Former Enforcers Clash Over Cooperating with FBI
Former Enforcers Clash Over Cooperating with FBI
Lisa Phelan was featured in Global Competition Review’s coverage of the American Bar Association’s International Cartel Workshop, where she participated on a panel that discussed whether competition lawyers should advise companies to speak with FBI agents during so-called “knock-and-talk” interviews.
According to Lisa, it’s important that companies know not to destroy any evidence before they are targeted by FBI knock-and-talks.
Lisa added that around 70% of company executives do speak with government investigators before calling in counsel. She acknowledged that this helps the U.S. Department of Justice’s Antitrust Division carry out its probes more efficiently, though noted many employees go into these talks unprepared because their background is in business, not the Sherman Act.
“Even if they have had counsel, a lot of folks will go into the talks thinking they can talk their way in or out of whatever the agent is interrogating them about – even though this isn’t the case,” she said.
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Practices