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Global Ethics + Compliance

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Our global ethics and compliance lawyers help clients facing various compliance challenges to design and implement comprehensive, ethics-based compliance frameworks.

Global Ethics and Compliance Lawyers

Case Studies

13th Summit on Anti-Corruption, Integrity and ESG - Brazil

LexisNexis Risk Ready Financial Crime Compliance 2025

FIA's Law & Compliance Division Conference

Practising Law Institute's 2025 FCPA Program

Ethisphere's 2025 Global Ethics Summit

Beyond the War Room: Turning Strategic Response into your Strategic Advantage

Events

FTO Designations Heighten Risks for Companies Operating in Latin America / Las designaciones de FTO aumentan los riesgos para las empresas que operan en América Latina

CFTC Advisory Outlines Materiality Criteria for Enforcement Referrals

True Facts About False Claims: MoFo's FCA Newsletter (April 2025)

Top 5 SEC Enforcement Developments for March 2025

The Department of Justice Announces New Enforcement Policy for Digital Assets

Top 5 SEC Enforcement Developments for February 2025

Insights

DOJ Review of Foreign Bribery Cases Leaves Defendants Baffled

Brian R. Michael and Purvi G. Patel named Top 100 Lawyers by Los Angeles Business Journal for 2025

US DOJ continues to treat cyber negligence as contract fraud, data breach or not

Did DOJ Bless A Crypto Free-For-All? Think Again, Attys Say

MoFo Flags Key Legal Risks as State AG Actions Surge

FCPA Executive Order: Staying the Course in the Face of Continued Risk

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Brian R. Michael is a partner in Morrison Foerster’s Investigations + White Collar Defense Group, and the chair of the firm’s Global Ethics + Compliance practice.Recognized as one of the top lawyers in California, Brian draws upon more than 25 years of high-profile experience in private practice, as an in-house leader, and as a federal prosecutor in the Southern District of New York and the Central District of California to represent entities and individuals who turn to him for the most complex, high-stakes white collar criminal cases, internal and government-facing investigations, securities and regulatory enforcement matters, and related litigation and trials. Brian routinely advises clients on a wide range of matters involving corporate and securities fraud, the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act and global anti-corruption laws, workplace misconduct, public corruption, cybersecurity, FinTech and blockchain technologies, trade sanctions, whistleblowing, and human rights and supply chain due diligence, among other areas.Brian’s practice also focuses on providing sensitive crisis management and compliance counseling, and he has extensive experience leading the design, enhancement, and implementation of cross-border compliance programs. He regularly leads global risk assessments and provides compliance and crisis preparedness training to companies, boards, and employees.In addition to his many years in private practice, Brian served as Deputy General Counsel and Group Chief Compliance Officer at media and entertainment company 21st Century Fox, and as an Assistant United States Attorney in both the Southern District of New York and the Central District of California. At 21st Century Fox, Brian played a critical role in the company’s response to multiple cross-border investigations, including the “UK phone hacking” crisis and the wide-ranging FIFA corruption matter, and oversaw global compliance for Fox broadcast, cable, digital, and sports media businesses, including National Geographic Partners and more than 300 channels in over 180 countries. As a federal prosecutor, Brian tried numerous cases and briefed and argued multiple appeals, as well as led criminal investigations and prosecutions involving complex financial, securities, and healthcare fraud, cybercrime, organized crime and racketeering, money laundering, violent crime, child sexual exploitation, and asset forfeiture, for which he received many commendations and awards. Brian also served as the Violence Against Women Act Coordinator and the Anti-Gang Coordinator for the Central District of California.After graduating law school, Brian clerked for former Chief Judge Gilbert S. Merritt of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit.Brian is a frequent public speaker and commentator on white collar crime, securities and regulatory enforcement, and compliance topics. He is a member of the board of directors of the Southern California Regional Subcommittee of the ABA’s White Collar Crime Committee, is a Fellow of the American Bar Foundation, and serves on the Executive Committee of Teach Democracy (formerly known as Constitutional Rights Foundation), a non-partisan nonprofit dedicated to advancing civics education and engagement among largely underserved youth.Brian earned his B.A. with distinction in general scholarship from the University of California at Berkeley and earned his J.D. from Vanderbilt University School of Law, where he was elected Order of the Coif.<h4>Representative Experience</h4><h5>Government-Facing Investigations</h5><ul><li>Representation of a national governing body for an Olympic sport in an investigation led by the California Attorney General’s Office into historical allegations of sexual misconduct and abuse by local affiliates, resulting in successful resolution with no adverse findings.</li><li>Representation of a global auto manufacturer in connection with an investigation by the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Central District of California into alleged foreign bribery and the prosecution of a former employee, successfully resulting in no adverse action against the company.