Deferred Prosecution Agreements (DPAs) and Non-Prosecution Agreements (NPAs) are favored enforcement tools for resolving white collar investigations that have figured prominently in some of the largest and most complex multi-agency and cross-border resolutions of the past two decades. Because they are highly customizable, require a cooperative posture, and can be tailored to specific alleged crimes to achieve targeted remediation outcomes, NPAs and DPAs can be attractive alternatives to guilty pleas or trial for companies and enforcement agencies alike.

This presentation addresses how the use of these agreements has evolved over time and what to expect in negotiating one, including discussion of recent Department of Justice guidance regarding evaluation of corporate compliance programs. We also will look at other countries and agencies employing similar resolution vehicles to NPAs and DPAs. Furthermore, this presentation examines new guidance from the Department of Justice regarding monitor selection, and how to successfully navigate a monitorship.

Topics:

  • Varieties of resolution structures
  • Trends and statistics regarding the use of NPAs and DPAs from the past two decades
  • Key negotiating terms
  • Advocacy to avoid corporate monitors and management of monitors

Due to technical difficulties, the audio was dropped during the last 15 minutes of the discussion. The below video presentation is 75 minutes long. We apologize for this inconvenience and invite you to please contact the presenters with any questions. The complete slide deck is available below.

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PANELISTS:

Stephanie L. Brooker is co-chair of Gibson Dunn's Financial Institutions Practice Group. She is the former Director of the Enforcement Division at FinCEN, and previously served as the Chief of the Asset Forfeiture and Money Laundering Section in the U.S. Attorney's Office for the District of Columbia and as a DOJ trial attorney for several years. Ms. Brooker represents financial institutions, multi-national companies, and individuals in connection with BSA/AML, sanctions, anti-corruption, securities, tax, wire fraud, whistleblower, and "me-too" internal corporate investigations and enforcement actions. Her practice also includes BSA/AML compliance counseling and due diligence and significant criminal and civil asset forfeiture matters. Ms. Brooker was named a 2018 National Law Journal "White Collar Trailblazer" and a Global Investigations Review "Top 100 Women in Investigations."

Richard W. Grime is co-chair of Gibson Dunn's Securities Enforcement Practice Group. Mr. Grime's practice focuses on representing companies and individuals in corruption, accounting fraud, and securities enforcement matters before the SEC and the DOJ. Prior to joining the firm, Mr. Grime was Assistant Director in the Division of Enforcement at the SEC, where he supervised the filing of over 70 enforcement actions covering a wide range of the Commission's activities, including the first FCPA case involving SEC penalties for violations of a prior Commission order, numerous financial fraud cases, and multiple insider trading and Ponzi-scheme enforcement actions.

Patrick F. Stokes is a partner in Gibson Dunn's Washington, D.C. office, where his practice focuses on internal corporate investigations and enforcement actions regarding corruption, securities fraud, and financial institutions fraud. Prior to joining the firm, Mr. Stokes headed the DOJ's FCPA Unit, managing the FCPA enforcement program and all criminal FCPA matters throughout the United States covering every significant business sector. Previously, he served as Co-Chief of the DOJ's Securities and Financial Fraud Unit.

F. Joseph Warin is co-chair of Gibson Dunn’s global White Collar Defense and Investigations Practice Group, and chair of the Washington, D.C. office’s nearly 200-person Litigation Department. Mr. Warin's group was recognized by Global Investigations Review in 2018 as the leading global investigations law firm in the world, the third time in four years to be so named. Mr. Warin is a former Assistant United States Attorney in Washington, D.C. He is ranked annually in the top-tier by Chambers USA, Chambers Global, and Chambers Latin America for his FCPA, fraud and corporate investigations expertise. Among numerous accolades, he has been recognized by Benchmark Litigation as a U.S. White Collar Crime Litigator "Star" for nine consecutive years (2011–2019).

The content of this article is intended to provide a general guide to the subject matter. Specialist advice should be sought about your specific circumstances.