Internal investigations can be disruptive and expensive. However, they are also a vital tool when it comes to protecting your company, helping you to resolve or avoid further action instigated by external parties. Regulators have come to expect, if not demand, that companies conduct internal investigations if there are indications or allegations of wrongdoing, and often wish to see the results.
We can help you to minimize any problems you may face during an internal investigation. Our attorneys have extensive knowledge of regulatory expectations and priorities, gained through decades of practice, and previous experience as senior counsel with the SEC, FINRA, or DOJ.
We can conduct investigations on your behalf or that of your board of directors, audit and special committees, and others. We can also assist in related areas, including criminal investigations, class action lawsuits, government civil actions and issues arising from regulatory examinations.
You can guarantee we will act quickly: we know time is of the essence in an internal investigation. Our team's size and experience means we hit the ground running. We can also help you manage external perceptions of your business, as our reputations and our track records as regulators give us credibility. We also know the time to stop a problem is before it starts, and we are well-acquainted with best practices that can help you avoid future allegations and investigations. We will help your board of directors understand the legal issues the company may face.
If preventative action has not been effective, we are prepared to litigate. A core strength of our practice is our ability and willingness to litigate against regulators and private parties when reasonable solutions are not possible, and we will make sure your transition from investigation to defending alleged wrongdoing is seamless.
Ultimately, our broad experience, with accounting and financial service issues and as former regulators and in-house counsel, means that we bring an understanding of the industry, the business environment and the regulatory overlay to our investigations. We will help you navigate internal issues as well as respond to and interface with regulators, the media and lawmakers.
Our lawyers are experienced in all aspects of internal investigation law. Our recent experience includes:
- working with an insurer throughout the investigation and negotiated settlements in multiple states with respect to rates charged that allegedly exceeded those permitted under filed rate plans
- conducting an internal investigation of the German and Italian subsidiaries of a multinational medical device company for suspected violations of the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act
- conducting an internal investigation, in connection with a Public Company Accounting Oversight Board (PCAOB) inquiry, of claims made by a newly fired staff auditor of a Big Four accounting firm related to the audits of several public companies
- conducting an internal investigation for a company that believed one of its officers was placing false information into the company’s financial statements
- conducting an internal investigation into allegations of race and gender discrimination for a global firm. We uncovered no statistical support for the allegations, but our qualitative analysis determined that several allegations were supported by credible evidence. We assisted the client with implementing numerous recommendations
- conducting an efficient internal investigation into FCPA violations for an audit committee of the board and reported the results to federal regulators
- representing the audit committee of a publicly listed, multinational company in the context of investigating accounting allegations by foreign-based employees