Day: December 23, 2020

Go Big or Go Home

Welcome to the latest edition to the Compliance Podcast Network, The Wirecard Saga. In this series, I am joined by Mikhail Reider-Gordon, Managing Director of Institutional Ethics & Integrity at Affiliated Monitors. In this episode, we take a deep dive into the former government officials who became Wirecard lobbyists, Wirecard goes big in China as Merkel whispers and then stumbles. All this and much more in the Go Big or Go Home edition.
Some of the highlights include:

Current event wrap up;
Investigative Committee grills top government officials;
Former Minister Karl Theodor zu Guttenberg Don’t-call-me-a-lobbyist, who is BFF with Wirecard BD Georg von Waldenfels; holds private chit-chats with Merkel;
Wirecard seeks access to China and the Chancellor whispers in Xi’s ear;
All AllScore, All the Time;
Big Trouble in Little China;
Papageorgieu counsels no assistance but then the Ministry of Finance weighs in;
Merkel and her government stumble; and
Former minister Klaus-Dieter Fritsche is a consultant too.

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MoForecast

MoForecast: Predictions on State Attorneys General Offices

Post author By MoForecast Podcast
Post date December 23, 2020
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In this episode of MoForecast, Morrison & Foerster partner James Koukios speaks with fellow partners Carrie H. Cohen and Megan Gerking about what to expect from State Attorneys General Offices under the new Biden Administration.

The MoForecast podcast series, produced by global law firm Morrison & Foerster, looks into what we saw in the legal landscape under the Trump administration and how policies might change under President Biden by leveraging the firm’s decades of private practice experience and insight from former government roles. Discover more MoForecast episodes.
About the Speakers
James Koukios is co-chair of Morrison & Foerster’s Securities Litigation, Enforcement, and White Collar Defense Group and serves as co-head of the FCPA + Global Anti-Corruption Practice. James represents companies and individuals in high‑stakes government enforcement actions and complex internal investigations. He previously served as a federal prosecutor at the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ), where he was the lead prosecutor in two landmark FCPA related trials: United States v. Esquenazi and United States v. Duperval. While at DOJ, James also served as lead prosecutor in United States v. AEY Inc., a defense procurement fraud and export licensing case that served as the basis for the 2016 film War Dogs. He also previously served as Special Counsel to then-FBI Director Robert S. Mueller, III.
James is joined in this episode by:

Carrie H. Cohen, partner in Morrison & Foerster’s New York office, former Assistant United States Attorney for the Southern District of New York
Megan Gerking, partner in Morrison & Foerster’s Washington, D.C. office, former trial attorney in the DOJ’s Antitrust Division

The Morrison & Foerster team is made up of talented defense lawyers, including many who once served as prosecutors and regulators. The team helps firm clients resolve their legal issues by immersing themselves in how their clients think and operate. Learn more about the firm’s Investigations + White Collar Defense and Antitrust Law groups.

Compliance and Coronavirus

Dan Goodwin on Thinking Like an Investigator During Covid-19

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Post date December 23, 2020
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Professional background of Dan Goodwin
Why do you advocate to ‘think like an investigator’?
This advice is not simply for investigations but as a way to think through issues.
You have said that Covid-19 has sped up changes by 3-5 years. Why?
What are some of the top questions you are getting from your clients at this point in the Coronavirus era?
Where do you see us in 12 to 18 months out?

Resources
Dan Goodwin on LinkedIn

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Across the Board

Ben Colton on SSGA and Racial Equity

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Post date December 23, 2020
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In this episode of Across the Board, I visit with Ben Colton, Global Co-Head of Asset Stewardship at State Street Global Advisors. He joins me to discuss the latest guidance from State Street Global Advisors for companies on their racial equity efforts. Starting in 2021, the SSGA will ask companies in its investment portfolio to articulate their risks, goals and strategy as related to racial and ethnic diversity, and to make relevant disclosure available to shareholders. Some of the highlights include:

What the Proxy Season Review is used for?
SSGA has been working with companies since at least March on issues related to Stewardship Engagement. What were and are some of the key issues raised?
How has SSGA engaged with companies around social issues such as BLM, employee health and safety and D&I.
Has covid-19 heightened a focus on climate change?
What are the types of questions/discussions you are having with shareholders and Boards at this point, as opposed to back in March and April?

Resources
See the latest letter from State Street Global Advisors’ global CIO Richard Lacaille, offering companies guidance on racial equity.

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Compliance Into the Weeds

Algorithm Failures in Ethics and Equity at Stanford

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Post date December 23, 2020
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Compliance into the Weeds is the only weekly podcast which takes a deep dive into a compliance related topic, literally going into the weeds to more fully explore a subject. Today we consider how badly Stanford University Health Systems botched it decision on whom in the organization would receive its allotted Covid-19 vaccinations. Stanford used a faulty algorithm which mandated that only seven of the Health Systems 1300 medical residents would receive the vaccine. As you might guess these front-line health workers were up in arms over Stanford’s incompetence on this issue.
Some of the issues we consider are:

The plan had been for the algorithm to assign vaccination slots for the first 5,000 employees, who would begin receiving the Covid vaccine on Dec. 18.
What were the parameters of the algorithm?
Why was there so little ethics in the process?
Why was there so little equity in the result?
What are the implications for the compliance professional of the use of the algorithm to make such a critical decision?
What does the EEOC decision allowing companies to mandate vaccines for employees mean for compliance?

Resources
For more information see Matt’s blog post in Radical Compliance:
Lessons on Algorithms, Ethics and Equity