strange bedfellows.  Sometimes they need each other, and sometimes they do not.  Each has advantages and disadvantages.  Working together, you get both.  I shudder when I think of companies that have hired accounting firms to conduct internal investigations, design compliance programs, or audit compliance programs.  Please do not misunderstand me.  I have worked with some terrific forensic...

Corruption Risks in the Middle East

Corruption Risks in the Middle East

 The Middle East is a diverse area with significant disparities in the region.  Oil and gas dominate the economies.  Cultural and economic factors make compliance extremely difficult in the Middle East. Interestingly, on the Transparency Index, a number of Middle East countries fall above the median (e.g. Qatar 22, UAE 28, Bahrain 46, Oman 50, Kuwait 54, Jordan 56, Saudi Arabia 57, Tunisia 73,) and a...

Sanctions Enforcement — An Increasing Risk

Sanctions Enforcement — An Increasing Risk

Everyone writes about the FCPA and the UK Bribery Act.  Some are more willing to tackle export compliance.  Given the Obama Administration’s reliance on sanctions as a foreign policy tool, companies need to address the ever-changing configuration of sanctions to avoid criminal or civil liability. The Justice Department’s record of aggressive enforcement of export controls and sanctions has been impressive.  Steve Pelak, a former colleague of...

Nightmare Scenarios for an Internal Investigation

Nightmare Scenarios for an Internal Investigation

Everyone has tips on how to conduct internal investigations.  The how-to articles present advice on how to conduct an internal investigation.  Unfortunately, the reality is far more complex and risky. Behind many of the FCPA settlements reached between companies and the Justice Department are intriguing twists and turns in every investigation as the facts are gathered.  In some cases, the “truth” is never actually revealed,...

Empowering Compliance Officers: The Key to an Effective Compliance Program

Empowering Compliance Officers: The Key to an Effective Compliance Program

The test of any compliance program is simple.  All you have to do is look to the Chief Compliance Officer and ask these two basic questions:   1.  Does the CCO have independent authority and reporting access?  2.  Does the CCO have the resources needed to carry out the job? If the answers are no, the program is not adequate.  In 9 cases out of 10...

The Implications of the Laura Stevens Criminal Prosecution

The Implications of the Laura Stevens Criminal Prosecution

I have spoken to several in-house counsel meetings about the Laura Stevens criminal case.  It is amazing to me how many have not heard about the case or appreciates the implications for in-house counsel and especially global businesses.  In-house counsel have a very challenging job and often have little time to devote to non-emergencies.  I will try and boil down the implications to make it...

A Practical Look at the Compliance Defense Proposals

A Practical Look at the Compliance Defense Proposals

A policy debate requires careful thought and practical evaluations.  That is the case with the current flap involving the Chamber of Commerce’s push for reform.  The Chamber of Commerce, for all its resources, and brilliant minds, ignored a number of significant issues surrounding a compliance defense to an FCPA prosecution.  Even the FCPA Professor ignored some real significant practical issues.  Prosecutors and defense counsel with...

Advice of Counsel: An Effective Shield

Advice of Counsel: An Effective Shield

Companies hire lawyers for a reason.  Hopefully, they do so for more than one reason.  Lawyers provide several important benefits, contrary to all the jokes and ridicule against the profession. The attorney-client privilege encourages confidential communications between business actors and attorneys.  As the Supreme Court has stated, “[t]he purpose of the privilege is to encourage clients to make full disclosure to their attorneys.”  In addition,...

Carrots and Sticks — DOJ's Self-Reporting Policies

Carrots and Sticks — DOJ's Self-Reporting Policies

FCPA commentators, like my good friend Howard Sklar, tout the benefits of self-reporting when they discover an FCPA violation.    There is no question that if a company self-reports they will get a break.  What is not clear, and has not changed, is the question — How much? The Justice Department wants everyone to report potential violations.  Why?  They get another case, another statistic and another...

Sign Up for Audioconference: Off-Label Marketing Enforcement and Risks for Medical Device Companies and Service Providers

Sign Up for Audioconference: Off-Label Marketing Enforcement and Risks for Medical Device Companies and Service Providers

Join me and Michael Ruggio on May 31, 2012, at 11:30 AM for an audio conference Off-Label Marketing Enforcement and Risks for Medical Device Companies and Service Providers. You can SIGN UP HERE Headline after headline reports corporate settlements and criminal prosecutions against medical device companies and health care providers for off-label marketing violations.  This audio conference will update the current trends and compliance strategies relating to...