At the outset, I have to apologize for the title but during my morning bike ride I usually come up with blog posting titles. But moving past the trite title, I have a point to make. It starts with a hypothetical – a CEO is supposed to introduce a company’s new code of conduct at a company event. Everyone attends – in person or virtually...

Honesty is the best policy – when there is money in it. – Mark Twain Compliance professionals encounter a diverse range of corporate personalities in their work. To be sure, compliance officers have to rely on their abilities to analyze, lead, persuade, understand and motivate different functions in a company to contribute to the company’s ethics and compliance function. In doing so, compliance officers have...

In the compliance arena, like in many others in life, we value simplicity. I have repeatedly stressed the importance of compliance initiatives that are relatively simple. Too often, lawyers and compliance professionals confuse complexity with efficacy. We can all spin together complex compliance controls that address every possible permutation of events, contingencies and possibilities. That is not the challenge. Compliance is a delicate balance between...

DOJ’s FCPA Pilot Program was panned when it was announced in April 2016. Critics contended that the incentive for voluntary disclosure of FCPA violations to DOJ was inadequate. Under the FCPA Pilot Program, a company can earn up to a 50 percent reduction from the bottom of the applicable range for calculation of a criminal fine. DOJ also noted the possibility of a declination with...

If you ask members of a corporate board or senior executives about the cost of an FCPA enforcement action, they will candidly acknowledge all of the costs – fines, penalties, and professional costs (e.g. legal, accounting, forensic). These are significant costs and nothing to sneeze or laugh at (however the expression goes). In a moment of candor the board members and C-Suite executives will confess...

In an important decision, on July 6, 2016, the Eighth Circuit Court of Appeals affirmed the prison sentences imposed on Jack DeCoster, and his son, Peter, under the “responsible corporate officer” doctrine (aka Park doctrine) for their role in distributing eggs tainted by salmonella. (Here). In 2010, approximately 56,000 persons fell ill from salmonella after eating contaminated eggs. The outbreak was eventually traced back to...

The term “due diligence” is an overused expression in the compliance world. It has become a term to mean heightened concern or investigation. No one can really define what it means except to say it has different meanings in different contexts. Some would say it is a term of art in the legal and compliance world. It is misleading to add the term “investigation” to...

The legal profession is transforming itself, especially in the area of compliance. Lawyers are an invaluable part of a compliance program. They provide important perspective and understanding of risk, they help a company to assess and navigate legal risks and they interface with regulators and enforcement agencies. The most effective compliance programs usually are built around a strong partnership between a chief compliance officer and...

I hate to pick on lawyers. I have been practicing law for nearly 35 years. I have worked with and met a lot of lawyers, some great, some good and some not so good. Lawyers can sometimes be their own worst enemies. When lawyers engage in ‘territorial” battles, or controversies over petty issues, they always lose, no matter what the result. A confident professional will...