Corporate Criminal Liability and the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA)

Catalog description

Over the last ten years, U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) and the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) enforcement actions against corporations and their executives under the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA) have risen exponentially. And the anti-corruption enforcement space is no longer driven solely by U.S. prosecutors/regulators: in the last five years, other countries have started to enact and/or implement anti-corruption laws and to particular in cross-border anti-corruption enforcement actions and other initiatives. Over the course of this semester, we will review legal and practical, domestic and international aspects of the FCPA and its enforcement regime. At the outset, we will address the overarching purpose of anti-corruption legislation, asking who corruption affects, how it does so, and whether the FCPA and its enforcement alleviates the impact of corruption on its victims. We will examine the FCPA's statutory provisions (what it prohibits), as well as discuss the manner in which these provisions are operationalized to punish ongoing and prevent future corruption (how the government enforces the statute and what companies do to create and maintain a culture of compliance). Throughout the semester, students will be introduced to the practical aspects of conducting internal and government investigations in the anti-corruption space: we will review the mechanics of government interactions, document collection and review, interviews, as well as negotiating resolutions and calculating fines under the United States Sentencing Guidelines. Knowledge of basic concepts of corporate criminal liability is essential to law firm practice and exposure to the FCPA is an asset given increased enforcement in this field. Engagement with the practical aspects of internal and government investigations prior to graduation will give students an advantage as junior…