</li><li>Representation of a prominent nonprofit entity in an internal investigation into multiple complaints regarding conflicts of interest, self-dealing, and other significant misconduct committed by top-level executives, resulting in successful separation of the executives on favorable terms for client.</li><li>Representation of a world-leading publisher of online video content in an investigation led by the New York Attorney General’s Office into alleged violations of state law regulating the nature of online content, resulting in successful outcome with no adverse action.</li><li>Representation of prominent private high school in Los Angeles embroiled in the Varsity Blues college admissions scandal, across from the U.S. Department of Justice.</li><li>Representation of a lobbyist in connection with a high-profile and wide-ranging corruption probe of the Los Angeles City Council led by the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Central District of California, successfully resulting in no criminal action against client.</li><li>Representation of a fund and its three managing members in connection with investigations led by the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Central District of California and the SEC related to a $500+ million Ponzi scheme and the prosecution of the perpetrator in the largest Hollywood Ponzi scheme ever, successfully resulting in no criminal or civil enforcement actions; featured in a lead story in The New Yorker, CNBC’s America Greed, and multiple documentaries, podcasts, and other publications.</li><li>Representation of senior executives for multiple entities in connection with U.S. Department of Justice criminal and civil enforcement investigations, and related FDA proceedings, related to COVID-19 testing protocols and devices.</li><li>Representation of a high-profile individual in connection with asset forfeiture and related proceedings concerning the 1MDB criminal prosecution in the Eastern District of New York.</li><li>Representation of a former senior research scientist of a multinational life sciences company in an internal investigation and parallel FDA investigation regarding alleged research misconduct by the former CEO in relation to the then-most expensive drug therapy ever, resulting in no enforcement action.</li></ul><h5>Internal and Board Investigations</h5><ul><li>Engaged by the California Department of Justice’s (DOJ) Office of the Attorney General to lead and conduct an independent review of DOJ’s public release of confidential personal information associated with firearms permit holders and applicants, and to prepare and release a public report setting forth detailed factual findings regarding the data release and recommendations for remedial actions.</li><li>Representation of a public multinational media company in multiple highly sensitive internal investigations into manipulation and tampering by third parties of core business activities and information, resulting in successful disruption and cessation of the improper activities and preservation of company’s business integrity.</li><li>Representation of a global auction house in an internal investigation of misconduct by senior executive and advising company leadership and board on mitigation and remediation arising from investigative findings.</li><li>Representation of a global FinTech entity in investigating alleged financial misconduct in Asia-Pacific region that came to light during due diligence for a time-sensitive and significant transaction, resulting in the successful closing of the transaction.</li><li>Representation of CEO and founder of prominent digital media company in board investigation of allegations of misconduct from co-founder, resulting in successful determination that allegations were unfounded.</li><li>Representation of senior public university executive in an investigation arising from whistleblower allegations of misconduct directed towards university’s leadership, resulting in successful finding of no wrongdoing.</li></ul><h5>Compliance Counseling, Crisis Management, and Due Diligence</h5><ul><li>Representation of a global FinTech entity in the design and implementation of a global compliance infrastructure related to the successful roll-out of a new payment tool.</li><li>Led crisis response for prominent investment funds in response to racially charged incidents at real estate developments in the wake of the George Floyd incident, resulting in successful resolution of the conflicts.</li><li>Led due diligence for prominent hedge fund in connection with potential/successful deal activity.</li></ul><h5>Complex Litigation and Trials</h5><ul><li>Representation of high-net-worth individual in dispute over distribution of significant marital estate in litigation across from former spouse, resulting in successful resolution for client.</li><li>Representation of a high-profile professional athlete in mediation and litigation across from former spouse regarding sensitive personal matters.</li><li>Representation of prominent Hollywood executive in connection with termination due to allegations of misconduct and subsequent successful arbitration resulting in finding that termination was unlawful, along with significant financial recovery for client.</li><li>Defense of a global auto manufacturer in consumer fraud litigation across California, including extensive trial preparation for multiple cases the led to successful resolution on favorable terms for client.</li><li>Representation of healthcare executive in complex financial dispute across from multiple insurance carriers, resulting in mediated settlement and dismissal of action.</li></ul>

