Doing Battle On (At Least) Two Fronts: What Happens When Multiple Regulators Engage In Parallel Enforcement Efforts?

Businesses and individuals alike face difficult choices when considering the prospect of multiple federal-agency investigations of business practices happening in parallel. In that scenario, what are the relevant considerations to determine how to handle the situation? Multi-agency cooperation efforts can go a long way toward obtaining mitigated civil or criminal penalties. But companies, their executives and employees may find that there are significant collateral consequences to affirmatively engaging with all relevant regulators. Companies should consider these factors in making strategic decisions behind whether to cooperate, with whom and in what manner.