The Justice Department’s new Corporate Enforcement Policy and the heightened enforcement and compliance expectations were put to the test in its announcement of a $315 million settlement of bribery charges with ABB, a three-time loser in foreign bribery enforcement.  In some respects, the new policy should not apply to ABB’s case given its recent announcement but nonetheless the ABB resolution provides some important indicators of...

Join us December 7-8 for Compliance Week’s Third Party Risk Management & Oversight Summit, the only cross-industry conference dedicated to risk management, oversight strategies, and best practices for vendor and third-party relationships. The Summit will be live-streamed virtually. Our Partner Jessica Sanderson will be joining Sandeep Bhide for a panel entitled Deep Dive into Third-Party Relationships to Identify 4th and Nth Parties on December 7 from 12:00...

Alexander Cotoia, Regulatory Manager at The Volkov Law Group, rejoins us for a posting on State Department’s plan to increase ITAR enforcement of controlled data transfers. Alex can be reached at [email protected]. During a plenary session of the Defense Trade Advisory Group (“DTAG”)  that convened on November 9, 2022, Deputy Assistant Secretary of State Mike Miller outlined a number of initiatives undertaken by the Directorate...

We are pleased to announce the addition of Sam Finkelstein as an Associate Attorney at The Volkov Law Group. Sam comes to Volkov Law from the Bergen County Superior Court, where he served as Judicial Law Clerk to the Hon. Frances A. McGrogan, J.S.C.  Before his clerkship, Sam worked as a Legal Analyst with The Volkov Law Group; in this capacity, Sam distinguished himself as...

DOJ’s decision to examine corporate compensation programs as an important part of a compliance program should be welcomed.  DOJ’s initiative asks a very good question – how can incentives and disincentives be used to promote compliant behavior without unjustly punishing shareholders who bear the brunt of large corporate penalties? DOJ wisely decided to open this issue to further examination through a consultation process.  The possible...

The Justice Department did not just willy-nilly announce its embrace of clawbacks and deferred payment compensation punishment as a remediation tool for companies that suffer an enforcement action and settlement.  To the contrary, DOJ has been examining this issue, even citing it in important policy spheres and enforcement actions, as an important tool in its arsenal. Both the DOJ and the SEC have been weighing...

Some were surprised by the recent move by the Department of Justice in focusing on the importance of incentives and disincentives as an important factor in an effective ethics and compliance program.  Others, however, had been waiting for years to this occur.  To these compliance professionals, DOJ was finally arriving, although late to the game. If we take a step back, the issue is nothing...

The Department of Justice’s Antitrust Division continues its aggressive pursuit of enforcement and recently succeeded in blocking a controversial acquisition in the book selling market.  After a string of losses in the merger arena, Judge Florence Pan in the District of Columbia agreed with the Department of Justice and blocked Penguin Random House’s (“PRH’s”) proposed $2.18 billion acquisition of Simon and Schuster (“S&S”). Shortly thereafter,...