At Close Quarters: A CEO’s Guide to Navigating the Unanticipated Government Investigation and Regulatory Enforcement Action: Internal Investigations, Best Practices, Mistake Avoidance and the Corporate Compliance Value Proposition

News of an unexpected government investigation -particularly an investigation of allegations of criminal conduct-can instill fear and trepidation, even panic, among those responsible for the business. Early missteps and hasty over-reactions by unprepared managers can result in enormously negative outcomes when the government later makes decisions about the consequences of misconduct found to have been committed by individual employees or managers.

In his recent work, At Close Quarters, Allan J. Sullivan helps the uninitiated business avoid common mistakes and suggests numerous strategic approaches to recurring investigative scenarios. A seasoned white-collar trial lawyer and corporate compliance practitioner, Sullivan advises the business reader not only how best to respond internally at the first sign of trouble, but how to manage the unimaginable-the execution of a search warrant, the receipt of grand jury subpoenas, law enforcement interviews of employees and managers, and the need ultimately to negotiate post-investigation resolutions with the government.

Sullivan’s work isn’t just about responses to government trouble, however. Using a series of realistic vignettes, he demonstrates at length the value of the adoption of forward-looking compliance measures and the need appropriately to use internal investigations to ferret out misconduct in the first instance.