Over the last decade or so, anti-money laundering (AML), counter-terrorism financing (CFT), and sanctions compliance have been the subject of increased enforcement efforts. We expect this trend to accelerate in 2021 and beyond, propelled at least in part by the recent enactment of the Anti-Money Laundering Act of 2020.
With the Biden administration and a DOJ led by Merrick Garland, predictions have begun about future trends in government enforcement. Two pieces of conventional wisdom emerge: First, the focus will shift to more white-collar crime enforcement actions. And second, the healthcare industry will continue to be a major focus for investigators and prosecutors.
Wall Street has greeted Gary Gensler's nomination as Chair of the SEC with some trepidation, perhaps with good reason. Congress, by contrast, may have presented him with a powerful signing bonus.
The increasing number of regulators and enforcement agencies bringing foreign bribery cases across the globe raises the specter of successive or "carbon copy" cases. Policymakers and practitioners need to be aware of this developing risk and take steps to mitigate it.
The question of when does company counsel also represent a company executive often comes up in white-collar issue investigations.
In order to ensure that remote internal investigations are probative and effective, companies and their outside counsel should employ a few simple and practical practices.
Defense counsel in complex white-collar investigations are often asked to waive these important protections by entering into tolling agreements, stopping the clock on the statute of limitations at issue. Whether such an agreement is actually in a target or subject's best interest presents a difficult question, and COVID-19 has impacted the calculus.
With a new year and fresh outlook for the future, the time is ripe for legal technologists and innovators to take the delivery of legal services and client experience to the next level. One key is recognizing that successful innovation is equal parts mindset, method and message.
Early returns are in, and they indicate that the Supreme Court's decision in the so-called "Bridgegate" case will be an effective tool for pruning the wild overgrowth that has built up around the federal fraud statutes.
The holding in Blaszczak significantly widens the scope of criminal insider trading. It also creates the anomaly of extending the criminal law beyond the SEC's civil enforcement authority.
