Kenneth Polite became the Assistant Attorney General for the DOJ’s Criminal Division in early 2021.
During his tenure, Polite announced “important revisions to [the DOJ’s] Corporate Enforcement Policy, which applies to all corporate criminal matters handled by the Criminal Division, including all FCPA cases nationwide.” (See here for the prior post).
As stated by Polite, “these revisions provide specific, additional incentives to companies for voluntary self-disclosures, as well as for cooperation and remediation and “make clear that there will be very different outcomes for companies that do not self-disclose, meaningfully cooperate with our investigations, or remediate.”
Polite was also involved in a new DOJ policy of requiring, in certain matters, “both the Chief Executive Officer and the Chief Compliance Officer (CCO) to sign a certification at the end of the term of [a resolution] agreement … [certifying] that the company’s compliance program is reasonably designed, implemented to detect and prevent violations of the law, and is functioning effectively.” (See here for the prior post).
According to Polite, “these certifications are designed to give compliance officers an additional tool that enables them to raise and address compliance issues within a company or directly with the department early and clearly.”
Polite also announced “significant changes” to how the DOJ “consider[s] a corporation’s approach to the use of personal devices as well as various communications platforms and messaging applications, including those offering ephemeral messaging.” (See here).
In addition, Polite announced how the DOJ has “updated its policies concerning corporate compensation systems” and issued a “revised memorandum on the selection of monitors in Criminal Division matters” including that “any submission of a monitor candidate by the company and selection of a monitor candidate by the Criminal Division should be made in keeping with the department’s commitment to diversity, equity, and inclusion.” (See here).
As sure as the sun rises in the east and dogs bark, Polite is leaving his DOJ position for a private law firm.
Sidley & Austin recently announced:
“Polite will join Sidley on October 1, 2023, as a partner and global co-leader of the firm’s White Collar: Government Litigation and Investigations practice. He will focus on white collar criminal defense, investigation, and compliance matters.”
In the release, Polite is called “a rare talent and strong leader and presents a once-in-a-generation opportunity for the firm.”
