The news is filled with stories about government investigations into possible violations of antitrust laws: alleged anticompetitive conduct by Google, price fixing by Apple and bid rigging by large financial institutions. In-house counsel should be prepared to respond quickly if your company is served with either a subpoena—signifying a criminal investigation—or civil investigative demand (CID). This article provides five steps in-house counsel should take upon receipt of a subpoena or CID.

1. Analyze the Document -

A careful reading of the subpoena or CID may signal how far along the government is in its investigation. If the document’s language uses inside lingo and is narrowly tailored with specific terms of art used in the industry, it may indicate that the investigation has progressed and that the government may already be working with a cooperating witness or whistleblower. A corporate recipient of a subpoena has a right to know if it is a “target,” “subject” or “witness” of the government’s investigation. Determining your company’s status may help to determine the degree of flexibility the government may have in negotiating compliance with the subpoena or CID.

Originally Published in Corporate Counsel on April 9th, 2014