Related Practices
|
In the wake of the Jack Abramoff investigation and the Sarbanes-Oxley law, corporations increasingly appreciate the reputational and legal exposure that could result from violations of the election, lobbying, and government ethics laws. Many are taking proactive steps to contain their exposure by auditing their political functions and, where problems are detected, conducting internal investigations. Covington is regularly retained to conduct internal investigations in the political law area.
The typical politically active corporation faces a variety of potential compliance risks in the political law area. Examples include:
- Illegal reimbursement of campaign contributions through the corporate expense reimbursement process.
- Illegal bundling or “facilitation” of campaign contributions by corporate employees and lobbyists.
- Failure to register as a lobbying client or lobbyist.
- Failure accurately to quantify and report lobbying activity.
- Violation of corporate policies or laws governing gifts to public officials.
- Mishandling of PAC funds.
We understand that investigations of this kind are necessarily extraordinarily sensitive in nature. Our lawyers are able to marshal not only the investigative skills and professional discretion necessary to learn the facts but also the specialized knowledge of the election and lobbying laws needed to spot and understand the issues.
Representative Matters
- We have recently conducted several large corporate internal investigations for Fortune 500 companies concerning campaign finance compliance issues. We utilized a team approach involving both our election law subject matter specialists and our white collar/government investigations lawyers. We were able rapidly to ascertain the facts and evaluate the corporations’ legal exposure for corporate management, as well as to make practical recommendations for remediation.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|