Foreign Corrupt Practices Act

Article by: Kyle Reykalin / FRONTEO

Conducting cost-effective and efficient e-discovery for Foreign Corrupt Practices Act investigations involving U.S. and Japanese companies requires a rare combination of legal, cultural and technological skills. Here are seven common obstacles, and practical tips to help e-discovery teams overcome them.

1. Bridge dissimilar legal systems. It’s important to understand the differences between the two legal systems. Japanese in-house counsel are often surprised at the scope, expense and formality of the American discovery process, as well as the danger that their confidential business documents and strategies might be shared. American attorneys occasionally assume that the in-house legal departments of large Japanese corporations are familiar with uniquely American legal concepts, such as attorney-client privilege. Care must be taken to clearly explain the requirements of confidentiality, electronically stored information collection, the obligations of legal hold and other discovery concepts.Continue Reading Seven Tips for Handling E-Discovery in Cross-Border FCPA Investigations: Dealing with two languages more than doubles the complexity

Interview with Mike Koehler / FCPA Professor Blog

 When I read The New York Times front-page article in 2012 about Wal-Mart’s alleged bribes in Mexico, I thought it was going to be the U.S. equivalent of Siemens in Germany. Before I ask you about that, can you bring us up to date on Wal-Mart’s FCPA investigation? What has happened over the past five years?Continue Reading Much Ado About…Little?: How a ‘garden variety’ FCPA investigation of Walmart grabbed the spotlight

Article by James A. Merklinger /  Association of Corporate Counsel (ACC)

There is no doubt that 2016 was a record-setting year in the history of the enforcement of the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act. The nearly $2.5 billion in settlements that companies paid to resolve FCPA cases dwarfs the previous year’s figure of $133 million. However, nearly absent from the books last year were incidents in the Middle East.
Continue Reading ACC and Dubai Join Forces on Anticorruption Program: Goal is to train in-house counsel active in the Middle East

Article by John Filar Atwood / Wolters Kluwer Legal & Regulatory U.S.

 

U.S. Department of Justice officials have gone out of their way recently to emphasize that enforcement of the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act is alive and well under the new administration. Perhaps in response to concerns that President Donald Trump is reportedly no fan of the FCPA, both Acting Assistant Attorney General Kenneth Blanco and Acting Principal Deputy Assistant Attorney General Trevor McFadden said in recent public remarks that the DOJ continues to vigorously investigate and enforce FCPA violations. Worth noting in McFadden’s comments is that the prosecution of individuals remains a DOJ priority.
Continue Reading No Free Pass Under Trump: Individuals who think they can do what they want without having to worry about FCPA enforcement should think again