Tag: FTC

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Compliance Into the Weeds

Mike Volkov on Antitrust Issues in Microsoft Acquisition of Activision Blizzard

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. This week, Matt and Tom are pleased to host Mike Volkov, host of the Corruption Crime and Compliance podcast on the Compliance Podcast Network. Mike formerly worked in the DOJ, Antitrust Division. We consider the current evolution of antitrust enforcement by the DOJ and FTC and how it might impact the Microsoft acquisition of Activision Blizzard. Some of the issues we consider include:

·      Is the focus of antitrust enforcement changing from consumers to others?

·      What is a Section 2 Sherman Act claim?

·       What are structural v. behavioral remedies?

·      Have partial divestitures fallen out of favor?

·      How might all this play out in the Microsoft acquisition of Activision Blizzard?

·      What is the role of compliance going forward?

Resources
Matt in Radical Compliance
Mike Volkov in  Corruption Crime and Compliance

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Compliance Kitchen

DOJ & FTC Public Comment on Illegal Mergers


Department of Justice and Federal Trade Commission open public comment window – enforcement against illegal mergers.

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Daily Compliance News

January 31, 2022 the Mike Lynch Ordered Extradicted Edition


In today’s edition of Daily Compliance News:
·      Court loss is a win for climate.  (Reuters)
·      New types of FCPA enforcement actions coming.   (WSJ)
·      FTC and anti-trust. (WSJ)
·      Mike Lynch has a very bad weekend. (BBC)

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This Week in FCPA

Episode 288– the 13 Second edition

How long does it take to win a NFL playoff game? Patrick Mahomes says 13 seconds. After perhaps the most thrilling NFL playoff game ever,  Tom and Jay are back look at some of the week’s top compliance and ethics stories this week in the 13 Seconds edition.

Stories

1.     TI-CPI 2022 Report out. Results not good. TI-CPI Press Release. Rick Messick says make it useful in GAB. Jaclyn Jaeger is disheartened in Compliance Week (sub req’d).
2.     Compliance officer burnout? Dick Cassin explores in the FCPA Blog.
3.     Emphasizing the ‘G’ in ESG. David Simon in LinkedIn.
4.     Investor demand driving ESG risk and compliance initiatives? Valerie Charles and Tracy Groves in CCI.
5.     Human Rights Due Diligence. James Reardon and Tomas Navarro look at Switzerland’s new law  in FCPA Blog. Tom considers your corporate Human Rights strategy in a 2-part blog series in the FCPA Compliance and Ethics Blog.
6.     Monaco Speech and Compliance in 2022. Stephanie Yonekura and Rupinder Garcha  in CCI.
7.     DOJ announces shift in antitrust policy. DOJ Press Release. Matt Kelly in Radical Compliance.
8.     ESG and M&A in 2022. Wachtel lawyers in Harvard Law School forum on Corporate Governance.
9.     FTC compliance risk re: cyber and privacy. Debevoise lawyers in Compliance and Enforcement.
10.  Cultural and ESG to-do list for 2022 for CCO. Mike Volkov in Corruption Crime and Compliance.

Podcasts and More

11.  In January on The Compliance Life, I visited with Valerie Charles, partner at StoneTurn. Val has one of the most interesting journeys in compliance. In Part 1, she discussed her academic background and early professional career. In Part 2, she discussed her move to ComTech. In Part 3, Valerie moved into the consulting world. In the concluding Part 4, Valerie looks down the road for what’s ahead.
12.  The Everything Compliance gang took a deep dive into the Microsoft acquisition of Activision Blizzard in a special episode.  Check out the Shout Outs and Rants. Finally the gang had a special tribute to Meatloaf here.
13.  CCI releases new e-book from Tom “FCPA 2021 Year in Review”. Available free from CCI.
14.  Trial of the Century-the Enron Trial. This week, Tom premiered a 5-part podcast series on the Enron Trial with Loren Steffy, who covered the trial for the Houston Chronicle. In Part 1, run up to the trial. In Part 2, the trial begins. In Part 3, the star witnesses and key testimony. In Part 4, the Verdict comes in. In Part 5, what did it all mean. It is be available on the Compliance Podcast Network, Megaphone, iTunes, Spotify and all other top podcast platforms.
15.  Check out 31 Days to a More Effective Compliance Program returns, which runs for the month of January, from January 1 to January 31. Available on the Compliance Podcast Network, Megaphone, iTunes, and all other top podcast platforms.
Tom Fox is the Voice of Compliance and can be reached at tfox@tfoxlaw.com. Jay Rosen is Mr. Monitor and can be reached at jrosen@affiliatedmonitors.com.

