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The quality of FCPA resources continues to impress. Three law firm periodic publications I make sure to put on my reading stack are those authored by Gibson Dunn & Crutcher, Shearman & Sterling, and Miller & Chevalier.
Gibson Dunn’s “2011 Year-End FCPA Update” (here) begins as follows. “2011 marked yet another dynamic year for the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act, including numerous significant enforcement actions, more trials than in any other year in the history of the statute, and a growing public debate about the policy ramifications of a U.S.-dominated international anti-corruption enforcement field. Those close to the statute can feel the unmatched pace at which the 34-year-old law is now developing. With more litigated decisions, more bills pending in Congress, and more interplay between the FCPA and other international laws prohibiting cross-border bribery, there is a growing sense of urgency amongst FCPA practitioners as to the direction the statute will take in the coming years. […] There can be no dispute about it–these are interesting times for the FCPA.” The Update concludes as follows. “Perhaps the most intriguing current development in the FCPA is that everything that made 2011 such a fascinating year promises only to increase in the years to come, as there will only be more litigation, more legislation, and more international coordination in the near future. Companies and their executives doing business in an increasingly global marketplace are well advised to stay abreast of these developments.” Sandwiched between is much useful information and analysis sure to be of interest to readers.
Gibson Dunn also released (here) its annual update on corporate deferred prosecution and non-prosecution agreements. According to the report, the DOJ and SEC entered into 29 NPAs/DPAs in 2011. Such vehicles were used in FCPA enforcement actions (DOJ or SEC) 11 times – approximately 40% of the total.
Shearman & Sterling’s “Recent Trends and Patterns in the Enforcement of the FCPA” (here) always impresses. The latest edition begins as follows. “Although the pace of new FCPA enforcement actions was somewhat off in 2011 – only sixteen corporate cases and eighteen new individual defendants – 2011 was nevertheless an eventful year for FCPA enforcement and indeed for enforcement of other countries’ similar laws. Among the highlights: defendants took the government to trial in a number of FCPA matters, with mixed results reflecting the difficulty and uncertainty of proving foreign bribery beyond a reasonable doubt; judges in multiple districts largely adopted the government’s expansive interpretation of what constitutes an “instrumentality” of a foreign government, including state-owned entities indirectly controlled by a foreign government; the DOJ and the SEC continued their focus on prosecution of individuals; the U.S. enforcement authorities brought fewer cases in 2011 against non-U.S. companies; despite claims that the government extracted exorbitant fines in FCPA matters, the average penalty continued to be less than $25 million; the DOJ and the SEC almost completely withdrew from their prior practice of routinely requiring an independent monitor in all cases and demonstrated a willingness to accept various forms of self-monitoring; with the advent of the U.K.’s Bribery Act, the British government offered considerable guidance on compliance and began exploring ways of encouraging voluntary disclosures and cooperation by emulating the U.S. system of deferred prosecution agreements.”
Shearman & Sterling publications are always strong on jurisdictional issues and its most recent “Trends and Patterns” states as follows regarding the Magyar Telekom enforcement action (see here for the prior post). “The year ended with an entirely new expansion of what constitutes territorial acts. In Magyar Telekom, the DOJ’s sole claim to anti-bribery jurisdiction (but not to books and records jurisdiction) was based on a foreign official’s “U.S.-based email address,” whereby email was “passed through, stored on, and transmitted from servers located in the U.S.” This is a particularly weak jurisdictional basis, given that this one count resulted in a Sentencing Guidelines calculation of eight times what the company would have had to pay under just the books and records provisions.”
Shearman & Sterling’s FCPA Digest (here), at 692 pages, is as complete of an FCPA source as you will find.
Last, but certainly not least, is Miller & Chevalier’s FCPA Winter Review 2012 (here). Complete with charts and graphs, it is a comprehensive resource on the latest developments in the following areas: enforcement actions against companies and individuals; FCPA-related private litigation; domestic legislative and U.S. enforcement agency developments; as well as international developments.
If you have not yet had the opportunity to read the above three publications, you should, it will be time well spent.
