PRACTICE AREAS: Internal Investigations

The firm's partners have conducted internal investigations for public and private companies and law firms, and are keenly aware of the strategic and ethical issues that invariably arise in these matters. Several of these matters have arisen out of whistleblower complaints.

We have also counseled boards of directors and special committees in connection with the conduct of internal investigations. For example, we were recently successful in having a shareholder derivative action dismissed on the basis of the "business judgement rule" following a comprehensive investigation by a public company's audit committee.

The internal investigations we have handled involved wide-ranging issues, including possible insider trading, stock option backdating, misappropriation of assets, financial fraud and FCPA matters. For example, we are currently conducting an internal investigation for a publicly held company concerning possible conflicts of interest. Moreover, we have represented corporate executives in many internal investigations including those conducted by Audit Committee Counsel. We currently represent senior corporate executives in connection with investigations concerning FCPA and broker/dealer issues.

For many years, one of our partners has been co-chairing PLI’s annual program on Internal Investigations and speaks on the subject at SIFMA’s Annual Law and Compliance Program.