All Yates Memo articles

  • Timeline
    Article

    Compliance 2020: A timeline

    2020-01-02T14:03:00Z

    Compliance Week looks back at two decades of scandals, enforcement actions, and regulatory policies (2000-2019) that shaped the compliance function we see today.

  • Blog

    Individual prosecutions as deterrence

    2017-02-13T18:30:00Z

    Perhaps it’s not the penalties and fines, but rather the individual prosecutions that deter bad behavior. The Man From FCPA Tom Fox reports.

  • Blog

    Department of Justice launches new website on individual accountability

    2016-12-02T12:15:00Z

    Deputy Attorney General Sally Yates in remarks this week announced that the Department of Justice has launched a new website in an effort to be more transparent about the much-talked-about Yates Memo and changes made last year to the Filip factors. Jaclyn Jaeger has more.

  • Article

    Ready for Justice Department scrutiny of your compliance program?

    2016-11-29T10:45:00Z

    Nobody wants the Department of Justice to take a critical look at their compliance program. But Gejaa Gobena has some tips for how to survive the process.

  • Article

    Navigating the risks of individual accountability for corporate wrongdoing

    2016-11-22T13:45:00Z

    How can directors and officers better protect themselves and their organizations in a post-Yates Memo era of accountability? Kevin Hyams has some answers.

  • Blog

    Potential VW criminal resolution—an early test for Yates Memo?

    2016-08-16T16:45:00Z

    A look at potential VW criminal resolutions brings up several questions, says Tom Fox, around  type of resolution; individual liability; and more. Will this test the DoJ’s Yates Memo?

  • Article

    Second Circuit ruling gives legal backing to Yates Memo

    2016-07-26T14:45:00Z

    At last, compliance officers have a legal decision to cheer about: A recent court case affirmed the ability of companies to fire executives who refuse to cooperate with internal investigations. This gives compliance departments a serious boost in authority, reports Jaclyn Jaeger.

  • Article

    Defining compliance program effectiveness

    2016-06-01T10:45:00Z

    During a keynote panel at Compliance Week 2016, enforcement officials from the Securities and Exchange Commission and the Department of Justice spoke candidly about compliance program effectiveness, personal liability, and more. Jaclyn Jaeger reports.

  • Article

    CW2016: Practical implications of the Yates Memo

    2016-06-01T10:30:00Z

    At Compliance Week 2016 last week, Jaclyn Jaeger covered the conversation between current and former enforcement officials, as well as compliance officers, on how the “Yates Memo” is affecting them from a real-world standpoint.

  • Blog

    The Yates Memo and the new normal for individual enforcement

    2016-05-11T03:45:00Z

    In a speech before the New York bar, Justice Department Deputy Assistant Sally Yates detailed some of the effects the Justice Department has already seen from the Yates Memo, released last September, including a larger focus on individual actor culpability and a drive by DoJ lawyers to identify the individuals ...

  • Blog

    Justice Department: companies will have to certify investigation disclosures

    2016-02-12T12:00:00Z

    The Department of Justice’s Fraud Section has confirmed that it is working on developing a new policy whereby settling companies will soon have certify that they have, in fact, disclosed fully all information about individuals involved in wrongdoing before finalizing a settlement agreement. The new policy in the making signals ...

  • Article

    Employee Investigations Post-Yates Memo

    2015-12-01T09:45:00Z

    Image: Any company that has faced allegations of corporate misconduct knows how quickly the scope and cost of an internal investigation can grow—a concern that has only amplified following the Justice Department’s Yates Memo. “Corporate compliance professionals have expressed concern that this policy will result in companies undertaking unnecessarily broad, ...

  • Blog

    Yates and Caldwell Lay Out Their FCPA Expectations

    2015-11-20T09:30:00Z

    Image: Deputy Attorney General Sally Yates (left) and Assistant Attorney General Leslie Caldwell talked last week about what they, and more importantly the Justice Department overall, expect from companies that want to receive as much credit as possible when embroiled in a Foreign Corrupt Practices Act investigation. What companies should ...

  • Blog

    Justice Department Revises U.S. Attorneys’ Manual

    2015-11-17T15:15:00Z

    Image: During remarks at the American Banking Association and American Bar Association Money Laundering Enforcement Conference, Deputy Attorney General Sally Quillian Yates announced that the Department of Justice has made some significant revisions to its U.S. Attorneys’ Manual, providing new insight on how prosecutors are implementing the Yates Memo. “We ...

  • Blog

    Yates Memo, D&O Coverage, and the Coverage Gap

    2015-11-09T18:00:00Z

    One consequence of the Yates Memo that has not received as much attention is whether current directors-and-officers liability insurance provides appropriate insurance coverage for the legal expenses incurred by executives who might go through an internal investigation. The answer may well be no; Tom Fox has more inside.

  • Blog

    Surviving the Jolt of the Yates Memo

    2015-10-14T09:45:00Z

    An earthquake in the world of FCPA enforcement happened in September, when “the Yates Memo” arrived and heralded a new era of pursuing individuals responsible for corporate misconduct. This week, columnist Tom Fox dissects some of the implications for compliance officers—including the threat that from here forward, the interests of ...

  • Blog

    Double Trouble in Internal Investigations After Schrems

    2015-10-09T09:45:00Z

    Image: Last week another huge shift in the compliance world happened: the Schrems decision by the European Court of Justice, finding that the previously presumed European Union Safe Harbor regime is invalid. For the anti-corruption compliance practitioner, the decision is double-trouble when you consider it in light of the recent ...

  • Blog

    Yates Memo: More Change Coming in FCPA Enforcement

    2015-09-17T15:45:00Z

    Two weeks ago, Foreign Corrupt Practices Act enforcement took a formal turn when the Justice Department released the Yates Memo, which formalized the department’s new focus on prosecuting individuals under the FCPA. In the same week, there was a much less reported event that could have equally large effect on ...

  • Blog

    The FCPA Enforcement World Changed Last Week

    2015-09-14T09:30:00Z

    Image: The Yates Memo issued by the Justice Department last week, insisting that companies work much harder to help prosecute individuals if they want to receive cooperation credit, is likely to be a sea change in how compliance officers must address problems like Foreign Corrupt Practices Act investigations. Our FCPA ...