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
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Participation is free upon registration.