It is a fearsome time for general counsel and chief compliance officers at drug companies, as aggressive federal prosecutors are increasing scrutiny—as well as indictments—over their work.

Joshua Robbins, a former federal health care prosecutor and now chair of the white collar defense and government investigations practice at Greenberg Gross in Los Angeles, noted that a “government press release in one recent case said it wanted ‘to send shock waves’ through the pharmaceutical industry” when it indicted a company and two executives in April over illegally distributing opioids.