White-Collar Defense, Internal Investigations & Corporate Compliance

Overview

A white-collar and/or government enforcement investigation can be the most complex legal challenge a company or individual faces, leading to the disruption of business, damage to reputation, dissipation of assets and, most importantly, the potential to lose one’s liberty. Today, these challenges can come in the form of criminal prosecution, administrative or legislative hearings, as well as through regulatory and other civil proceedings. The coordination of an effective response to these inquiries from a governmental agency often presents an exceptionally complicated and intimidating problem for any corporate entity or individual. Offering a multidisciplinary approach to these matters, we bring the substantial capabilities of the firm to bear in the robust representation of our clients.

Using skills honed through years of experience, Stradley Ronon’s lawyers guide clients through some of their most delicate and potentially damaging situations. Clients regularly call on us to conduct comprehensive internal investigations, create and implement effective corporate compliance programs, and defend against allegations of white-collar crime.

Most of the matters we handle are resolved before the legal action or investigation becomes public, by obtaining declinations of prosecution, deferred prosecution agreements, immunity or other resolutions that enable the client to avoid full-scale litigation. However, when civil, criminal or regulatory litigation commences, our experienced litigation team members are ready to serve as zealous advocates throughout the process. We effectively represent defendants and witnesses in state and federal grand jury proceedings, appearing before licensing boards and investigative commissions and, if necessary, through trial and appeal. Our experience also extends to successfully representing clients in parallel civil and criminal proceedings and concurrent lawsuits, regulatory actions and government investigations, including shareholder suits, IRS actions and other civil actions stemming from criminal charges or investigations.

As a result of handling thousands of matters over our careers, our white-collar team provides real-world, practical assessments of the potential outcomes associated with the matters we are addressing for a client – not simply worst-case scenarios. Providing advice that identifies the actual, likely consequences of a government/regulatory inquiry allows our clients to properly allocate their time and resources. In addition, the leaders of our white-collar group assess each client matter and build an appropriate team of attorneys to conduct an investigation that is thorough yet focused. Our default choice is to rely on lean, experienced teams, and not throw bodies at a problem. Our approach is not to “boil the ocean.” We conduct targeted investigations, reviewing the necessary documents and interviewing the right people. Calling upon our many years of white-collar and investigations experience, we work to streamline what can otherwise be an overwhelming and cost-prohibitive process into a beneficial and cost-conscious engagement.

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