Last years decision in U.S. v. Stevens was a wake-up call for corporate litigators. While Federal District Court Judge Roger Titus dismissed the indictment against GlaxoSmithKlines former associate general counsel Lauren Stevens, who had managed GSKs response to a Federal Drug Administration investigation into off-label promotion of Wellbutrin, the case vividly highlighted the personal risk that comes with corporate litigation work. Make no mistakegiven their understanding of the business, high level of responsibility, and role as trusted advisers of top corporate brass, in-house counsel are and will remain big targets of federal investigators.
Mark Califano, managing litigation counsel of American Express Company, and Elizabeth Hallyburton, assistant general counsel of GSK, revisited the Stevens case at the 2012 Corporate Litigation Forum hosted by Consero Group LLC. In doing so, they skillfully framed the risk to in-house counsel of becoming a U.S. Department of Justice target, and they provided valuable guidance to their corporate peers on keeping both their companies and themselves out of trouble.
Here are four key tips taken from their remarks:
1. If a Transaction is Too Risky, Make a Note of It
Doing business on a global scale comes with risk. As an in-house lawyer, your job is to spot that risk and help the business team to determine how to proceed. In some cases, you may conclude that a particular corporate activity creates too much law enforcement risk, and that the company should not proceed. In such circumstances, consider putting your thoughts in writing. Without a paper trail, you face potentially as much exposure as those other members of the executive team who rejected your advicedespite the absence of any personal gain.
