Could it get any worse for companies and public perception of corrupt business practices?  I know it is a rhetorical question but the wave of public opinion and news reports has been pretty bad for business.  In the wake of the financial crisis of 2008-09, the last thing businesses needed was a new whipping post for public outrage.  In the wake of a perceived slow...

In Part II on In-House Counsel, I examine the field of enforcement risks facing in-house counsel and outline my Top 6 Risks.  The challenges facing in-house counsel are significant and growing.  It is important to try and picture the vantage from their point of view.    It is easy for us in the “blogosphere” to write about compliance in a vacuum where we can pontificate about...

Let’s try and look at the world from the viewpoint of in-house counsel.  In a two-part series, I try and focus on the current state of in-house counsel.  Part I focuses on the overall view from a macro-standpoint.   Part II looks at significant risks facing companies today. In today’s aggressive enforcement environment, you have to empathize with in-house counsel.  From my vantage point, most in-house...

Wait a minute – where are the fireworks?  Where are all the FCPA enforcement actions?  What happened to all the predictions of a big enforcement year (including my own). The Justice Department and the SEC almost ended the second quarter without any significant enforcement actions – Data Systems and Solutions was the only significant enforcement action for the quarter. The FCPA paparazzi is up in...

EthiXbase is a terrific tool to help in anti-corruption compliance.  I havhe had a chance to review the product and it offers many important services to help inpractitioners in the anti-corruption field.  For my practice, it is critical to stay on top of new anti-corruption laws around the globe and to keep tabs on glo bal enforcement actions and trends. If you have time, I...

The goal of enforcement is to deter misconduct and promote compliance.  That connection is not always clear.  In the FCPA context, there is ongoing debate about the importance of prosecuting individuals for FCPA violations to deter corruption, and the impact that a corporate compliance defense would have on overall compliance efforts.    In an interesting article (here), Cartels, Compliance and What Practitioners Really Think About...

It is difficult to build a culture of compliance. One of the biggest challenges facing a company is to transform the relationship between employees and the legal/compliance staff.  Employees avoid in-house counsel and compliance officials because they are viewed as “deal killers,” or people who “Just Say No.”  Employees know that dealing with lawyers or compliance staff can only lead to trouble, discipline or slowing...

Technology has been a boon for productivity.  Social media has replaced many traditional advertising and information sources.  Some enjoy all the new gadgets, technologies and instant communications.  Others do not.  Whatever your view is, it is clear that social media has increased risks of litigation and enforcement.  Sometimes the risks of enforcement come from unlikely actors.  In the social media context, the National Labor Relations...

You can always count on Howard Sklar to make things interesting.  His latest article, Who is It Okay to Bribe? (Here), is another in the line of provocative posts.  Howard always gets people to think.  But without taking Howard on too strongly (let’s face it, I am no FCPA Professor, or Tom Fox, who both enjoy taking Howard on), his last column was more of...

In Part II of Best Practices for Internal Investigations, I examine how to design an appropriate investigative plan.  While it is hard to predict at the outset the course that an internal investigation will take, a preliminary investigation plan is an important management tool.  There are several helpful steps to take: 1.  Define the objective of the investigation and the most efficient way to achieve...