Conducting an internal investigation into questionable company conduct is universally a stressful experience—stressful for the organization and its employees, for the witnesses who are questioned, and for the attorneys who structure and carry out the exercise. The organization demands quick answers—what exactly was done and who did it, do we need to make a disclosure to regulators or shareholders and if so when, what is the dollars and cents impact on our business? Employees who have been notified they need to answer questions from outside counsel are anxious about the impact on their employment status, wonder whether they should retain their own counsel, are concerned about potential discipline and even civil or criminal liability. And the outside lawyers who have been retained to deliver answers on a compressed timetable are required to master vast amounts of data, review thousands of documents and prepare for and conduct multiple interviews. Now imagine having to handle all that in a remote location, thousands of miles and multiple time zones away in a developing part of the world with logistical and infrastructure challenges, and with cultural, political and legal systems that differ markedly from those in the United States.
With investment and economic activity rapidly rising in developing areas of the world,1 U.S. lawyers will be increasingly called upon by their clients with overseas interests to conduct internal investigations into the full range of conduct that can trigger such inquiries at U.S. companies—earnings manipulation, commercial bribery, accounting frauds and payments to political figures, to name a few. Planning for and conducting these assignments can present huge challenges, yet they are professionally rewarding and provide the U.S. practitioner with a unique perspective on cultural and business practices in emerging areas of the world.
Getting Cleared for Takeoff
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