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    Oct. 8, 2025

The Blanche Memo’s Take on Corporate Responsibility: Collateral Consequences and Global Norms

Much of the guidance in Deputy AG Todd Blanche’s June 2025 memorandum laying out how to investigate and enforce the FCPA (Blanche Memo) is based on the idea that when a corporation is held responsible for the actions of its employees, there are collateral consequences for investors, shareholders and innocent employees. Knowing the DOJ will consider these collateral consequences may come as a relief to companies. However, there is an interesting tension between the approach outlined in the Blanche Memo and global trends toward increasing corporate responsibility. This second article in a two-part series explores the Blanche Memo’s directives for DOJ prosecutors to consider collateral consequences and move swiftly through investigations, as well as global trends in corporate accountability. The first part examined the interplay between individual prosecutions and collective knowledge theories of corporate liability under the second Trump administration. See “Insiders Tsao, Soltes and Kahn Share Insights on Investigations” (Jan. 4, 2023).

How a Whistleblower Can Derail a DPA

In 2023, Connecticut-based Freepoint Commodities LLC (Freepoint) entered into settlement agreements with a number of enforcers stemming from an alleged conspiracy to bribe a state-owned company in South America. As part of the settlements, Freepoint agreed to enhance its corporate governance and compliance program, and to report any subsequent issues to the DOJ. However, in May 2025 a former employee filed a whistleblower suit alleging insider trading violations and retaliation. The implications for companies, like Freepoint, that are bound by deferred prosecution agreements or other settlement agreements could be quite significant. In this guest article, Luke Cass, Audrey Karman and Ian O’Keefe of Womble Bond Dickinson discuss the various programs meant to encourage whistleblowing, how whistleblowers pose risks to existing DOJ resolutions and how compliance programs can help mitigate those risks. See “Obligations Linger Despite Freepoint’s Settlements With DOJ and CFTC” (Aug. 28, 2024).

Integrating AI Into the Five Stages of an Investigation

Most compliance professionals are familiar with five key stages of internal investigations – (1) opening the investigation; (2) soliciting stakeholder engagement; (3) gathering facts; (4) reporting findings; and (5) determining remediation. However, as generative artificial intelligence (AI) tools like Microsoft Co-Pilot become readily available to investigating teams, how to move through those stages has changed in the past two years, according to a panel discussion at the Society for Corporate Compliance and Ethics’ Compliance & Ethics Institute. This article provides tips on how to manage the investigation lifecycle while leveraging AI tools. See “Outside Counsel Perspectives on Key Steps in Internal Investigations” (Jun. 10, 2020).

Lessons in Cultural Assessment From an Internationally Expanding Company

When a company grows through M&A, each transaction shifts company culture. As a result, it is critical for the compliance team to have ways to measure and track that culture through every integration process to make sure that the larger company maintains and strengthens its culture. Computacenter, a U.K.-based IT company, built its compliance function in North America beginning in 2018 through a series of acquisitions. As the company grew, that team became adept at assessing and fostering a culture of compliance, so much so that it was then tapped to oversee compliance in the parent company’s Asia Pacific and Mexico operations, as well. Members of the company’s compliance team shared their insights on assessing company culture using both quantitative and qualitative measures in a Society of Corporate Compliance and Ethics conference session in August. This article distills some of their comments. See “Survey Finds Increased Value in Having a Culture of Compliance” (Feb. 26, 2025).

How Under Armour and People Inc. Took AI Governance From Crawl to Walk to Run

Despite all the buzz, legal and regulatory uncertainties remain a key challenge to businesses’ use of generative artificial intelligence (AI). There are steps companies can take, however, to manage AI-related risks effectively. This article synthesizes insights regarding AI governance and risk management shared during an Interactive Advertising Bureau program featuring in-house counsel from Under Armour and People Inc. See “AI Governance: Striking the Balance Between Innovation, Ethics and Accountability” (Jun. 18, 2025).

Baker McKenzie Adds Former FBI Senior Official

Baker McKenzie has welcomed Sumon Dantiki as a partner in the firm’s litigation and government enforcement practice and co-chair of its national security practice in Washington, D.C. He arrives from King & Spalding. For insights from Baker McKenzie, see “Risk Assessment for Trump 2.0: Back to Basics” (Aug. 27, 2025).

Securities Partner Joins Orrick in Silicon Valley

Orrick has announced that Eddie Han has joined the firm as a partner in its financial and securities litigation group in Silicon Valley. For insights from Orrick, see our two-part series “FTC Signals Stricter Children’s Enforcement in NGL Labs Settlement”: Key Violations and Settlement Terms (Oct. 9, 2024), and Compliance Lessons (Oct. 23, 2024).

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Women to Watch: Contributions, Achievements and Observations of Outstanding Female Professionals

To mark International Women’s Day, women editors and reporters at ION Analytics interviewed outstanding women in the industries and jurisdictions we cover. In this part, Law Report Group editors Jill Abitbol, Robin L. Barton and Megan Zwiebel profile notable women in data privacy, cybersecurity, private funds and anti-corruption law, including Anne-Gabrielle Haie, Jessica Lee, Micaela McMurrough, Laura Perkins, Amanda Raad, Madelyn Calabrese, Ranah Esmaili and Genna Garver. Enjoy reading their inspiring remarks here.