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NOVEMBER 2012
Contacts:
Christopher R. Hall
Chair
Nicholas J. Nastasi
Vice Chair
Courtney L. Schultz
Newsletter Editor
Gregory G. Schwab
Contributor
Nicholas C. Stewart
Contributor
Sarah F. Lacey
Contributor
Recent Sentencings of Executives Serve as
Reminder of Risks of Responsible Corporate
Officer Prosecutions; Risks Grow for Medical
Device Companies
By Gregory G. Schwab
The recent sentencings of a number of executives held criminally liable under the “Responsible Corporate
Officer” doctrine serve as an important reminder that the government increasingly will hold managers, offi-
cers, and in-house counsel at drug and medical device companies to a high standard with respect to over-
Watch
White Collar
White Collar
and Government
Enforcement
Practice
The Newsletter of the White Collar and Government Enforcement Practice
Contents
DOJ and SEC Issue
Long-Awaited Guidance
on the FCPA
page 1
Recent Sentencings of
Executives Serve as
Reminder of Risks of
Responsible Corporate
Ofcer Prosecutions;
Risks Grow for Medical
Device Companies
pages 1 - 3
The Future Looks Busy
for U.S. Inspectors
General
page 3
Split State Supreme
Court Decision on
Third-Party Access to
“Backup” Web-Based
Email Highlights Need
for Reform of Federal
Stored Communications
Act
pages 4 - 6
DOJ and SEC Issue Long-Awaited Guidance
on the FCPA
By Christopher R. Hall
On November 14, 2012, the DOJ and SEC issued long-awaited guidance on how they enforce
the FCPA. Our clients and readers will find the document, styled
A Resource Guide to the U.S. Foreign
Corrupt Practices Act
, extremely useful. In particular, pages 57-65 describe the hallmarks of an effec-
tive compliance program. The criteria listed describe the standard to which all companies should
aspire. The
Resource Guide
also describes hypothetical transactions, at pages 61-64, and recom-
mends how a company should proceed. In particular, the hypothetical on third-party vetting that begins
on page 63 contains facts that arise commonly in the “real world,” and provides helpful suggestions
for how to proceed. Finally, the
Resource Guide
lists examples of past declinations at pages 77-79 —
another good source of guidance for how to proceed when issues arise.
In sum, the DOJ and SEC have done a great service to the industry by their joint publication of the
Resource Guide.
The candor and substance of the guidance document will encourage companies to
adopt good compliance practices, and will also serve as a “playbook” for business leaders and their
counsel when they discover inadvertent payments prohibited by the FCPA.
