Comprising experienced defense attorneys and former government attorneys from various investigative agencies, including the United States Attorneys’ offices and state prosecutors’ offices, Gibbons represents corporations and individuals in both civil and criminal investigations and enforcement proceedings, brought by: the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ); the Attorneys General of New Jersey, New York, and other states; and many regulatory agencies, including the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA), and Federal Trade Commission (FTC), among many others. We have handled significant investigations on behalf of Fortune 100 companies, pharmaceutical companies, telecommunications and financial services firms, government contractors, and nonprofits. Gibbons offers a multidisciplinary and client-oriented approach to internal investigations that seeks to ferret out the truth without unduly burdening the corporate entity, ultimately looking to bring to justice those who may have committed corporate wrongdoing, as well as recommending internal reforms aimed at preventing future defalcations or compliance problems.
Our unique approach focuses on the legally relevant issues and seeks to broaden any given investigation no further than necessary. Meanwhile, our vast experience representing senior executives in connection with internal, audit committee, securities regulatory, and government investigations leaves us particularly sensitive to the considerations that will be in the minds of those whom we are investigating. Among the types of cases for which we have performed internal investigations are:
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- Financial reporting and disclosure obligations
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- Accounting improprieties
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- Executive compensation/corporate looting
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- Misappropriation of funds
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- Insider trading of securities and other suspicious market trading
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- Adequacy of internal controls and other compliance matters
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- Anti-kickback, off-label promotion, and other inappropriate marketing of pharmaceuticals
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- Retaliation for whistleblowing
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- Foreign and domestic bribery and corruption
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- Noncompliance with government procurement regulations
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- Tax treatment
We understand the duties of public company boards of directors and audit committees and the changing nature of the relationship between outside auditors and their audit clients. We bring insight and efficiency to the internal investigation process by:
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- Knowing how to plan the investigation at its inception
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- Appreciating the special concerns of outside auditors and the importance of structuring their role in an investigation
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- Bringing a common sense approach to issues associated with preservation of the attorney-client privilege and work-product doctrine
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- Carrying out an investigation in an organized manner
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- Maximizing cooperative work with forensic accountants, forensic information technology experts, and private investigators
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- Knowing how to counsel an audit committee or other persons supervising an investigation
Areas of Focus
Stages of the Investigation
We have extensive experience representing clients through all critical phases of a regulatory investigation, including: (i) defense of on-the-record testimony; (ii) the effective and comprehensive review of electronic and documentary evidence; (iii) the Wells process; (iv) negotiations with regulators; (v) the criminal process, including grand jury; and (vi) trial. We employ the unique skills of our defense team in an investigation as appropriate and draw upon the strengths of our former federal prosecutors, former SEC staff, white collar criminal litigators, and corporate/transactional lawyers with broad knowledge of corporate governance, Dodd-Frank and Sarbanes-Oxley compliance, securities reporting obligations, and corporate finance. In short, we approach each internal, regulatory, or other investigation with the goal of minimizing the litigation, regulatory, and criminal risks associated with each matter.