Posts Tagged ‘Justice Department’
Some Polite Words on Testing
Gather round, corporate compliance professionals. We have another speech from a high-ranking Justice Department official about how compliance programs should work, and as usual these days, the speech is full of clues that are well worth your time and attention. The speech came from Kenneth Polite, assistant attorney general for the Criminal Division, who spoke…
Read MoreUpdates on Antitrust Leniency Program
Useful news for anyone working at a company involved in an illegal cartel or other vast criminal conspiracy: the Justice Department’s Antitrust Division has updated its leniency policy for corporate offenders, with new emphasis on prompt self-disclosure of the violations and remediation to prevent repeat offenses. The Antitrust Division has long allowed the first individual…
Read MoreMore Compliance Program Pointers
Earlier this week we had a post about assistant attorney general Kenneth Polite’s idea to have chief compliance officers certify the effectiveness of their compliance programs. Today I want to revisit the rest of Polite’s speech; aside from that controversial proposal, he offered numerous other thoughts about effective compliance programs worth our attention. Polite began…
Read MoreOn Compliance Officers Certifying Their Programs
Folks, we need to talk about the Justice Department’s new idea to have chief compliance officers certify at the end of a deferred-prosecution agreement that their company’s compliance program is reasonably designed and effective. I am a fan of the Justice Department and strong compliance programs — but can something like this really work in…
Read MoreJustice Dept. Beefs Up Cyber Actions
Just in time for Russia’s invasion of Ukraine and the cyber attacks that inevitably will follow, the Justice Department is promising to use “disruptive action” against cyber criminals, even if those actions jeopardize the department’s chance for future charges and arrests. So said deputy attorney general Lisa Monaco on Thursday, speaking at the annual Munich…
Read MoreA Major Shift in Antitrust Policy
Well this is fortunate timing: one day after we had a post exploring the antitrust challenges around Microsoft’s proposed acquisition of Activision Blizzard, the Justice Department’s top antitrust official gave a speech warning that his division will be more likely to block proposed mergers and less likely to accept settlements that simply restrict post-merger practices. …
Read MoreStudy: CCOs Put DOJ Guidance to Use
A study released this week finds that most chief compliance officers are aware of, and appreciate, the guidance on effective corporate compliance programs that the Justice Department has churned out in recent years — although CCOs would like more examples from the department of decisions not to prosecute a company based on its compliance efforts. …
Read MoreSo What Happens Next With DPAs?
Compliance officers could ponder any number of issues raised by the Justice Department last week, when it unveiled numerous policy changes to strengthen its enforcement of corporate misconduct. To my thinking, however, the most consequential question is this: What should the department do with repeat corporate offenders? Deputy attorney general Lisa Monaco asked exactly that…
Read MoreJustice Dept. Unveils Big Compliance Shifts
The Justice Department unveiled numerous policy changes Thursday to toughen its enforcement of corporate misconduct, including a more expansive review of corporations’ prior misconduct when deciding current cases, higher expectations for cooperation during investigations, and more liberal use of compliance monitors. The moves were announced by deputy attorney general Lisa Monaco, who delivered the news…
Read MoreDoJ Dinged on Whistleblower Protection
Radical Compliance is never one to engage in schadenfreude, but for whatever this may be worth: the Justice Department has been dinged by its own inspector general for sloppy whistleblower protection efforts with its third parties. The inspector general, Michael Horowitz, sent a memo to senior Justice Department officials last week warning that the department…
Read More