US Justice Focuses On Individual Accountability- What Does It Mean For Canada?

The US Deputy Attorney General, Sally Quillian Yates, recently released a memorandum (Yates Memo) in which she outlined a new strategy to help combat corporate fraud and other wrongdoing. The strategy? Seeking accountability from the individuals who perpetrated the wrongdoing. The Yates Memo, however, acknowledges that pursuing individuals has in the past proved to be challenging, particularly in large corporations where responsibility is diffuse and decisions are made at various levels in the organization. The solution? Going forward corporations that are under investigation will be required to identify all individuals involved in or responsible for the misconduct at issue.

In order to secure this information from corporations, the Yates Memo instructs counsel not to provide any credit to corporations for cooperating with an investigation if they do not turn over the information. Why is this important? Judges in US federal courts are required to consider the