The U.S. Department of Justice has published its policy on the factors that prosecutors can consider when determining whether to reduce civil penalties in False Claims Act cases as a way to reward companies for being cooperative—and the white-collar defense bar is applauding.

“This is the first time that there’s been formal guidance in the Justice Manual,” said Ted Kang, a partner at Alston & Bird in Washington, D.C., and a former prosecutor for the DOJ’s criminal division. “It’s helpful in the sense that there’s formal guidance that applies across the board to all federal prosecutors.”