On September 23, 2024, Principal Deputy Assistant Attorney General Nicole M. Argentieri announced updates to the U.S. Department of Justice’s (“DOJ”) guidance relative to its Principles of Federal Prosecution of Business Organizations through the Evaluation of Corporate Compliance Programs (“ECCP”). The ECCP is “meant to assist prosecutors in making informed decisions as to whether, and to what extent, the corporation’s compliance program was effective at the time of [an offense under investigation], and is effective at the time of a charging decision or resolution, for purposes of determining the appropriate (1) form of any resolution or prosecution; (2) monetary penalty, if any; and (3) compliance obligations contained in any corporate criminal resolution (e.g., monitorship or reporting obligations)” with DOJ.
The ECCP was updated last year with new policies relating to a corporation’s access to and retention of employee electronic communications as well as a company’s compensation structure for executives and employees. This year’s updates focus on three new policies regarding evaluations of:
- How companies are assessing and managing risk related to the use of new technology such as artificial intelligence (“AI”);
- Companies’ “speak up” cultures; and
- Compliance programs’ appropriate access to data, including to assess their own effectiveness.
Recent Updates
- ABA and FWA: Compliance Best Practices
- Regulatory Scrutiny in ABA: What Providers Need to Know About Compliance Oversight
- When Clear Drafting is Not Enough: Fifth Circuit Rejects a “Sole Discretion” Arbitration Clause
- ABA and FWA: Legitimate Providers Operate in a High-Risk Environment
- Powerful Tool, but Not an Attorney: Massachusetts Court Rejects Work Product Protection for AI-Generated Documents