Corporate compliance crackdown: DOJ changes to enforcement focused on increased accountability

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After months of signaling ramped-up enforcement efforts were underway, senior leadership in the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) has announced several new initiatives to combat white-collar crime. Some of the policy changes were previewed by Deputy Attorney General (DAG) Lisa Monaco in an exacting message delivered to the white-collar defense bar at the American Bar Association’s 36th National Institute on White Collar Crime. Speaking to an audience of white-collar criminal defense attorneys, DAG Monaco marched through a series of initiatives, some of which roll back more lenient enforcement policies adopted during the prior administration. On the heels of DAG Monaco’s announcement, the DOJ issued a more detailed memorandum formally rolling out the new policies.

As discussed in further detail below, the effort discussed in DAG Monaco’s speech and her subsequent memorandum have ramifications for both the individual and corporate level, including: (1) increased individual accountability; (2) a focus on corporate recidivism as a key component of penalty considerations; and (3) greater scrutiny of corporate remediation efforts, including imposition of monitorships where warranted.