Government Inquiries: Six Things You Need to Know

What should you do if your company receives an inquiry from a governmental or other regulatory organization?

It is critical to consult with outside counsel immediately. Here are a few important guidelines when you receive that initial phone call—

• Tell the regulator that you need to discuss this matter with outside counsel and do not commit the company to any course of action or undertaking requested by the regulatory body, other than a general agreement to cooperate in the inquiry.
• Do not make any employees available for interviews with regulators or investigators-even “informal” telephone interviews-without contacting outside counsel first.
• Do not divulge any potentially privileged information.
• Immediately identify and preserve any and all information that may be possibly related to the subject of the inquiry.
• Do not issue any internal statement within the company regarding the inquiry until speaking with outside counsel. In fact, until you speak with outside counsel, it would be best to limit knowledge of the inquiry within the company to those people who need to know about it.
• Do not issue any public statement regarding the inquiry until speaking with outside counsel.

For further questions, please contact—

• Jim Benjamin, 212.872.8091, New York