On April 28, 2023, a federal court in Connecticut dismissed the United States Department of Justice (“DOJ”) Antitrust Division’s latest—and largest—criminal anti-poach case brought to trial. After a 15-day jury trial in United States v. Patel—but before the jury could deliberate—U.S. District Judge Victor A. Bolden granted the defendants’ joint motion for acquittal, finding that based on the evidence presented by the prosecutors, no reasonable juror could convict the six accused aerospace and staffing company executives of engaging in criminally anti-competitive behavior. The acquittal marks ..read more

The U.S. Supreme Court has recognized “the reality that criminal justice today is for the most part a system of pleas, not a system of trials.” This is as true for defendants facing charges of robbery and extortion as for those charged with tax evasion, embezzlement, or securities fraud. Indeed, research has previously shown that nearly 97% of all federal convictions are secured through plea agreements—not jury verdicts. Against this context, it is noteworthy that the Court recently declined to resolve a lingering circuit split involving the right of defendants to have their counsel seek such ..read more

The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission’s focus on cybersecurity continues in its most recent effort to modernize financial privacy rules and emphasize transparency between SEC-regulated entities who suffer from a cyber breach and the individuals impacted by the breach. The SEC’s latest proposals focus on registrants including broker-dealers, investment advisors, and investment companies, and seek to impose cyberbreach disclosure requirements similar to those the SEC previously proposed for public companies. On March 15, 2023, the SEC proposed amendments to current data privacy rules that ..read more

On December 16, 2022, U.S. Attorney General Merrick Garland issued a memorandum (the Garland memo) to all federal prosecutors, reflecting a significant new policy regarding charging, pleas, and sentencing in federal criminal cases.  The Garland memo replaces prior U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) policy and applies to all federal criminal prosecutions initiated on or after January 17, 2023. Under the new DOJ policy, federal prosecutors making charging decisions must consider whether the consequences of those charges for sentencing would yield a result that “is proportional to the serious ..read more

The Supreme Court of the United States will decide an issue impacting charging decisions in criminal cases involving technology and where those cases are tried. Specifically, the Supreme Court will decide whether criminal defendants may be retried after they are convicted in the wrong “venue,” i.e., the location where the trial took place. This constitutional venue requirement—and the Supreme Court’s ultimate decision on the remedy for violating it—will influence future cases involving technology, where defendants, victims, servers, and resources used to commit the crime are often in differen ..read more

On November 28, 2022, the Council of the European Union (EU) gave final approval to implement the EU Corporate Sustainability Reporting Directive (CSRD), ushering in a new, expanded environmental, social, and corporate governance (ESG) disclosure regime for many companies with a connection to Europe. In 2025, the CSRD will require many companies to file reports disclosing certain information for the 2024 fiscal year. Companies should review the CSRD disclosure requirements now to understand the scope of their obligations.   The new disclosure requirements under the CSRD should not come as ..read more

It should come as no surprise that much of the recent 2022 ACI Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (“FCPA”) conference centered around Department of Justice (DOJ) Deputy Attorney General Lisa Monaco’s September 15, 2022 memorandum (the “revised Monaco memo”) concerning updates to the DOJ’s corporate criminal enforcement policies.  Among other things, that memo directs components of DOJ to provide further guidance on (1) corporate compensation structures that promote compliance, (2) corporate use of personal devices and third-party applications, and (3) voluntary self-disclosure by corporations ..read more

The U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) recently released new guidance announcing several policy changes to further strengthen and clarify its approach to prosecuting corporate crime. The guidance, released through a memorandum by Deputy Attorney General Lisa Monaco (the Monaco Memo), instructs prosecutors about factors to consider when evaluating corporate cooperation and compliance programs in the context of potential criminal resolutions. Notably, the Monaco Memo advises that “prosecutors should consider whether the corporation has implemented effective policies and procedures governing ..read more

Just this week, the Securities and Exchange Commission announced its enforcement results from fiscal year 2022. The Commission recovered a record $6.4 billion in penalties and disgorgement from companies and individuals. The announcement touted the 760 total enforcement actions in FY 2022—a nine percent increase from the year before—and summarized areas of innovation and growth within the Enforcement Division. Two such areas are familiar refrains that are worth highlighting: (1) the SEC leveraging its investigative process—emphasizing its use of data analytics—to identify suspicious activity ..read more

In this article featured in Bloomberg Law, Perkins Coie attorneys explain how China’s new data security laws and use of third-party apps by Chinese employees create significant obstacles for companies conducting internal investigations in the country. Click here to read the full story ..read more