As October came to a close, the Justice Department revealed a series of policy changes designed to deter white collar crime, with a special focus on corporate misconduct. 

Amongst some of the larger changes is the retraction of a “cooperation credit” that allowed companies to circumvent their own punishment if they identified all employees “substantially involved” in misconduct. “Such distinctions are confusing in practice and afford companies too much discretion in deciding who should and should not be disclosed to the government,” said Deputy Attorney General Lisa Monaco as reported by Politico. 

As part of the announcement, the Justice Department is also dropping a policy that only looked at “similar misconduct” in criminal cases. Instead will review a company’s full history of prior actions to make enforcement decisions. The DOJ also intends to pursue stronger prosecutions against executives at these companies, when historically they may have had a lower prosecution rate attributed to costly, top-notch defense teams that would contest the charges. 

The announcements are telling as this administration turns it’s focus more strongly on corporations when compared with the previous presidency. It is more important than ever for companies to arm themselves with a qualified defense counsel that knows the DOJ well and can advise on compliance and mitigation strategies.