Bienert Katzman Littrell Williams LLP regularly conducts discreet and comprehensive internal investigations of potential wrongdoing to assess liability relating to claims of breaches of fiduciary duty, professional liability, illegal bribes, insider trading, accounting irregularities, fraud, money laundering, violations of government contract regulations, and violations of the U.S. Foreign Corrupt Practices Act.
In the course of their internal investigations, BKLW attorneys typically conduct interviews of management and employees, assess whether disciplinary actions need to be undertaken, evaluate the advantages and disadvantages of making voluntary disclosures to the government and/or the public, gather and analyze documentation relevant to the investigation, make recommendations on how to maintain applicable privileges and how to interact with any parallel government investigations, and advise the client on corporate governance, risk management, and compliance issues, including the implementation of measures to prevent the recurrence of wrongful conduct. BKLW recognizes that early and aggressive crisis management helps eliminate or mitigate exposure and enhances a client’s credibility with the government, regulatory agencies, and its investors.
Internal investigations can help reduce or control negative media and reputational exposure should problems become public. Moreover, failure to conduct internal investigations when there is an indication of misconduct could potentially give rise to claims of breach of fiduciary duties. BKLW focuses on avoiding litigation and adverse regulatory actions, which helps clients avoid costly legal proceedings, governmental action, and individual officer and director liability.
Each internal investigation presents unique challenges, and BKLW strives to make each one timely, accurate, and thorough. BKLW’s experience in conducting internal investigations helps make them effective, cost-efficient, and with minimal disruptions to their client’s business. BKLW endeavors to help its clients avoid a catastrophe, identify and isolate root causes of problems, minimize the associated risks, take steps to ensure that unfortunate incidents never happen again, and protect the long-term sustainability of their businesses.