The FBI raid on Michael Cohen’s law offices is the most noteworthy search warrant of 2018 for two reasons. First, because Michael Cohen was the president’s lawyer for years. Second, because it opened the eyes of many, to include some lawyers, to the fact that although there is an attorney-client privilege, it can…
From my worldview, one of the most noteworthy “when the writ hits the fan” convictions of the year was the conviction of Pharma Bro’s (Martin Shkreli) lawyer and big law partner Evan Greebel. A jury convicted Mr. Greebel of conspiracy to commit wire fraud and conspiracy to commit securities fraud for his actions in helping…
In my line of work, I collaborate with risk management executives a lot. I have learned much from them since they are indispensable to the process of conceptualizing and mitigating business risks and legal risks. When working through a challenging legal issue that may cause the &$%* to hit the fan, many risk management leaders…
It is difficult to keep a company on the path of legal compliance and to maintain its reputation especially since following the law does not necessarily protect an organization’s reputation. Recently, AT&T and Novartis experienced the pain a bad decision can have on reputation and financial value. The CEO’s for both Novartis and AT&T gave…
Managing investigations or investigators is never easy. Litigating is never easy either. But, it does not have to be as hard as Uber made it, which included inflaming a judge as well as garnering it bad press. In 2015, when Uber got smacked with an anti-trust lawsuit, Uber retained an investigative firm to look into…
Lawyers, particularly prosecutors, love to question people and then to cross-examine about inconsistent answers to the questions. This compulsion to ask questions is acute in prosecutors because their job is to get to the bottom of things. The counterweight to this is the defense instinct to rebuff questions by “lawyering-up”, asserting the Fifth Amendment or…
Entering a relationship with a new client, sales consultant, joint venture partner, or any other entity merits thoughtful consideration to protect your business’ value. Likewise, once you enter a relationship, you need to make sure the relationship stays healthy and productive over time. This is especially true when working with governments or doing business internationally…
Imagine you have a business and as part of that business you have a Ford pick-up truck with your business and phone number on the side of the truck. Eventually, you need to upgrade the truck, so you go to the Ford dealership buy a new truck and trade in the old truck. The dealership…
Globally, regulators are cracking down on money laundering to prevent and identify corruption, stop funding terrorists, and generally just control the flow of money from illegal activity. One way this is done is by enacting laws and regulations that force financial institutions to scrutinize clients or potential clients who are “politically exposed persons.” Each country…