Written by former federal prosecutors and experienced defense
attorneys across the Firm's 37 offices, this guidebook will
serve as reference materials for corporate clients facing key
decisions on how and when to perform internal investigations. Led
by Charles Carberry (New York) and Richard Deane (Atlanta), the
Firm's Corporate Criminal Investigations practice group
includes former U.S. Attorneys, Assistant U.S. Attorneys and other
federal and state regulators who now dedicate their work to the
defense of corporations and business persons in white collar
criminal and complex litigation matters.
As noted by Corporate Criminal Investigations Practice Leaders
Charles Carberry and Richard Deane in the introduction to the
guidebook:
Corporations are being scrutinized today as never before. Public
and private companies alike are examined and investigated not only
by the U.S. government, but by increasing numbers of local, state,
and foreign government agencies. Private plaintiffs are also filing
more and more cases with significant allegations that attempt to
call a corporation's conduct into question. Frequently,
corporate scrutiny focuses on compliance issues: that is, whether
companies comply with the legal obligations to run the business
ethically around the world. Corporations are clearly facing
significant challenges.
There is a path, though, for corporations to best protect
themselves in the harsh glare of the spotlight on compliance
issues. That is: When a company is confronted with evidence or
allegations of potential wrongdoing, the company is well served to
respond deliberately and thoughtfully by making sure that it
understands all the facts. If the facts evidence a violation of
policy—or worse, of law—the company should respond
promptly with appropriate discipline, remediation, and (in certain
cases) perhaps even discussions with the government.
Under the right circumstances, conducting an effective corporate
internal investigation protected by the attorney-client privilege
can benefit the company in a number of ways:
- Revealing all of the relevant facts so that management and/or the board can make a fully informed decision as to how best to proceed;
- Stopping the conduct to prevent further violations;
- Memorializing the company's good-faith response to the facts as they become known;
- Insulating management and/or the board against allegations of complicity; and
- Promoting a culture of transparency and compliance throughout the organization.
Each of these benefits can be achieved if the investigation is
well designed with a specific work plan that addresses document
collection and review, witness interviews, careful analysis, and
periodic reporting in the format that best serves the client's
interests.
Jones Day has developed one of the deepest benches in the world of
former prosecutors and regulators and of lead trial lawyers, all of
whom guide and defend companies every day through their most
sensitive and urgent issues. The materials in this collection,
written by the partners and associates within the Firm's
Corporate Criminal Investigations Practice, describe different
aspects of our practice as related to corporate internal
investigations. The materials cover best practices in witness
interviews, reflections on the corporate attorney-client privilege,
representation issues in internal investigations, joint defense
agreements, the effective use of experts, the growing prevalence of
global corporate investigations, and protecting a company's
interests after self-disclosure.
View the resource guidebook here.
The content of this article is intended to provide a general guide to the subject matter. Specialist advice should be sought about your specific circumstances.