Brian Michael

Partner

Hayley specializes in representing financial institutions, corporate clients and senior individuals in highly sensitive litigation, regulatory enforcement matters and internal investigations. She is Head of Morrison Foerster’s European Compliance Practice and regularly advises clients in relation to their compliance program and diligence of third parties.Hayley has advised clients facing parallel enforcement actions in multiple jurisdictions and those facing parallel criminal, regulatory and civil litigation. Hayley has advised clients on diverse matters across Europe, the Americas, Asia, the Middle East and Africa in the banking/financial services, energy, chemicals, construction/engineering, manufacturing and technology industries. She is also a member of our global ESG + Sustainability steering committee.In addition, Hayley has an active sanctions practice and frequently guides clients through complex UK financial sanctions and export control issues, including making license applications and interfacing with the Office of Sanctions Implementation (OFSI) and the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development office (FCDO).Hayley has been recognized as a Next Generation Partner and described in the Legal 500 UK as “…massively experienced with an enormous breadth of knowledge when dealing with the most complex cross-border regulatory investigations. She combines an excellent intellect with really practical application. Top quality.” “She’s a very able lawyer whose commercial practice covers a wide range of areas, and she’s adept at each of them; she’s clever, tough, charming and a delight to work with. Clients love her, as does her legal team: she provides encouragement, reassurance and adept handling of the most difficult case. First-rate.”Hayley is also recognized in Chambers UK, with clients commenting on her ability to “combine strong communication skills with excellent legal expertise. She is a strong collaborative partner to work with… she is ridiculously hard-working and has great judgement on how to cut through everything. She is a great person to have on your side.” Hayley was named by Global Investigations Review (GIR) to its list of Women in Investigations in 2021.Hayley was formerly an Investigative Lawyer at the Serious Fraud Office in the UK.

