Law.com Subscribers SAVE 30%
Call 855-808-4530 or email [email protected] to receive your discount on a new subscription.
Ethics and Compliance Training
Experienced counsel know to report to the Board about the organization's ethics and compliance training initiatives so that the corporation is protected under the Federal Sentencing Guidelines. The Guidelines require that the Board of Directors be knowledgeable about the content and operation of the program, and exercise reasonable oversight with respect to program implementation and effectiveness. The operational program manager must periodically report on program effectiveness to high-level personnel, and as appropriate, to the Board or a Board Committee. In addition, the organization must take reasonable steps to periodically evaluate the effectiveness of the company's compliance program.
Reporting is also critical for the protection of the Directors themselves, whose potential exposure is starkly evidenced by the substantial settlement payments recently made by individual Directors from Enron and WorldCom. Under traditional standards of due care, good faith and loyalty, the Directors should verify that management is maintaining appropriate systems to prevent and/or detect and timely report, violations.
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.
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.
CLE Shouldn't Be the Only Mandatory Training for Attorneys
Each stage of an attorney's career offers opportunities for a curriculum that addresses both the individual's and the firm's need to drive success.
Discovery of Claim Construction and Infringement Analysis May be Compelled Prior to a Markman Hearing
A defendant in a patent infringement suit may, during discovery and prior to a <i>Markman</i> hearing, compel the plaintiff to produce claim charts, claim constructions, and element-by-element infringement analyses.