During the past decade, the DOJ has increasingly relied on Deferred Prosecution Agreements (“DPAs”) and Non-Prosecution Agreements (“NPAs”) to resolve allegations of corporate criminal misconduct. DPAs and NPAs occupy a middle ground between a guilty plea that results in a company’s criminal conviction and a declination that leaves the matter to a civil or regulatory resolution. In 2010 and 2011 alone, the DOJ and the SEC have entered 69 such agreements with companies, extracting a staggering $7.6 billion in corporate payouts with 5 settlements at $500 million or more and 13 settlements topping $200 million.
Although these agreements can help a company stave off some of the worst consequences of a criminal indictment, they are not quick-fix solutions. In addition to a hefty financial penalty, DPAs and NPAs often require extensive compliance and cooperation obligations and can result in significant future costs and risks. Given that reality, a company facing a government investigation needs to craft a comprehensive strategy for achieving a settlement agreement on acceptable terms while educating its senior leadership on the potential long-term consequences of entering into a DPA or NPA.
In this webcast, practitioners with decades of experience with DPAs/NPAs, corporate monitorships, internal investigations, and compliance programs will discuss the life cycle of a DPA or NPA, including how to set the stage before settlement discussions with the government begin, how to successfully negotiate with the government for the best outcome, how to foster a cooperative relationship with a corporate monitor, and how to mitigate the potential collateral consequences of settlement agreements.
The panel consists of Joe Warin and Brian Baldrate of Gibson, Dunn & Crutcher LLP, and Alma Angotti of Navigant Consulting, Inc.:
- Joe Warin chairs Gibson Dunn’s Litigation Department in the Washington, D.C. office and co-chairs the firm’s White Collar Defense and Investigations Practice Group. A former federal prosecutor, Mr. Warin currently serves as the U.S. counsel for the compliance monitor for Siemens and as the FCPA compliance monitor for Alliance One International, and he recently completed his role as the monitor for Statoil pursuant to a DOJ and SEC enforcement action.
- Brian Baldrate, another former federal prosecutor, has both advised companies in negotiating DPA agreements and also served as part of government directed monitorship teams. He speaks frequently on white collar and corporate investigation issues and regularly advises companies confronting these vexing questions.
- Alma Angotti is a Director in Navigant’s Washington DC office. With nearly 25 years of regulatory practice, she has held senior enforcement positions at the SEC, Treasury’s Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN) and FINRA (Financial Industry Regulatory Authority).
To attend this free webcast scheduled for Friday, January 27, 2012, at 12 pm Eastern, please sign up below.
