About the Course
Introduction
This CLE webinar will closely examine the U.S. Department of Justice's recently updated guidance for investigations and enforcement of the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA). The panel will discuss the four non-exhaustive priority areas on which prosecutors will focus when determining whether to bring a new FCPA matter and how these may impact enforcement action. The panel will also discuss how counsel may help corporate clients reassess their risk profiles and revise compliance strategies.
Description
The DOJ recently issued its highly anticipated guidance for FCPA investigations and enforcement, ending the temporary FCPA enforcement pause announced in an earlier executive order. The guidance outlines the following four non-exhaustive factors that prosecutors should consider when evaluating whether to pursue FCPA enforcement actions and that should influence corporate risk assessment for FCPA compliance. The four non-exhaustive factors are:
(1) Total elimination of cartels and transnational criminal organizations (TCO). A primary consideration in FCPA enforcement moving forward will be whether the alleged misconduct may be tied to cartels or TCOs.
(2) Safeguarding fair opportunities for U.S. companies. The guidelines strongly imply that non-U.S. companies will continue to be a focus of FCPA enforcement going forward; although targets will not be driven by nationality but based on those that undermine the rule of law and competitive markets that disadvantage law-abiding U.S. companies.
(3) Advancing U.S. national security. Enforcement action will also be focused on stamping out the bribery of corrupt foreign officials in instances involving key infrastructure or assets that could implicate or threaten U.S. national security.
(4) Prioritizing investigations of serious misconduct. Enforcement action will focus on misconduct involving substantial bribery rather than routine business practices or other de minimus, generally accepted business courtesies.
Listen as our expert panel examines the DOJ's new FCPA guidance and discusses how the four non-exhaustive factors outlined therein may impact FCPA enforcement action moving forward. The panel will also offer best practices for helping corporate clients reassess their risk profiles and develop more targeted compliance strategies.
Presented By
Ms. Anderson’s experience is broad, with an international focus, and encompasses a wide range of areas, including internal and government investigations, Foreign Corrupt Practices Act risk assessments and compliance reviews, cross-border litigation, corporate governance, bankruptcy litigation, antitrust, M&A-related litigation, and international arbitration. Her clients have included global leaders in the finance, insurance, automotive, telecommunications, oil and gas, engineering, media and entertainment, consumer goods, healthcare and manufacturing industries. Ms. Anderson has taught Advanced Trial Advocacy Training programs for prosecutors at the United Nations International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda and at the International Criminal Court.
Mr. Ellis founded and leads the firms globally recognized Latin America practice. He guides clients on cross-border internal investigations and corporate compliance strategies to address bribery and corruption/U.S. Foreign Corrupt Practice Act (FCPA) allegations, anti-terrorism/Foreign Terrorist Organizations (FTOs), fraud, economic sanctions, AML, business and human rights (BHR)/forced labor, multilateral development bank (MDB) sanctions, workplace misconduct (including sexual harassment, discrimination, and retaliation), conflicts of interest, and other sensitive ethics and compliance matters. Legal and compliance departments, boards of directors, audit committees, and private equity firms regularly look to Mr. Ellis to lead independent investigations, perform compliance due diligence in M&A, and build corporate compliance strategies to align with the expectations of the U.S DOJ, the SEC, and other global regulators. He previously worked as a Litigation Specialist and Investigator at the World Bank and the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB) and currently advises companies on development bank investigations and sanctions proceedings.
Ms. Parker focuses on white-collar criminal matters, internal corporate investigations, and compliance counseling. She represents clients in a range of criminal and enforcement matters and provides compliance and governance advice. She has conducted internal investigations in the U.S., Asia, Africa, Europe, and Latin America. She has represented companies and individuals in a variety of FCPA enforcement matters. She also regularly counsels clients facing difficult FCPA issues in a variety of business contexts, and assists clients in developing and implementing FCPA compliance programs and conducting FCPA training.
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This 90-minute webinar is eligible in most states for 1.5 CLE credits.
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Date + Time
- event
Wednesday, December 17, 2025
- schedule
1:00 PM E.T.
I. Introduction
II. DOJ's updated guidance for FCPA investigations and enforcement action
A. Total elimination of cartels and TCOs
B. Safeguarding fair opportunities for U.S. companies
C. Advancing U.S. national security
D. Prioritizing investigations of serious misconduct
III. FCPA compliance strategies: risk assessment and policy development
A. Evaluate business connections to priority enforcement areas
B. Investigation and voluntary self-disclosure
C. Other
IV. Practitioner takeaways
The panel will review these and other important considerations:
- What are the four non-exhaustive factors on which prosecutors should focus when determining whether to open an FCPA investigation?
- How do these differ from past enforcement priorities?
- How does the new guidance impact corporate risk assessment and FCPA compliance strategies?
