Government Investigations

Government investigations and enforcement actions can become front-page news and cause internal turmoil and substantial damage to a company’s reputation, even if it is later found to have done no wrong. They also impose burdensome obligations to respond to demands for information. Engaging quickly and effectively with the government can help limit the scope of the proceedings and reduce the risk.

Our lawyers understand the processes and cultures of the various agencies and have long experience helping clients respond to ongoing audits and investigations, as well as immediate government demands for information, subpoenas and search warrants. We also work with clients to develop programs to help avoid investigations in the first place.

We have handled numerous investigations related to health care, environmental, fisheries, antitrust, procurement and other matters. We are experienced in qui tam cases and intimately familiar with the False Claims Act. Using our experience in both civil and criminal litigation, we have represented a number of clients in "parallel proceedings" in criminal, civil and administrative forums. We have negotiated "global" dispositions of several such matters involving multiple governmental agencies.

We work closely with in-house counsel, senior management, boards of directors, audit committees and special committees to ensure the client responds properly while doing everything possible to minimize disruption. While we advocate zealously for our clients, we do so in a manner that preserves relationships with government officials to help facilitate satisfactory resolution of the matter.