Hayley Ichilcik

﻿Dan Levison is a partner at Morrison Foerster and co-Managing Partner of the Singapore office. He also heads its Litigation Department and leads the firm’s Ethics and Compliance regional practice in Asia. Dan counsels clients regarding compliance matters and conducts internal investigations and compliance reviews across the Asia-Pacific region, where he has over 24 years of experience. His practice has included work in many countries in Southeast Asia and beyond, including Malaysia, Thailand, Indonesia, Vietnam, the Philippines, and Singapore.Clients say that Dan is “a highly skilled lawyer who specializes in managing large, complex internal investigations” and “very thoughtful and thorough, and extremely focused on giving high-quality advice across a broad range of issues.” Clients rely on his experience with highly sensitive and complex cross‑border matters, which have included fraud and corruption, cartel, and other competition matters, anti-money laundering, economic sanctions and export control, privacy and data security, and regulatory and product safety investigations. In addition, he assists clients with pre‑acquisition and third-party compliance due diligence and developing, reviewing, and implementing compliance policies, procedures, and training programs.Dan also focuses on complex commercial litigation and arbitration matters, with particular emphasis on the resolution of multi-jurisdictional disputes and has developed particular expertise regarding cross‑border electronic discovery matters. He has counselled clients in a range of matters involving contract disputes, business torts, antitrust, product liability, intellectual property, and other issues. Dan has represented clients in a variety of industries, including electronics and manufacturing, software, consulting and professional services, consumer goods, electronic commerce, chemicals, pharmaceuticals and healthcare, sports and entertainment, transportation, construction and real estate, hospitality, insurance, and banking and financial services, among others. Dan is also a member of the firm’s COVID‑19 Task Force.Before moving to Singapore, Dan spent more than 12 years in MoFo’s Tokyo office, and clients continue to rely on him for his Japan-related expertise, for which he has been recognized by Chambers Global 2020, 2021, and 2022.Dan has been listed by Chambers Asia-Pacific every year for the last six years as a top practitioner (Band 1) in his field for Corporate Investigations/Anti-corruption. He is recognized as a leading individual for white-collar crime by Legal 500 Asia-Pacific from 2021 - 2024, and is listed as a litigation star by Benchmark Litigation Asia-Pacific. Dan has also been recommended as a global leader in Investigations in Singapore by Who’s Who Legal/Global Investigations Review every year since 2019.Dan is also a sought–after speaker and thought leader on anti–corruption, investigations, and compliance‑related topics.In addition to his practice, Dan serves on the firm’s Board of Directors and on its Diversity Strategy Committee, and plays a leadership role in some of the firm’s global diversity initiatives, notably, as a member of the Board of Directors of the firm’s pro bono client, Lawyers for LGBT & Allies Network, and he has been highly commended by Chambers for an Asia-Pacific Diversity & Inclusion Award 2020.<h4>Representative Experience</h4><ul><li>A multinational company in connection with an internal investigation into allegations of bribery in Indonesia.</li><li>A real estate investment trust in relation to a compliance risk assessment concerning a joint venture in India. </li><li>A U.S.-based company in an investigation into corruption and procurement–related irregularities in India. </li><li>A global technology company in relation to an investigation into allegations of conflicts of interest and accounting irregularities by local management in Southeast Asia.</li><li>Several Asia-based employees of financial institutions in internal and government corruption and money laundering investigations. </li><li>U.S.-based medical device manufacturer in investigation into allegations of bribery and fraud in Japan.</li><li>A multinational pharmaceutical company in investigations into allegations of irregularities in the conduct of clinical trials in Japan.</li><li>A U.S.-based company with respect to several Japan Fair Trade Commission investigations.</li><li>Providing a global financial institution with anti-corruption counselling with respect to its global private equity and venture capital investments.</li><li>Conducted pre-investment and pre-acquisition anti-corruption and compliance due diligence for U.S., Europe, and Asia-based multinational companies in numerous transactions across the Asia‑Pacific region and beyond. </li></ul>

Daniel Levison

Managing Partner, Singapore

MoForecast: State AGs and the False Claims Act: Navigating Multijurisdictional Challenges and Investor Scrutiny

MoForecast: State AGs and the Future of Privacy Enforcement – What You Need to Know

When Your Life Sciences Are on the Line: FCPA Enforcement

Christine Wong Shares Career Journey on Hsu Untied

When Your Life Sciences Are on the Line: FTC’s Final Noncompete Rule

Big Take DC: The Little Sanctions Office That Could

Podcasts

ESG + Sustainability

James Koukios Joins FCPA Compliance Report to Review DAG Lisa Monaco's October Speech at ABA White Collar Crime National Institute

U.S. Treasury Sanctions Can Lead to Economic Isolation

Managing Multi-Jurisdictional Disputes and Investigations in a Distributed World

Enforcement and Reputational Issues in a Biden Administration

Video + Audio

Global Ethics + Compliance

Compliance Practice Group of the Year

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Events

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Video + Audio

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