DOJ Adds Promptness and Remediation to Leniency Program
DOJ Adds Promptness and Remediation to Leniency Program
Lisa Phelan spoke to Law360 about the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) Antitrust Division’s announcement about changes to its leniency program, which will require companies disclosing anti-competitive conduct in the hopes of avoiding criminal charges and reducing fines to now report violations “promptly” and attempt to undo the harm they’ve caused.
“These are increased expectations on the leniency applicants,” Lisa said, noting that the changes come as U.S. and international enforcers deal with a multi-year downward trend in companies coming forward to disclose price-fixing and other cartels. Raising the bar for leniency, she said, “seems kind of counterproductive” if the goal is to get more companies to come forward.
Lisa also asserted that the remediation requirement is redundant given that cartel enforcement is virtually guaranteed to incite follow-on litigation from private parties claiming they were injured by the alleged conduct.
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