Sometimes lawyers get a bad rap.  We are always accused of making things more complicated in an attempt to protect our “guild” mentality.  Sometimes the criticism sticks and sometimes it does not.  It really depends on the issue and the specific concerns. If you want to see self-promotion, confusion and complication in action, all you need to do is focus on the “risk management” or...

As if compliance officers do not have enough on their plates.  I have written about this before – the risks of interfering with employees’ “protected activity” on social media.  What a nightmare and what a maze of confusion! The National Labor Relations Board, which has been re-energized under the Obama Administration, affirmed an Administrative Law Judge’s ruling that the nonprofit, Hispanics United of Buffalo, Inc....

One by one global banks are being ensnared in the LIBOR prosecution net. Late last year UBS, the Swiss banking giant, entered into a massive settlement in which it agreed to pay approximately $1.5 billion in fines and disgorgements to US, UK and Swiss regulators.  The regulatory settlement included a $700 million penalty to the CFTC.  In addition, UBS’s wholly-owned subsidiary, UBS Securities Japan Co....

FCPA practitioners tend to repeat themselves.  Some of the points we make need to be repeated, and some do not.  Businesses are not able to react as quickly as they should in response to potential risks and possible violations.  Once the Justice Department initiates an inquiry, companies very often try to get their house in order by implementing a comprehensive compliance program. One of the...

I am excited to announce the opening of The Volkov Group Law  Firm, with offices in the Washington, D.C. and San Diego, California areas.   My practice will continue to focus on white collar defense, corporate compliance, internal investigations, corporate governance, government relations, litigation and regulatory enforcement.  My thirty years experience practicing law in a variety of settings has taught me the importance of learning and adapting to new realities.  This...

If you want to do business with the government, watch out – the federal government imposes a lot of strings when handing out business.  Compliance officers face a wide array of requirements which can quickly turn into headaches, government investigations, threats of debarment and suspension, and even criminal prosecutions. Government contractors (and their subcontractors) are required to maintain comprehensive compliance programs and are subject to...

When Judge Sporkin, the father of the FCPA, assisted Senator William Proxmire in the drafting of the FCPA, he advised Senator Proxmire that a “books and records” provision was all that was needed to address the problem of foreign bribery.  As Judge Sporkin has stated publicly, he thought a bribery prohibition would be hard to prove. Judge Sporkin’s view of the matter was especially prescient. ...

The UK Bribery Act is still on the books – and there is very little enforcement action to report.  Instead, we are treated to new personnel, policies and practices surrounding the UK Bribery Act, which so far has not amounted to a hill of beans. I do not mean to denigrate the UK’s anti-corruption enforcement effort.  All of the pomp and circumstance surrounding the UK...

Companies need to spend more time critically evaluating their own governance performance.  Corporate governance weaknesses inexorably cause poor corporate performance and can result in compliance breakdowns. It is hard to turn corporate focus to governance issues.  Corporate leaders are reluctant to admit “weaknesses” and agree to the need for change.  Companies do not like change – in fact they resist change. In the last few...

It is a profound grasp of the obvious to state that internal investigations are risky.  There are so many things that can go wrong when conducting an internal investigation.  I am biased and believe that former federal prosecutors are fully capable of navigating these risks.  They have experience in conducting investigations, interviewing witnesses, reviewing evidence and assessing the facts in a case. The value of...