Internal Investigations

Companies are experiencing ever-increasing scrutiny by government regulators as more lawsuits than ever are being filed because of corporate misconduct. Faced with these challenges, businesses need to be prepared for the risks of serious civil, and potentially criminal, consequences. That is why efficient, effective, and discreet internal investigations are critically important. You need counsel who understands the laws, understands the regulators, and understands what it takes to conduct an effective internal investigation while minimizing the disruption to your business.

Blank Rome’s attorneys are adept at addressing and mitigating these potential risks. We work with companies, boards of directors, and audit and other specialized committees to conduct internal investigations on a wide variety of topics to assess and defend potential claims. Our comprehensive approach brings in employment attorneys, white collar litigators, and industry teams to ensure the solutions we offer address our clients’ specific needs.

We have conducted hundreds of internal investigations for both public and private companies and are known for our ability to handle these actions with impartiality, credibility, efficiency, and discretion. We counsel our clients as independent advisers on a wide array of corporate compliance and governance issues related to the Sarbanes-Oxley Act, Dodd Frank Act, Sherman Antitrust Act, False Claims Act, Securities and Exchange Commission (“SEC”) regulations, and Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (“FCPA”).

Since investigations can have severe implications for both our clients’ businesses and reputations, we keep investigations narrowly focused to ensure minimal disruption to business operations, and we manage the process to be both cost and time efficient. We ensure the protection of attorney-client and work product privileges, and proactively strategize with clients regarding notification of law enforcement or regulatory authorities about any misconduct and devising ways to best limit criminal liability and potential financial penalties.

How We Can Help

Advise company leadership and special committees during government audits and/or regulatory investigations
Conduct investigations into sexual harassment complaints by employees against executives and managers
Conduct investigations into complaints of hostile work environments, including those related to corporate culture, glass ceilings for women, racial barriers, and similar claims
Conduct internal company investigations in response to allegations of possible wrongdoing such as bribery and kickbacks, tax, accounting, and financial irregularities
Conduct investigations related to whistleblower complaints
Help navigate the complexities of communications and provide strategic advice for claims relating to boards of directors, senior executives, and high-level managers

What Sets Us Apart

We understand the implications of sensitive investigations for our clients’ businesses and reputations.
We act quickly and decisively to identify issues, assess problems, and find solutions.
We are able to draw on the resources of the firm, including high-level strategic communications and public relations advice through our government relations team, to help our clients minimize risk.

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Conducted an investigation on behalf of special committee of board of large public company into allegations of securities law violations related to a material event.
Conducted an investigation for a public company into allegations of systematic race discrimination by senior executives in a major business unit brought by employees and the NAACP.
Conducted an investigation for audit committee of global company into ¬allegations of fraud and abuse by company employees.
Conducted an investigation for private company into allegations of retaliation by a female employee who had reported wrongdoing and sexual harassment by co-workers towards her and other female employees.
Conducted an investigation of allegations of mismanagement and self-dealing by senior executives at a Fortune Global 500 company in conjunction with potential derivative securities class action claim.
Conducted an investigation of marketing and sales transaction between telecommunication and technology companies that are components of the Standard & Poor’s 500.
Conducted an investigated statements made by President and CEO of utility company to Officers and Directors allegedly containing racial epithets.
Investigated and asserted accounting and auditing malpractice claims on behalf of creditors’ committees in bankruptcy proceedings against Big Four accounting firms.
Conducted an internal investigation for a worldwide corporate and consumer finance company and represented the company in related civil lawsuits involving allegations of fraud.
Conducted an internal investigation and represented financing company victim in $500 million scheme to defraud.
Conducted an internal investigation of a bank into the legitimacy of a Delaware holding company affiliate used to invest funds so as to avoid state taxes.
Conducted an internal investigation on suspected thefts of trade secrets with a team that includes former federal and state prosecutors.
Conducted an internal investigation on behalf of a major pharmaceutical company into allegations involving the off-label promotion of products.
Represented a major international pharmaceutical company by providing FCPA advice and conducted internal investigations into allegations of FCPA violations in Asia, South America, and Europe.
Conducted internal investigations for Fortune 100 company into allegations involving trade sanctions violations.
Conducted an internal investigation for a Fortune 100 company of one of their foreign subsidiaries involving allegations of FCPA violations.
Conducted multiple internal investigations for multinational companies involving allegations of FCPA, procurement fraud, and anti-kickback issues.