Corporate Crime Defense Bar in Unison: More Prosecutions Are on the Way

Crowell & Moring LLP White Collar and Securities Litigation Group co-chair Thomas A. Hanusik and partner Janet Levine are featured for their comments on the outcome of a recent Corporate Crime Reporter survey on corporate crime prosecutions under Eric Holder and the new administration. The recent survey suggests that there will be an increase in corporate crime prosecutions.

According to Hanusik, while tougher enforcement is undoubtedly in the offing, "a decrease in the use of deferred or non-prosecution agreements for institutional defendants seems unlikely. The government now has a stake in many of the institutions under scrutiny and it is not going to impose a corporate death penalty on entities that it just spent billions bailing out. Look for higher fines, stricter settlement terms and a continued increase in the use of corporate monitors."

According to Levine, she "sees an uptick in pre-trial settlements. Individuals are the easiest targets of prosecutions and regulatory actions, and we can expect increased individual criminal prosecutions and regulatory actions. However, as the economy creates an increased incentive to find alternate resolutions for entities, so as to avoid a ‘killing the company’ scenario, we can expect to see continued, and perhaps increased, use of deferred prosecutions and creative resolutions."