Yes.  If you are being investigated by the Federal Government and lie to a federal law enforcement agent or United States Attorney, you can be prosecuted and charged with a violation of 18 U.S.C. § 1001 for making a false statement.  While it is not [...]

Sometimes after an internal investigation is completed, a company may have to decide whether to provide information to the government or governmental agency of their internal wrongdoing.  Making this decision is very difficult and should be made with the advice of counsel.  The benefits of [...]

In many circumstances, the government or governmental agency expects and requires self-disclosure of a problem or issue.  Self-disclosure can eliminate or lesson potential civil or criminal penalties or charges.  Self-disclosing or reporting can be beneficial, but there is no guarantee.

Remediating a problem is always helpful.  However, fixing a problem may not eliminate or lessen the consequences.  Whether it is an investigation, a civil lawsuit or a criminal matter, it is always better to say that a problem was identified and is now corrected.  In [...]

A joint defense agreement allows communications, work product and documents to be shared confidentially between multiple parties and their attorneys in an investigation, or an initiated civil lawsuit or pending criminal charge.  Joint defense agreements can be either written or oral.  However, it always preferred [...]

The common interest privilege provides protection for information or communication between parties in a litigation or investigation that share a common legal interest.  The common interest privilege is also known as the joint defense privilege.  This allows for meetings and communications to occur with multiple [...]