Litigation & Dispute Resolution

Quarles has, for many years, conducted internal investigations and counseled clients on their planning and conduct. Immediately following the passage of the Dodd-Frank whistleblower law, we assembled a highly responsive, multi-office, cross-disciplinary team of attorneys and support staff with the experience and skills necessary to design and execute efficient and appropriately scaled investigations, and to counsel our clients on planning and conducting their own investigations.

Members of our Internal Investigations group have successfully conducted investigations in a wide variety of industries, and in a wide variety of regulatory and other enforcement contexts. The range of these investigations includes financial reporting, employee defalcation, management ethical code violation, insider trading and other securities issues, compliance and governance issues, and a major investigation of client contracting practices that included our negotiating successful resolutions of the identified issues with federal contracting agencies (as well as the successful negotiated resolution of 50-state escheat law compliance issues).

We know from experience that planning is every bit as important as execution, and that time spent in planning at the front end will save time and money overall as well as ensuring a better product. And because we know there is no such thing as a one-size-fits-all internal investigation, we do not begin an investigation by throwing bodies at it. Instead, we work with our client at the outset to understand its problem fully; to construct a rational and sequenced plan of attack that includes the collection and efficient review of electronically stored records; to clearly define the scope of what is to be done, to build in efficiencies from the beginning; and to identify potential regulatory and enforcement concerns, and integrate strategies for dealing with them as key components of the plan.

Only then do we staff the project, calling upon lawyers who have exactly the right combination of skills and experience to do what is needed. Then, recognizing that plans must sometimes change in response to what is encountered along the way, we work closely and continuously with our client to craft flexible responses that continue to meet its objectives and needs.

We will not overstaff. We will ensure that we provide an appropriate mix of investigative skills and substantive skills relevant to the subject of the investigation, along with a sensitivity to potential labor law concerns. If a high level of staffing should be required, we have the demonstrated capacity to involve just as many lawyers, in just as many of our offices, as necessary — as well as the skills to manage their efforts seamlessly, in the interests of both quality and efficiency.

A sampling of the areas in which we assist our clients with internal investigations includes:

Antitrust: We regularly assist clients in the conduct of internal investigations into potential trade regulation issues, and in responding to requests for information from federal and state investigative authorities.

Crisis Management: We are experienced in providing a full and immediate range of disaster response services, including positioning a cross-practice team at the disaster site, interfacing with regulatory and criminal investigators, ensuring that necessary reporting is accomplished, conducting an internal investigation into causes and advising on the client’s dealings with all its interested audiences, including customers, suppliers, the press and the concerned agencies.

Employee Fraud/Ethics Violations: We have conducted numerous internal investigations into fraud and/or ethics violations by clients’ employees or former employees. Some of these have involved very large sums of money, and some have involved employees at high levels of management.

Employment Law: We regularly assist clients with internal investigations regarding employees and complaints by employees, and we represent clients in their dealings with numerous state and federal agencies in connection with whistleblower cases as well as Foreign Corrupt Practices Act, Sarbanes-Oxley, OSHA and other matters involving the Wage and Hour Division of the U.S. Department of Labor, EEOC, OFCCP and various state agencies.

Environmental: Our environmental lawyers often assist clients in responding to inquiries or investigations by governmental agencies into spills, chemical use, waste management and disposal practices, OSHA compliance and discharges subject to air and wastewater permits. We have also structured and assisted clients with internal audits designed to evaluate the status of company compliance with environmental regulation and best management practices.

False Claims: The False Claims Act allows a private whistleblower or relator to receive a huge bounty for providing information leading to a recovery of excessive or fraudulent payments by the government. There have been about $27 billion in recoveries in the past 20 years, including about 600 settlements and judgments, totaling $12 billion from 2006 to 2010. There may also be a huge backlog of complaints: Government sources estimate that over 1,000 whistleblower/qui tam complaints have not been publicly disclosed while the government investigates and decides whether to get involved. The law allows for treble damages and penalties for each false claim. A whistleblower/relator can receive up to 30 percent of the amount recovered. We have experience assisting clients in investigating and resolving these claims.

Foreign Corrupt Practices Act: We have extensive experience advising clients on the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act. This includes assisting clients with setting up anti-bribery policies, conducting formal training sessions on the law for both legal and sales staff and responding to inquiries as they arise from the field. There has been a significant upward trend in enforcement activity under the FCPA in recent years, and we have been working hard to make sure that our clients are taking the necessary steps to minimize any risk of non-compliance.

Health Care: We have significant experience with internal investigations concerning compliance with health care regulatory laws as well as medical staff investigations in association with corrective actions and allegations of Medicaid fraud and other False Claims Act violations. We also have significant experience in responding to subpoenas and information requests from the FDA, DEA and Department of Justice.

Immigration: We assist companies to perform internal investigations and self-audits of their employee verification programs, including Form I-9, E-Verify and H-1B LCA files. We represent companies when Immigration, Customs and Enforcement issues audits, subpoenas and warrants; when the U.S. Department of Justice investigates companies for immigration-related discrimination violations; when the Department of Labor audits H-1B Labor Condition Application public inspection files; and when Citizenship & Immigration Services’ Fraud Detection and National Security office investigates companies for suspected fraud in the immigration benefits programs.

SEC Investigations: We have successfully represented numerous individuals and organizations in responding to SEC investigations and negotiating outcomes, and also in conducting internal investigations regarding potential subjects of such investigations.

Trade Secrets/Information Theft: We have represented numerous organizations in conducting internal investigations to identify and support claims of theft of trade secrets and protectable proprietary information by current and prior employees. Where necessary, these investigations include our engagement and coordination with providers of forensic electronic information analysis.

White Collar: We have successfully represented numerous individuals and organizations in defending or coordinating with the prosecution of white collar criminal charges.

Please contact Bruce Bauer at (414) 277-5623 / or your Quarles & Brady attorney to discuss your concerns regarding internal investigations and whistleblower laws. We’re always happy to provide initial consultation at no charge. We pride ourselves on our responsiveness.