Foreign Corrupt Practices Act

Paul, Weiss has extensive experience in counseling and defending U.S. and foreign companies in matters relating to the United States Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA) and similar anti-corruption laws. Our lawyers draw upon unsurpassed experience in this highly specialized area of white collar criminal law. In response to the sharp increase in FCPA enforcement, the rise in foreign bribery enforcement globally, and heightened anti-corruption compliance standards, we are often called upon to advise and represent clients in matters regarding compliance, risk assessment, third-party and transactional due diligence, internal investigations, and defense of proceedings before U.S. and foreign enforcement authorities. Paul, Weiss’s offices in New York, Washington, D.C., Beijing, Hong Kong, London, Tokyo, Toronto and Wilmington are fully integrated and ideally situated to represent clients in the full range of FCPA matters.

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Why Paul, Weiss?

Our practitioners include former prosecutors and enforcement agency attorneys, most notably the former deputy chief of the Fraud Section of the Criminal Division of the Department of Justice (DOJ) who developed and ran the DOJ’s modern FCPA enforcement program. Paul, Weiss’s FCPA team also includes nationally recognized trial lawyers and well-respected former officials and attorneys from various government branches. The depth and balance of our team allows us to anticipate and respond to the many challenges that can arise in connection with FCPA matters.

In addition to numerous former assistant United States attorneys, as well as lawyers with service in other branches of the Justice Department and various federal agencies, our team also includes a partner and a counsel who joined Paul, Weiss from the Securities and Exchange Commission’s (SEC) Division of Enforcement, where they served as deputy director and branch chief, respectively. Our former SEC lawyers have significant FCPA experience - both from their time in the government and since joining Paul, Weiss.

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Our Practice

Our experience includes matters arising in Africa, Asia, the Americas and the Middle East, and includes internal investigations, regulatory enforcement action defense, trouble-shooting, third-party and transactional due diligence, the training of boards of directors, management and employees, and the design of compliance programs. We have represented numerous corporations in virtually every industry including aerospace, apparel, defense, electronics, energy, financial services, food products, gaming, healthcare, hospitality, media, medical device, manufacturing, mining, pharmaceutical, private equity, technology and telecommunications.

We also defend individual executives and board members in criminal and civil proceedings arising under the FCPA.

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Recognitions

Our FCPA Group has earned an enviable reputation for its work. Some of our recent acknowledgments are listed below.

• Chambers USA recognized Mark Mendelsohn as a Nationwide FCPA Expert (2011).
• Ethisphere Institute named Mark Mendelsohn in its second annual list of “Attorneys Who Matter,” which recognizes attorneys who have significantly advanced the cause of corporate compliance and ethics. Mark is included in the "Top Guns" category, awarded to attorneys who have a wide range of experience and are leaders in the outside counsel community.
• U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder honored litigation partner Mark Mendelsohn in his former role as deputy chief of the Fraud Section of the Criminal Division of the DOJ, and his team with the Attorney General’s Award for Fraud Prevention for their prosecution of United States v. BAE Systems. The award recognizes the exceptional dedication and effort to prevent, investigate and prosecute fraud, white collar crimes and official corruption.
• U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder awarded Mark Mendelsohn the Attorney General’s Award for Distinguished Service for his work overseeing a major investigation into corrupt payments.
• The American Lawyer named Paul, Weiss “Litigation Department of the Year” in the biennial survey in 2006 and a finalist for the same award in 2010, highlighting the group’s work on significant internal investigations and government investigations.

• an energy company in an internal investigation into potential FCPA violations with respect to its operations in a South American country.
• a U.S.-listed medical device company in connection with potential FCPA concerns relating to its operations in China.
• the U.S. subsidiary of a Japanese electronics company in connection with an investigation of bribery allegations in Mexico and Brazil.
• a major publicly held U.S. food products company in connection with an investigation of bribery allegations in China.
• a privately held U.S. media company in connection with an FCPA training program for senior executives.
• a major U.S. oil and gas company in connection with FCPA investigations in Asia and Africa.
• a U.S. manufacturer in connection with an FCPA investigation relating to activities in Brazil.
• a financial institution in connection with an FCPA matter in Equatorial Guinea and Angola.
• a major U.S. financial services company in connection with alleged improper payments in Brazil.
• a U.S. telecommunications company in connection with FCPA matters arising in Russia and Kazakhstan.
• a U.S. financial institution in connection with an FCPA investigation relating to Peru.
• a private equity fund in connection with an anti-corruption risk assessment and the design and implementation of an anti-corruption compliance program.
• a global non-profit organization in connection with a DOJ investigation of its operations in Eastern Europe and the former Soviet Union.
• numerous private equity funds, financial institutions and companies in connection with third-party and transactional diligence in Africa, Asia, Europe, North, Central and South America, and the Middle East.
• a multilateral development bank in connection with an internal investigation of alleged corruption by one if its directors.

• a senior executive at a multinational metal company in an inquiry involving alleged unlawful payments to government officials in Asia.
• a board member of a European telecommunications company in connection with allegations of bribery in Europe.
• a senior executive of a U.S. communications company in connection with SEC and DOJ investigations alleging potential FCPA violations involving the Middle East.
• an individual employed by a major oil services company in DOJ and SEC investigations of potential FCPA violations in Indonesia and Nigeria.
• the general counsel of a public oil and gas drilling services company in connection with an internal FCPA investigation.
• executives and managers of the Indian subsidiary of a listed U.S. company in connection with DOJ and SEC FCPA investigations.
• a sales agent in an FCPA investigation involving Nigeria.