The Department of Justice’s view on corporate compliance took a dramatic turn with the recent announcement of a new policy by the Antitrust Division. On July 11, 2019, the Antitrust Division declared that it will finally recognize and reward robust compliance programs whereas it previously gave little attention to corporate efforts for compliance. This dramatic shift will significantly affect corporations worldwide in conducting their business. This policy change means that the United States has joined many other countries worldwide in considering a compliance culture as a mitigating factor when determining antitrust penalties. Companies, however, cannot assume this policy creates an automatic pass to avoiding prosecution and companies can now expect negative repercussions for inadequate programs.
Following the announcement, the Antitrust Division released detailed guidelines establishing what it will consider at both the charging and sentencing stages of an investigation. Prior to this new policy, companies were occasionally recognized for making significant improvements to a compliance program that otherwise failed to prevent a violation but never were able to avoid antitrust charges completely due to compliance. Under this new policy, the key is a robust and effective compliance program. The Antitrust Division’s principles establish what constitutes good corporate citizenship and other contributing aspects when evaluating whether a company’s program meets the expectations.
We invite you to join our partners from Tokyo, the US and EU as they discuss in detail:
- The significant developments and the importance of antitrust compliance, including the implications for this new policy.
- The new DOJ guidelines and our recent experience with compliance discussions before the DOJ, providing insight from both the EU and North American perspective. We will dig deep into the key principles and focus on understanding the expectations from regulators across key jurisdictions.
- How to manage competition legal risk and create an effective compliance program to take full advantage of the new policy and create a culture of compliance.
Webinar details
| Date |
August 6, 2019 |
| Time |
09.00 EDT
14.00 BST
15.00 CEST |
| Language |
English |
| Contact |
Daniel Nault |
Participation is free upon registration.
Author
Dr. Akira Inoue
Dr. Inoue is a partner at Baker McKenzie's Tokyo office, and has been handling cross-border antitrust cases for more than 20 years. He is highly respected for his knowledge of antitrust and competition law, giving presentations at numerous events and having authored 10 books and more than 122 articles on the subject. The government frequently seeks his opinions on competition policy and government reports often cite his articles. Dr. Inoue has been serving Japanese companies as lead defense counsel since becoming involved in the international vitamin cartel case. Most recently, he successfully secured compliance credit for only the second time in the history of antitrust practice and won a 40% fine reduction. He is further distinguished as the sole member of the steering committee of Baker McKenzie's Global Antitrust & Competition Group from the Asia Pacific region.
Dr. Inoue has been recognized as a “Leading Individual” by Chambers Asia-Pacific (2010-2024), Legal 500 (2019-2024), Who’s Who Legal (2016-2024), Thomson Reuters Stand-out Lawyer (2020-2024), Asia Business Law Journal List of Japan's Top 100 Lawyers (2020 and 2024) and Best Lawyers in Japan (2017-2022). He is recognized at the lawyer ranking published by Nikkei News Paper (2018, 2022 and 2023).
Author
Craig Lee
Craig Lee leads the Firm’s global cartel task force. He brings 13 years of experience as a federal prosecutor to assist clients with issues concerning international and domestic antitrust matters, including cartel defense, criminal enforcement investigations, and litigation. Prior to joining Baker McKenzie, Craig served as Assistant Chief of the Washington Criminal 1 Section of the US Department of Justice Antitrust Division, where he led teams of trial attorneys in prominent investigations and prosecutions of antitrust violations and related crimes, such as bribery, fraud, and obstruction of justice. He played leading roles in multiple criminal antitrust trials, several international and domestic cartel matters, and the first successfully litigated extradition of a foreign national for an antitrust violation. Craig received four Antitrust Division Assistant Attorney General Awards of Distinction and the Washington Field Office’s FBI Service Award for his work on criminal and civil enforcement while with the DOJ. Craig also served as a Special Assistant United States Attorney in the Eastern District of Virginia and a judicial clerk in the Western District of Louisiana.
