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Understanding <i>Blakely's </i>Impact on Corporate Compliance and Ethics
Timing is everything. The U.S. Sentencing Commission's Revised Organizational Sentencing Guidelines, with their significant shift in focus from corporate compliance programs to a broader assessment of corporate efforts to create corporate to instill cultures of “compliance and ethics,” took effect on Nov. 1, 2004. The Revised Sentencing Guidelines are published at 69 Fed. Reg. 28994, 29018-29024 (May 19, 2004). (A copy annotated with LRN's comments is available at www.lrn.com /news/ussc2.htm, as is LRN's testimony and comments to the Commission.) But even before their effective date, their future, particularly with respect to individual defendants, was in doubt. On Oct. 4, the Supreme Court heard oral argument, on an expedited basis, in two cases — Booker and Fanfan — that challenge the constitutionality of the basic structure of the Federal Sentencing Guidelines themselves.
While the Supreme Court may certainly reject the current Sentencing Guidelines, it would be more than unwise to assume that such a decision renders the Organizational Sentencing Guidelines without value. The real value of the Guidelines is not for a company hoping to qualify for a lower sentence, in the sad event of being convicted of a crime. Instead, they offer a roadmap for a company seeking to perform its most basic obligations of corporate governance: building ethics into the fabric of the company, and creating robust processes to meet its legal obligations.
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.
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.
How AI Has Affected PR
When we consider how the use of AI affects legal PR and communications, we have to look at it as an industrywide global phenomenon. A recent online conference provided an overview of the latest AI trends in public relations, and specifically, the impact of AI on communications. Here are some of the key points and takeaways from several of the speakers, who provided current best practices, tips, concerns and case studies.
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.