Litigation partners Mark Radke and Peter Unger were quoted by Bloomberg BNA after the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) and the Department of Justice (DOJ) jointly released long awaited guidance on Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA) enforcement.

The article reported that after nearly a yearlong wait, the DOJ and the SEC released ‘A Resource Guide to the U.S. Foreign Corrupt Practices Act,’ an overview “designed to give businesses insight into FCPA requirements, as well as outlining the agencies' enforcement approach and priorities under the act.” BNA said the overview could be particularly helpful for drug and medical device companies, after the marketing practices of several businesses in that industry recently became the target of enforcement actions.

Mr. Radke and Mr. Unger told BNA that the new guidance offers businesses valuable insight into the government’s focus, including what constitutes an effective corporate compliance program and considerations for settling FCPA matters. Mr. Radke and Mr. Unger said the guidance “will be a useful learning and teaching tool and will help to bring more transparence to the government’s regulatory approach to the statute.” They also noted the guidance provides hypothetical examples on key issues, such as what constitutes an improper gift, travel or entertainment expense.

The two added that the guidance is tied to prior FCPA settlements and DOJ opinion releases, “so it is not so much ‘new’ guidance as it is a very helpful compendium of existing law and ‘lore.’”

The Wall Street Journal also highlighted the client alert Mr. Radke and Mr. Unger published on the new guidance. The article can be read here.