Conducting An Effective Internal Corporate Investigation: Best Practices, Pitfalls To Avoid

The Benefits of the Effective Internal Corporate Investigation

We are in an age of intense scrutiny of corporations. This scrutiny is coming from many directions: from government agencies like the U.S. Department of Justice, the U.S. Securities & Exchange Commission, state attorneys general, and scores of other agencies on the federal, state, and local levels; from an aggressive, opportunistic, and well-financed plaintiffs' bar; from competitors or potential acquirers seeking to capitalize on the stumbles of their peers; and from current and former employees with first-person knowledge of the inner workings of the organization. Facts and events that did not see the light of day in the past are being hauled to the surface by constituencies with interests very distinct from that of the company. Beyond the more routine attention paid to companies by investors, analysts, and the press, in the current era corporations are on notice more than ever before—particularly