Practices

Anti-Corruption

Increasing globalization means more intense monitoring of how U.S. companies conduct business abroad. We assist clients in a wide variety of matters involving the U.S. Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA), the U.K. Bribery Act, and similar laws.

Our anti-corruption team provides a full range of anti-corruption services, including compliance advice, transactional due diligence, investigations, and representation before enforcement authorities. Our compliance work includes advising on the design and implementation of effective compliance programs, performing risk assessments to focus limited compliance resources, assessing existing compliance procedures, reviewing proposed high-risk activity, and training key personnel.

For clients involved in or considering M&A or joint venture transactions with business partners in high-risk areas, we perform transactional due diligence and assist with anti-corruption program integration. We conduct internal investigations of corruption issues for clients in the United States and abroad. In addition, we defend companies and individuals during investigations or enforcement activity before the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ), the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), and other regulators.

Our team includes:

Former DOJ prosecutors and SEC trial counsel who handled bribery and FCPA matters while in government
Attorneys with trial experience in high-profile corruption and money laundering matters
Attorneys with experience conducting sensitive internal investigations in countries around the world
Former in-house counsel who have dealt with compliance-related investigations and implementation of compliance procedures
Complex litigation attorneys prepared to assist with FCPA-related civil litigation, including derivative actions, securities class actions, employee/whistleblower litigation, and litigation involving former business partners or competitors

We have advised on anti-corruption matters in an array of business sectors, including aerospace, banking and finance, chemicals, electronics, logistics, oil and gas, manufacturing, mineral resources and mining, navigation systems, pharmaceutical/medical devices, and software.

Our Experience

Examples of our experience in investigations and enforcement include:

Conducted an internal investigation for a multinational manufacturer in response to allegations of bribery asserted by a former employee/whistleblower and involving sales offices in multiple of the company's Eastern European locations. We handled the investigation efficiently and discretely, and made recommendations to the Chief Compliance Officer and Board of Directors to remediate risks moving forward.
Conducted an internal investigation on behalf of a large multinational health care company into allegations by a whistleblower relating to alleged improper payments made to government officials
Represented a large petroleum and petrochemical manufacturer in an FCPA investigation involving various U.S. Attorney's Offices, the SEC, and the Office of Fair Trading in London
Conducted an internal investigation for and successfully defended a Fortune 50 company before the DOJ, the SEC, and U.K. authorities, in relation to allegations of FCPA violations in the company's Nigerian operations. We persuaded the U.S. and U.K. governments to conclude their investigations without bringing any charges. We also helped the client prepare enhanced compliance procedures and train key personnel.
Represented a South American officer of a U.S. investment bank in an investigation by DOJ and SEC regarding possible improper payments in Latin American bond transactions
Represented an individual in a criminal FCPA matter in the Southern District of New York
Represented, as pool counsel, a group of employees of a multinational logistics corporation in an internal investigation
Represented U.S. and foreign-based employees of a multinational electronics company in a DOJ/SEC investigation

Examples of our experience in compliance and transactional work include:

Drafted policies and conducted trainings for executives, sales representatives, operations employees, franchisees, and in-house legal departments in a wide range of industries.
Performed compliance program reviews and advising on related issues, including third-party due diligence and other risk control procedures, for a multinational freight forwarder and a multinational medical device manufacturer.
Developed comprehensive FCPA compliance programs for a variety of clients
Performed anti-corruption due diligence and related investigations with regard to acquisitions and other transactions
Conducted audits of high-risk third-party intermediaries for multinational companies, including providing recommendations on controls and contractual terms to mitigate related risks.