Law.com Subscribers SAVE 30%
Call 855-808-4530 or email [email protected] to receive your discount on a new subscription.
Compliance Hotline
FormerHealthSouth CEO Challenges Constitutionality of SOX
Former HealthSouth Chairman and CEO, Richard Scrushy, who is the first person to have been charged criminally under ' 906 of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act, has filed a motion to have three of the 85 charges filed against him dismissed. He claims that the requirement that a CEO certify the accuracy of a company's financial statements is unconstitutional because it imposes criminal liability on an act that is derivative of another act that may not be criminal. He argues that technical non-compliance with the 1934 Securities Exchange Act does not necessarily result in criminal liability unless it involves willingly or knowingly making false statements of material fact. Under SOX, however, technical non-compliance now invokes criminal liability for a CEO. U.S. v. Scrushy, N.D. Ala., Case No. CR-03-BE-0530-S (April 5).
The DOJ's Corporate Enforcement Policy: One Year Later
The DOJ's Criminal Division issued three declinations since the issuance of the revised CEP a year ago. Review of these cases gives insight into DOJ's implementation of the new policy in practice.
The DOJ's New Parameters for Evaluating Corporate Compliance Programs
The parameters set forth in the DOJ's memorandum have implications not only for the government's evaluation of compliance programs in the context of criminal charging decisions, but also for how defense counsel structure their conference-room advocacy seeking declinations or lesser sanctions in both criminal and civil investigations.
Use of Deferred Prosecution Agreements In White Collar Investigations
This article discusses the practical and policy reasons for the use of DPAs and NPAs in white-collar criminal investigations, and considers the NDAA's new reporting provision and its relationship with other efforts to enhance transparency in DOJ decision-making.
Bankruptcy Sales: Finding a Diamond In the Rough
There is no efficient market for the sale of bankruptcy assets. Inefficient markets yield a transactional drag, potentially dampening the ability of debtors and trustees to maximize value for creditors. This article identifies ways in which investors may more easily discover bankruptcy asset sales.
A Lawyer's System for Active Reading
Active reading comprises many daily tasks lawyers engage in, including highlighting, annotating, note taking, comparing and searching texts. It demands more than flipping or turning pages.