Last month, the U.S. Department of Justice (“DOJ”) quietly updated its March 2023 guidance on the evaluation of corporate compliance programs.[i] Of course, DOJ did not conduct a major rewrite, but interestingly, the updated guidance emphasizes the impact, and evaluation, of emerging technologies on compliance as well as the importance of data when assessing compliance programs.Continue Reading DOJ Updates Guidance on Evaluation of Corporate Compliance Programs
DOJ Continues to Discuss Updates to Compliance Program Guidance and Corporate Enforcement Policies
As the spring conference season winds down, there was one topic that remained top of mind. At the Food and Drug Law Institute (“FDLI”)’s Annual Conference on May 17-18, 2023, the U.S. Department of Justice (“DOJ”)’s Consumer Protection Branch (“CPB”), and the Food and Drug Administration (“FDA”) continued the discussion surrounding each agency’s approach to the CPB’s new Voluntary Self-Disclosure Policy for Business Organizations (“Voluntary Self-Disclosure Policy”). The Voluntary Self-Disclosure Policy responds to Deputy Attorney General Lisa Monaco’s September 2022 memorandum (the “Monaco Memo”), which directed all DOJ components that prosecute corporate crime to review or issue new written policies on corporate self-disclosure of criminal misconduct. The Monaco Memo, in turn, reflects the DOJ’s continued efforts to increase transparency and predictability for companies deciding whether to self-disclose misconduct. The DOJ’s continued efforts led the Criminal Division to announce its Corporate Enforcement and Voluntary Self-Disclosure Policy (“Criminal Division Policy”) in January 2023, and several other DOJ branches and divisions, including CPB, have followed suit, borrowing from the Criminal Division’s guidance while tailoring their policies to the specific matters within their jurisdiction. As part of the FDLI panel discussion, CPB and FDA provided their perspectives on the new CPB policy, discussed best practices to implement, and emphasized questions to ask and answer in the evaluation of a company’s compliance program.Continue Reading DOJ Continues to Discuss Updates to Compliance Program Guidance and Corporate Enforcement Policies
Access to Abortion Pill in Limbo: Navigating the Intricacies of FDA Approval as well as Conflicting Federal Court Rulings
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration’s (“FDA”) approval of the commonly-used abortion medication, Mifepristone, has been curtailed following dueling federal court decisions in Texas and Washington. Just days after a Texas federal judge’s ruling suspended the FDA’s approval of the drug, the U.S. Department of Justice (the “DOJ”) asked the Fifth Circuit to grant an emergency or administrative stay of that decision. Although the Fifth Circuit did grant temporary, albeit limited, relief, the court maintained that Mifepristone could only be prescribed in the first seven weeks of pregnancy, under a physician’s supervision, and the drug cannot be sent by mail.Continue Reading Access to Abortion Pill in Limbo: Navigating the Intricacies of FDA Approval as well as Conflicting Federal Court Rulings