List of Partners in Securities Litigation, Enforcement + White-Collar Defense Practice Group
Morrison & Foerster has extensive experience conducting internal investigations for companies around the world. We assist clients in designing and implementing codes of ethics, insider trading programs and policies, whistleblower protections, disclosure policies, and audit committee policies required by the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002. We have represented companies, board committees, and individuals in internal investigations involving allegations of FCPA violations, financial reporting violations, stock option backdating, and other issues. We develop and present client seminars on important related topics, including conducting internal investigations, designing effective compliance programs, minimizing FCPA risk, and managing parallel proceedings.
We continue to lead some of the most sensitive and high-profile internal investigations for clients from diverse industries, including computer hardware and software, consumer products energy and natural resources, financial services, healthcare pharmaceuticals telecommunications, and transportation. We represent companies, audit committees, special litigation committees, officers, and directors, in connection with pending litigation or regulatory inquiries, or before any action is commenced. When making assessments and recommendations, we recognize that early and assertive crisis management can increase a company’s credibility with its shareholders, regulators, prosecutors, and auditors, and can eliminate or mitigate its exposure.
While we handle more focused, rapid reviews and investigations on a smaller scale, we have the expertise and resources to perform large, complex investigations quickly and efficiently, anywhere in the world, and in multiple locations simultaneously.
We have developed particular expertise handling internal investigations in Asia, having conducted many investigations in Hong Kong, China, Japan, Taiwan, and Singapore.
Our group has more than 125 attorneys in 16 offices worldwide and includes prominent partners with decades of experience, more than a dozen former prosecutors, and former SEC enforcement attorneys. We also have an in‑house forensic accounting services group, led by a Certified Public Accountant, Certified Fraud Examiner, and former Big Four audit partner, which provides ready access to in-depth accounting expertise in internal investigations.
Our Internal Investigations representations include the Audit Committee of the Supervisory Board of ABN Amro Bank N.V. with respect to management actions relating to the bank's anti-money-laundering program and controls in connection with its dollar-clearing operations in the U.S., the Audit Committee of the Board of Directors of Brocade Communications with respect to stock option backdating, the Audit Committee of the Board of Directors of a well-known specialty retailer with respect to stock option backdating, the Audit Committee of Interpool, Inc., with respect to an accounting restatement, and a Fortune 100 company with respect to alleged FCPA violations and alleged cartel activities in its Asia-Pacific operations.