They’re not going to be happy to hear this up in the “C-Suite”, but …
Corporate counsel should be aware of a controversial trend in civil and criminal enforcement seeking to hold corporate leadership responsible for organizational noncompliance — even if the officer or director had no involvement with, or knowledge of, the challenged conduct. The Responsible Corporate Officer Doctrine (“RCOD”) is a strict liability-based theory that is increasingly being threatened in government investigations involving a variety of public welfare-based statutes.