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Daily Compliance News

November 20, 2021 the Morality and Machine Learning edition


In today’s edition of Daily Compliance News:

  • Business groups challenge FTC.(WSJ)
  • Will Holmes testify? (WSJ)
  • Rampant sexual harassment at Tesla? (Bloomberg)
  • Morality and machine learning. (NYT)
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Daily Compliance News

November 18, 2021 the FTC Investigates edition


In today’s edition of Daily Compliance News:

  • $750MM lawsuit filed in Astroworld tragedy.(Houston Chronicle)
  • Illumina defends Grail deal. (Reuters)
  • FTC to investigate energy company conduct. (NYT)
  • Another guilty plea in Odebrecht case. (WSJ)
Categories
Integrity Through Compliance

Dionne Lomax and Joe Miller Take a Deep Dive into Consent Decree Enforcement at FTC and DOJ

 


In this episode, AMI’s Dionne Lomax speaks with Joe Miller. Joe is the co-chair of Mintz Levin’s antitrust practice, and is also a partner in the firm’s healthcare practice group. At Mintz, Joe advises health systems, physician groups, health plans, trade associations, and other healthcare related businesses on assessing and mitigating antitrust risk, as well as representation before antitrust enforcers. In this discussion, they focus on recent developments in antitrust compliance — specifically, compliance with government consent decrees and what might be occurring behind the scenes at federal enforcement agencies once a company has settled antitrust charges.

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Everything Compliance

Episode 70, the Holiday Edition


Welcome to the only roundtable podcast in compliance. Today, we have the full quintet of Jonathan Armstrong, Jay Rosen, Jonathan Marks, Matt Kelly and Mike Volkov for a deep dive into plethora of topics in this special holiday edition. We end with a veritable mélange of rants and shouts outs.

  1. Jonathan Armstrong data privacy issues related return to work in the new year after most employee spent 2020 working from home. Armstrong shouts out the scientist who spearheaded the research which has led to the Covid vaccines.
  1. Jay Rosen looks at what a company needs to do to get through a monitorship. Jay rants about the San Francisco 49ers leaving California to play in one of the country’s biggest Covid-19 hot spots, Arizona.
  1. Matt Kelly considers the changes in enforcement, policy and focus in the SEC and other regulatory agencies under the Biden Administration. Matt shouts out to Georgia Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger who has withstood criminal actions by the Trump Administration to secure a fair vote from Georgia.
  1. Mike Volkov looks at the Vitol FCPA settlement and how it may portend greater inter-agency cooperation in corruption and anti-competitive enforcement actions. Volkov rants about Gary Cohen, former head of Goldman Sachs and his refusal to allow the Goldman mandated clawbacks for the firm’s 1MDB corruption and fraud.
  1. Jonathan Marks looks at Board of Directors and sees the Dunning-Kruger Effect of over confidence and lack of self-awareness in many areas of corporate governance. Marks rants about the NLF not giving a flip about player safety around Covid-19 all the while moving games without any thought to competition.
  1. Tom Fox gives a bittersweet shout out David Prowse who recently died. Prowse was the first actor to play Darth Vader albeit voiced by James Earl Jones. 

The members of the Everything Compliance are:

  • Jay Rosen– Jay is Vice President, Business Development Corporate Monitoring at Affiliated Monitors. Rosen can be reached at JRosen@affiliatedmonitors.com
  • Mike Volkov – One of the top FCPA commentators and practitioners around and the Chief Executive Officer of The Volkov Law Group, LLC. Volkov can be reached at mvolkov@volkovlawgroup.com
  • Matt Kelly – Founder and CEO of Radical Compliance. Kelly can be reached at mkelly@radicalcompliance.com
  • Jonathan Armstrong –is our UK colleague, who is an experienced data privacy/data protection lawyer with Cordery in London. Armstrong can be reached at armstrong@corderycompliance.com
  • Jonathan Marks is Partner, Firm Practice Leader – Global Forensic, Compliance & Integrity Services at Baker Tilly. Marks can be reached at marks@bakertilly.com

The host and producer (and sometime panelist) of Everything Compliance is Tom Fox the Voice of Compliance. He can be reached at tfox@tfoxlaw.com. Everything Compliance is a part of the Compliance Podcast Network.

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Compliance Into the Weeds

Compliance into the Weeds: Episode 133-Facebook Settlement

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. In this episode, Matt Kelly (the coolest guy in compliance) and I go into the weeds to explore recent Facebook settlement with the SEC and the FTC. We also explore what the new DOJ antitrust investigation may portend going forward.
Some of the highlights include:

  • This is now the second SEC settlement under this fact pattern.
  • The SEC settlement was three times the amount of the Yahoo settlement.
  • Did the FTC settle too low (or too high)?
  • Is Facebook prevented from doing anything going forward?
  • What is the impact if any on the stock price? Does the market even care?
  • Is the DOJ antitrust investigation simply a politically motivated attack?
  • Has the administration thought through the implications of its antitrust investigations?

For further reading on Conn’s see Matt’s blog posts: Facebook, Power and Antitrust Issues