On October 28, 2021, Deputy Attorney General Lisa O. Monaco announced the administration’s first significant changes to the DOJ’s policies on corporate criminal enforcement, highlighting departures from Trump-era policies. The announcement focused on three corporate enforcement policy developments:
- Individuals and Corporate Misconduct: to be eligible for cooperation credit, companies must provide the DOJ with all non-privileged information about individuals involved or responsible for the misconduct at issue, regardless of their position, status, or seniority;
- Consideration of Prior Misconduct: all prior misconduct will be evaluated as part of the DOJ’s decision-making on proper corporate resolution, whether or not that misconduct is similar to the conduct at issue for a particular investigation; and
- Revisions to Corporate Monitorship Guidance: for companies cooperating with the government, there will be no default presumption against corporate monitors. Rather, the decision on whether to impose a corporate monitor will be determined on the facts and circumstances of each case.
This initial set of changes to the DOJ’s corporate enforcement policies signals what most expected from the Biden administration: a renewed and aggressive focus on and approach to corporate misconduct.
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