by F. Joseph Warin, Patrick Stokes, Michael Diamant, Laura Sturges, Chris Sullivan, Oleh Vretsona, Courtney Brown, Lora MacDonald, Caroline Ziser Smith, and Patricia Herold

On Monday, June 1, 2020, the U.S. Department of Justice (“DOJ”) Criminal Division issued, without fanfare, updated guidance on the “Evaluation of Corporate Compliance Programs” (the “Compliance Program Update” or “Update”), which sets out considerations for DOJ prosecutors to take into account when assessing corporate compliance programs, making charging decisions, and negotiating resolutions. Previous iterations of the document (covered in our 2017 Mid-Year FCPA Update and May 3, 2019 Client Alert) have been a valuable resource for companies as they design, maintain, and evaluate their corporate compliance programs, and the Update provides welcome insight into how DOJ’s thinking is evolving, particularly with respect to risk assessments, monitoring, and resources. Assistant Attorney General Brian Benczkowski noted that the Update “reflects additions based on [DOJ’s] own experience and important feedback from the business and compliance communities.” Continue reading →