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Hope and Change

By Joseph F. Savage, Jr. and Derek M. Adams

Businesses and executives may be in for increased scrutiny under President Obama. The Department of Justice (DOJ) under President Bush abandoned the focus on white-collar crime prosecution inherited from the Clinton DOJ, especially financial fraud, antitrust enforcement and environmental protection. Despite the economic meltdown and a perceived explosion of corporate misbehavior during the Bush years ' typified by Enron and WorldCom ' white-collar crime enforcement was down 27% from 2000-2007, according to data from the Transactional Records Access Clearinghouse at Syracuse University. Environmental enforcement also faltered, plunging 28% in the same time period. Candidate Obama condemned the politicization of the DOJ and criticized the Bush administration's weak record on financial crimes. At minimum, an Obama administration promises to increase enforcement of financial crimes, antitrust and environmental offenses.

A record number of companies reached settlements in the final weeks of the Bush administration, perhaps a sign that many businesses and defense attorneys forecast a less friendly regulatory and enforcement environment. The Justice Department announced 19 resolutions with companies from November through the end of 2008, up from five in the same months of 2006 and 16 in 2007, according to The Washington Post.

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