Legislative History Archives

Second Circuit Judge Raymond Lohier Is Just Plain Wrong

By Mike Koehler on August 16, 2022 in FCPA Jurisprudence, Legislative History, OECD

Compared to many other federal statutes, there has been little caselaw interpreting the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act in its 45 years of existence.

Substantive opinions by appellate courts are even more rare.

Thus, it is often a big deal when there is an appellate court decision interpreting the FCPA. Even a dissenting opinion – even a policy statement in a dissenting opinion – is notable.

As highlighted in this post, recently the Second Circuit – once again – sided with FCPA defendant Lawrence Hoskins on an FCPA issue. Specifically, the court held “that the district court properly granted Hoskins’s motion for judgment of acquittal for violations of the FCPA because there was no agency or employee relationship between Hoskins and Alstom Power, Inc.”

In The Words Of Hester Peirce

By Mike Koehler on June 24, 2022 in Legislative History, SEC

This site is a big fan of SEC Commissioner Hester Peirce and this post highlights two recent statements she issued.

Neither of the statements are Foreign Corrupt Practices Act specific, but both are FCPA relevant.

Earlier this week, the SEC announced “settled charges against The Brink’s Company (“Brinks”) for requiring employees to sign restrictive confidentiality agreements prohibiting the disclosure of any financial or business information to third parties, without an exemption for potential SEC whistleblowers, from at least 2015 through 2019.”

Richard Shine’s 1982 Lecture – “Enforcement Of The FCPA By The Department Of Justice”

By Mike Koehler on June 16, 2022 in Enforcement Agency Policy, Enforcement Agency Speeches, Foreign Official, Foreign Officials, Foreign Policy, Legislative History

The year was 1982 and Richard Shine was Chief, Multinational Fraud Branch, Criminal Division, U.S. Department of Justice (the name given to the DOJ’s then de facto FCPA Unit). Shine gave a lecture titled “Enforcement of the FCPA by the Department of Justice” at Syracuse University that was published by the Syracuse Journal of International Law & Commerce – see 9 Syr. J. Int’l L. & Com. 283 (1982).

Three things stand out from Shine’s lecture.

First, the lecture is populated with references to the FCPA’s legislative history. On one level, this is not surprising given that in 1982 the DOJ was likely still finding its way as to the FCPA and its enforcement and it is logical that the legislative history – which evidences Congressional intent – would be a guide.

In The Words of Stanley Sporkin

By Mike Koehler on November 11, 2021 in Legislative History

Stanley Sporkin passed away in March 2020 and this prior post highlighted his contributions relevant to the enactment of the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (he was the head of SEC enforcement during the mid-1970’s) as well as his advocacy for FCPA reform later in his career.

Recently the Historical Society of the District of Columbia Circuit released this oral history of Sporkin.

As relevant to the FCPA, Sporkin stated:

Hail To The Chief

By Mike Koehler on February 15, 2021 in Legislative History

Today is Presidents’ Day.

This post highlights the roles of the Gerald Ford, Jimmy Carter, Ronald Reagan, and William Clinton administrations in enactment and subsequent development of the FCPA.

The article “The Story of the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act” also contains a detailed overview of the roles of the Ford and Carter administrations.

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Second Circuit Judge Raymond Lohier Is Just Plain Wrong

In The Words Of Hester Peirce

Richard Shine’s 1982 Lecture – “Enforcement Of The FCPA By The Department Of Justice”

In The Words of Stanley Sporkin

Hail To The Chief

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