ILR is leading the business community’s campaign to address irrational enforcement practices that compromise the rule of law, and fundamental fairness. ILR consistently encourages companies and enforcement agencies to work in partnership to most effectively prevent waste, fraud, and corruption. To further that partnership, we encourage, among other things, the adoption of common-sense enforcement policies that result in punishments that are proportional to alleged offenses and incentivize companies to invest and develop compliance programs.
This paper contends that in order to encourage companies to create and sustain a culture of consistent compliance, particularly with regard to the federal False Claims Act, the U.S. Department of Justice should formalize a policy of offering credit for companies that implement effective compliance and ethics programs. Read More
The 2018 update to "Great Myths of State False Claims Acts" shows that the whistleblowers' bar is continuing to capitalize on state qui tam False Claims Acts (FCAs), harvesting windfall awards from states and the federal government. The paper also points out that the dubious benefits of implementing a state FCA turn into a clear financial net negative when states allow their FCAs to fall out of compliance with federal standards. Read More
Executive Overreach in Regulatory Enforcement and Infrastructure (U.S. House of Representatives Judiciary Committee Executive Overreach Task Force, The Honorable Michael Mukasey on behalf of the U.S. Chamber Institute for Legal Reform)
The Enforcement Maze: Over-Criminalizing American Enterprise
DOJ's New Threshold for "Cooperation": Challenges Posed by the Yates Memo and USAM Revisions
Enforcement Gone Amok: The Many Faces of Over-Enforcement in the United States
“Stop Settlement Slush Funds Act of 2016” (U.S. House of Representatives Committee on Judiciary Subcommittee on Regulatory Reform, Commercial and Administrative Law, Dan Lungren on behalf of the U.S. Chamber of Commerce and the U.S. Chamber Institute for Legal Reform)
In Support of the House Judiciary Committee’s Creation of the Executive Overreach Task Force
Constitutional Constraints: Provisions Limiting Excessive Government Fines
Enforcement Slush Funds: Funding Federal and State Agencies with Enforcement Proceeds
New Faces of Lawsuit Abuse Video Highlights Federal Raid on Gibson Guitar
Unprincipled Prosecution: Abuse of Power and Profiteering in the New 'Litigation Swarm'
2014 Legal Reform Summit: The Enforcement “Collidescope”: The New Litigation Paradigm
Fixing the False Claims Act: The Case for Compliance-Focused Reforms
The Great Myths of State False Claims Acts: Alternatives to State Qui Tam Statutes
A Q&A with Paul Clement, former U.S. Solicitor General and a partner at Bancroft PLLC, regarding his paper, Constitutional Constraints: Provisions Limiting Excessive Government Fines, to be presented at the 16th Annual Legal Reform Summit. ... Read More
The three-year Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA) investigation into Wal-Mart's activities in Mexico "has found little in the way of major offenses, and is likely to result in a much smaller case than investigators first expected."... Read More
The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission has opened "a new front" with its enforcement efforts, reaching a $20 million settlement with Edward Jones over the company's sale of municipal bonds.... Read More
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Already dogged by complaints of over-enforcement by its in-house administrative courts, the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) is now facing attacks from Sen. Elizabeth Warren, who would like SEC enforcement to be even more aggressive.... Read More
Quicken Loans Inc. sued the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development and the Justice Department on Friday, saying in its complaint that the company is "fed up" with being pressured to settle over wrongdoing it didn't commit.... Read More
Federal prosecutors and regulators have extraordinarily broad discretion to decide who to target in enforcement investigations, what to charge them with, and how much to demand as the price for a settlement. ... Read More
ILR unveiled a new Faces of Lawsuit Abuse video this week, detailing the 2011 federal raid on Gibson Guitar for alleged violations of the Lacey Act. ... Read More
FacesofLawsuitAbuse.org has unveiled a new video highlighting the plight of Florida fisherman John Yates – whose case is currently before the U.S. Supreme Court after he was charged by federal authorities for violating the Sarbanes-Oxley Act.... Read More
An op-ed in the Wall Street Journal by House Speaker John Boehner and Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell highlights "excessive regulations and frivolous lawsuits that are driving up costs for families and preventing the economy from growing" as one of the top priorities for reform under the newly elected Republican majority in the House and Senate.... Read More
