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FCPA’s Ever-Expanding Reach Goes Private

Client Alert | 1 min read | 12.19.07

As U.S. regulators continue to explore new, more aggressive ways to prosecute foreign bribery under the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act, the Department of Justice has sent a clear warning that prosecution is not reserved for publicly traded companies on U.S. exchanges or their executives.


The DOJ announced yesterday that it had arrested a Los Angeles film executive and his wife on a criminal complaint. DOJ alleges that the couple paid more than $1.7 million in bribes to a Thai tourism official to obtain contracts worth approximately $10 million for their private company to run an international film festival in Bangkok. The complaint further alleges that the couple attempted to conceal the bribes by using multiple business entities and making “commission” payments through intermediaries and foreign bank accounts.


While the vast majority of FCPA individual prosecutions have focused on executives at publicly traded companies, by charging this case, the DOJ has reiterated that private individuals and companies are also within the crosshairs of FCPA enforcement.




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Client Alert | 2 min read | 06.15.26

Kansas Federal Court Applies “Selective Enforcement” Theory to Reject DTSA Claim

A Kansas federal court held that inconsistent enforcement of trade secret rights can defeat a claim under the Defend Trade Secrets Act (DTSA). In Edelman Financial Engines, LLC v. Mariner Wealth Advisors LLC, No. 2:23-cv-02515-HLT (D. Kan. June 5, 2026), the court applied a selective enforcement theory, holding that when a company does not consistently pursue legal remedies against similarly situated former employees, that inconsistency can be affirmative evidence that it failed to protect its trade secrets. While the selective enforcement theory has appeared in academic hypothetical discussions, the decision appears to be one of the clearest judicial applications of a “selective enforcement” theory in a trade secret case....

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