Introduction -
Your company is under investigation by the government. As part of the investigation, the government subpoenaed an employee for testimony. The employee retained a lawyer (separate from your company’s outside...more
Introduction -
Over the first quarter of this year, the Department of Justice announced notable policy changes for corporate compliance programs. These policy changes are particularly relevant to in-house counsel who may...more
Last year, the Department of Justice (DOJ) unveiled its Civil Cyber-Fraud Initiative, intended to ensure compliance, by leveraging the False Claims Act (FCA), with contractual cybersecurity requirements applicable to...more
Introduction -
Earlier this month, the Department of Justice (DOJ) announced the launch of its Civil Cyber-Fraud Initiative, aimed to combat cyber threats to the security of U.S. infrastructure. The initiative combines the...more
On October 6, the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) announced the launch of a National Cryptocurrency Enforcement Team (NCET) to add structure to and coordinate the DOJ’s investigative capabilities concerning unlawful uses of...more
Introduction -
Last year saw a significant increase in whistleblower reports to the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The SEC reportedly received 35% more tips, complaints, and referrals for investigation between...more
The SEC has restored the authority of senior Division of Enforcement officials to initiate investigations without requiring approval by the SEC. This authority was originally established in 2009, but later revoked in 2017. On...more
Corporate counsel and their clients exchange confidential communications daily. Included in these exchanges are assumptions about what is and what will remain attorney-client privileged. For in-house counsel, communications...more
Be careful. If you are a health care provider who recently received a massive check from the federal government — without asking for it — and are wondering whether to deposit the check in your bank account, you need to pause...more
Following past national economic emergencies, the government and whistleblowers have initiated federal False Claims Act actions against recipients of government funding....more
As the coronavirus pandemic affects the normal way of life across the country, federal prosecutors and investigative agencies have begun establishing initiatives to investigate and combat fraudulent schemes related to the...more
Government contractors are no strangers to the numerous quality standards and assurances required by the government. Over the past several years, cybersecurity in federal contracting has emerged as yet another standard to...more
1/14/2020
/ Anti-Retaliation Provisions ,
Cisco ,
Cybersecurity ,
Data Protection ,
Department of Defense (DOD) ,
Enforcement Actions ,
Failure to Comply ,
False Claims Act (FCA) ,
Federal Contractors ,
Hackers ,
Popular ,
Regulatory Requirements ,
Regulatory Standards ,
Retaliation ,
Risk Management ,
Security Risk Assessments ,
Settlement Agreements ,
Surveillance ,
Vulnerability Assessments ,
Whistleblower Protection Policies ,
Whistleblowers ,
White Collar Crimes
Certain “bad actors” who settle with the SEC may be subject to automatic disqualifications or collateral consequences under federal securities laws and regulations. The Commission, however, may grant a settling party’s...more
10/9/2019
/ Bad Actors ,
Enforcement Actions ,
Life Insurance ,
Regulatory Oversight ,
Regulatory Requirements ,
Rulemaking Process ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
Securities Regulation ,
Securities Violations ,
Settlement ,
Settlement Negotiations ,
Settlement Offer ,
Waivers
In a long-awaited decision, the Eleventh Circuit concurred with the lower court’s standard for determining falsity under the False Claims Act (FCA) — reasonable disagreement between medical experts alone is not enough to...more
9/12/2019
/ Department of Justice (DOJ) ,
Enforcement Actions ,
False Billing ,
False Claims Act (FCA) ,
Health Care Providers ,
Healthcare Fraud ,
Hospice ,
Insurance Fraud ,
Medicare ,
Physicians ,
Terminal Illness Treatments ,
Whistleblowers
Introduction -
On June 5, the United States Supreme Court issued a unanimous opinion in Honeycutt v. United States, No. 16-142, 581 U.S. ___ (2017), narrowing the scope of federal criminal asset forfeiture for drug...more
The recent dismissal of a Home Depot derivative action ends a string of high-profile derivative suits stemming from large-scale corporate data breaches. On November 30, the Northern District of Georgia dismissed a shareholder...more
12/7/2016
/ Breach of Duty ,
Business Judgment Rule ,
Corporate Governance ,
Cybersecurity ,
Data Breach ,
Derivative Suit ,
Dismissals ,
Home Depot ,
Internal Controls ,
Popular ,
Proxy Statements ,
Shareholders
Federal funding is the grand prize for higher education research institutions. Each year, the federal government pumps hundreds of millions of dollars in research grants and awards into the university system. These funds are...more
12/6/2016
/ Department of Justice (DOJ) ,
Educational Institutions ,
False Claims Act (FCA) ,
False-Certification of Conformance ,
Federal Funding ,
Fraud ,
Higher Education Act ,
Online Education ,
Research Funding ,
Title IX ,
Universities ,
Whistleblowers
On June 15, the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) and the Department of Justice (DOJ) jointly issued final guidance on how the private sector and government will communicate cyber threat data and defensive measures under...more
7/19/2016
/ Cyber Attacks ,
Cyber Crimes ,
Cyber Threats ,
Cybersecurity ,
Cybersecurity Information Sharing Act (CISA) ,
Data Protection ,
Department of Homeland Security (DHS) ,
Department of Justice (DOJ) ,
Information Sharing ,
NCCIC ,
New Guidance ,
Policies and Procedures ,
Private Sector
On February 16, the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) and the Department of Justice (DOJ) jointly issued preliminary guidance — with final guidance due later this month — on how the private sector and government will...more
Breaking up is hard to do. In the investment industry, it can be even harder because one half of the couple needs to publish the reasons for the break-up.
When a registered representative separates from a broker-dealer...more
On December 8, 2015, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the First Circuit ruled in Flannery v. SEC that the Securities and Exchange Commission lacked substantial evidence in finding securities law violations by two executives in...more
On December 18, the President signed into law as part of the federal omnibus government spending package a number of cybersecurity provisions, most notably the “Cybersecurity Information Sharing Act of 2015” (CISA). CISA...more
On November 30, 2015, the Delaware Supreme Court affirmed a Court of Chancery decision holding a financial advisor liable for almost $76 million in damages for aiding and abetting corporate directors in breaches of fiduciary...more