Internal Investigations are now an everyday business reality. We have the pre-requisite skill and expertise necessary to help navigate the issues and conduct them discreetly, in order to most effectively minimize risk and exposure.
Institutional clients often retain Morvillo Abramowitz to conduct sensitive internal investigations aimed at uncovering or resolving allegations of officer, director, trustee, or employee misconduct both in the Untied States and globally. In the course of these internal investigations, we often advise corporate clients and not-for-profit organizations seeking clarification and counsel regarding potential referrals to law enforcement officials, or engaging in voluntary cooperation with government authorities under agency rules, Department of Justice guidelines, the Sarbanes-Oxley Act or the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act.
We frequently are retained by corporate boards to conduct internal investigations to address potential issues of misconduct within their organizations and by individual board members in connection with these investigations. Our lawyers provide litigation-avoidance advice and other confidential legal counseling designed to avoid regulatory intervention and limit the client's exposure to lawsuits. We also are retained by corporate clients to represent employees, or groups of employees, scheduled to be called as witnesses in connection with Department of Justice, SEC, or other regulatory investigations.
Our internal investigations experience spans a wide range of industries, such as financial services, energy, telecommunications, aerospace, medical devices, manufacturing, pharmaceuticals, and a wide range of issues ranging from accounting and the review of external business relationships, to payroll analysis, diversion of corporate resources, Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (“FCPA”) compliance and export controls. Our experience also extends to non-profit entities including universities and museums.
Our Partners are recognized for their experience overseeing internal investigations and the strategic issues that such investigations frequently raise, and are routinely recruited as lecturers and authors in this area by bar associations, law schools, and corporations.
Matters
Gucci America Inc., in connection with its investigation of an unauthorized intrusion/hacking attack on its computer system. The firm also coordinated the company’s interactions with law enforcement.
A subcommittee of the Board of Trustees of a university, to asses the university’s compliance with existing policies and procedures concerning the initiation and administration of business relationships with third parties, and to recommend governance and related changes.
The Audit Committee of a public company in the food service industry, in connection with an investigation of the accounting practices with respect to vendor rebates of a wholly-owned subsidiary.
The Audit Committee of a high-profile New York non-profit organization to investigate a payroll fraud spanning over five years.
A major investment bank, for which the firm completed a two year independent consultancy pursuant to a consent order with the SEC reviewing the company’s existing internal policies, procedures and practices regarding controls around material non- public information, including its audit practices and detection through information technology.
