In the Courts
January 01, 2004
Recent rulings of importance to you and your practice.
Sarbanes-Oxley Litigation Trap?
January 01, 2004
In-house counsel focused on complying with the Sarbanes-Oxley Act should be wary of falling into a trap that could increase the business risks and liability exposure of their company and its executives.
The Perils of an Ineffective Compliance Program
January 01, 2004
Are ethics programs no longer optional but mandatory? If the program is not good enough, is that fact itself the basis for liability? A recent civil case filed by the creative health care prosecutors in the U.S. Attorney's Office in Philadelphia asserts that a company's "ineffective" compliance program satisfies the scienter requirements of the civil False Claims Act (FCA).
Tax Shelters: Avoidance or Evasion?
January 01, 2004
Recent hearings of a subcommittee of the Senate Committee Governmental Affairs have again focused a harsh spotlight on the abusive use of tax shelters. As if to stress the point, On Dec. 29, 2003, the Treasury Department proposed changes to Circular 230 that "set high standards for the tax advisors and firms that provide opinions supporting tax-motivated transactions."
In The Courts
December 01, 2003
Analysis of recent rulings that affect your practice.
MLATs and the Foreign Discoverability Requirement
December 01, 2003
Anyone who has gone through the cumbersome and laborious process of trying to obtain discovery from abroad through letters rogatory will appreciate the frustration that gave rise to Mutual Legal Assistance Treaties in Criminal Matters (MLATs). Generally, these treaties, which the United States has negotiated with dozens of countries, provide procedures by which prosecutors in one signatory country can obtain evidence located within the territory of the other.
Sentencing Convicted Corporations
December 01, 2003
The Ad Hoc Advisory Group to the United States Sentencing Commission on the Organizational Sentencing Guidelines (OSG) has recommended significant changes, particularly in the seven criteria for an effective compliance program to prevent and detect violations of law that, if implemented by an organization, may qualify it for a reduced fine in the event of a conviction.
Compliance Risk Assessment
December 01, 2003
The Report of the Ad Hoc Advisory Group on the Organizational Sentencing Guidelines asks the Sentencing Commission to adopt a new guideline defining "effective program to prevent and detect violations of law" as used in USSG ' 82C.5(f). The Report recommends that the definition include conducting ongoing risk assessments as one of its elements. The assessments would have two aspects: 1) a determination of "the scope and nature of the risks of violations of law associated with an organization's activities," and 2) use of the results of the assessments to "influence the design and implementation of a broad range of features of an effective [compliance] program."
Antitrust Goes Global
November 10, 2003
Billions of dollars in potential awards, a new map for antitrust litigation, and what many say is a likely spot on the Supreme Court docket; <i>Empagran v. F. Hoffman-LaRoche</i> has it all. What could it mean for U.S. pharmaceutical (and other) companies? "Corporations in this country and all over the world are really scared of this," says Paul Gallagher, a Washington D.C.-based Cohen, Milstein, Hausfeld & Toll partner who serves as lead plaintiffs counsel in the case.
