Antitrust Compliance
We believe that having a solid antitrust compliance program in place
puts a company in the best position to avoid criminal and civil
liability and minimize the costs of defending an investigation, a
prosecution or a civil case. The simple solution is to invest in a
tailored antitrust compliance program that fits the client's
business. A second solution is to assure that the affected employees
(and officers) understand what is required of them under the
antitrust laws (and Titles 18 and 26) by having a knowledgeable
antitrust practitioner present a program (typically at a sales-type
event) that explains the antitrust laws, outlines how to comply with
them and informs those employees and officers in an unvarnished way
what consequences they and their company may face in the event those
laws are violated.
We have prepared custom written antitrust compliance programs for
clients that are geared to each client's unique area of business and
that set forth what is expected of the employees and officers in the
company. The employees and officers are asked to acknowledge receipt
and understanding of the compliance program in writing. Then, either
annually or, in some cases, biannually, the company's personnel will
attend a presentation that reviews the elements in the written
compliance program, provides examples of non-compliance (and
prosecution) and offers an opportunity for questions regarding the
applicability of the laws to the real-life encounters they have in
the marketplace. In our presentation we also discuss the Title 18
felonies that are sometimes prosecuted with antitrust crimes, such
as obstruction of justice and making false statements to the grand
jury.
Having a strong compliance program in place can weigh heavily in the
U.S. Department of Justice Antitrust Division's evaluation of a company's culpability in the
event a rogue employee places the company at risk by engaging in
unlawful conduct. And even if the company is unsuccessful in
convincing the Antitrust Division that it should not be prosecuted,
the Antitrust Division considers the existence of an antitrust
compliance program a mitigating factor in the calculation of the
company's sentence.
Any antitrust compliance program - either written or in presentation
form - is a must for progressive-thinking companies and is well
worth the modest cost. In this regard, for regular clients, we do
not charge any fees for making an antitrust compliance presentation
on an annual basis to the company's employees and officers.
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