By Richard J. Morvillo and Sarah E. Barney
Seyfarth Synopsis: As usual, the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of New York (the “SDNY”) is on the hunt for fraudsters and other white collar criminals. Though the Department of Justice has rewarded corporations for self-reporting to and cooperating with it, the SDNY recently took an important step in providing
Continue Reading SDNY Breaks with Tradition in New Whistleblower Pilot ProgramBy Andrew S. Boutros, Michael D. Wexler, Alex Meier, Daniel P. Hart, Robert B. Milligan
Seyfarth Synopsis: On June 24, 2019, the Supreme Court issued its decision in Food Marketing Institute v. Argus Leader Media and resolved fractured circuit splits about the parameters for when the government may withhold information from a Freedom of Information
Continue Reading Supreme Court Issues Decision Significantly Expanding the Scope of FOIA’s Confidentiality Exemption
By Andrew S. Boutros, John R. Schleppenbach, and Craig B. Simonsen
Seyfarth Synopsis: Among the latest news reports in the cross-border public corruption space that has legally-minded sports fans talking is that a federal grand jury is investigating Major League Baseball’s international player development system for potential Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA) violations. See for instance Report:
Continue Reading Batter Up: The FCPA Takes a Swing at Major League Baseball
By Andrew S. Boutros, John R. Schleppenbach, and Craig B. Simonsen
Seyfarth Synopsis: U.S. Customs & Border Protection recently issued a Final Determination that the coffee roasting process “substantially transforms” raw coffee for purposes of country-of-origin determinations and U.S. Government “Buy American” regulations. This clear new guidance should help corporations and their executives avoid civil, administrative, and
Continue Reading More Coffee Please: CBP Rules that Coffee’s Country of Origin is Determined by Where Beans are Roasted — Not Where Raw Beans Actually Originate
By Andrew S. Boutros and Craig B. Simonsen
Seyfarth Synopsis: Federal whistleblower laws collide with the in-house attorney-client privilege. The trial round goes to the whistleblower. The expected appellate round still has not been fought.
In a February 7, 2017 jury verdict, the plaintiff, Sanford S. Wadler, the former General Counsel of Bio-Rad Laboratories, Inc., was awarded $7.29
Continue Reading Federal Whistleblower Laws Collide With The Attorney-Client Privilege: The Bio-Rad Case Study
By Andrew S. Boutros, William L. Prickett, Christopher Robertson, and Craig B. Simonsen
Seyfarth Synopsis: What, if any, steps the government will take to appeal the Tenth Circuit’s Bandimer’s decision remains to be seen. The government may elect to petition the entire Tenth Circuit to hear the case en banc. Or the government might ask the
Continue Reading To Be or Not To Be: The SEC Administrative Courts — Are They Constitutional or Not
By Andrew S. Boutros and Craig B. Simonsen
Seyfarth Synopsis: No differently than companies doing business overseas—especially in high-risk markets—American colleges and universities who do business overseas face real risks of violating the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act and must be mindful of the enforcement landscape that applies to these criminal violations. Robust and effective compliance
Continue Reading Higher Education Institutions are Beginning to Get an Education in the FCPA
By Andrew S. Boutros, Wan Li, and Craig B. Simonsen
The U.S. Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN) and the China Anti-Money Laundering Monitoring and Analysis Center (CAMLMAC) recently signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) to create a “framework to facilitate expanded U.S.-China collaboration, communication, and cooperation” between each agency’s financial intelligence units (FIUs). News Release (December 11, 2015).
Continue Reading U.S. and China Sign Financial Intelligence Cooperation Memorandum