As many readers of this blog know, I am an avid cyclist. I enjoy riding with rock and roll music blasting away in my ears. I even have lists on my iPod with such titles as 20 mile ride and 40 mile ride. Yesterday I decided to take pot luck and put it on ‘Shuffle’ and one of the songs selected for me was The Who classic “Won’t Get Fooled Again” from the timeless album Who’s Next. The ending line has stuck with me since I initially heard it back in the ’70s: “Meet the new boss, same as the old boss” which then follows with an ending crescendo of Keith Moon’s pounding drums, John Entwhisle’s sonic bass and Pete Townsend’s crashing electric guitar.
In a peculiar way that signature line crystalized my thinking about the latest Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA) Opinion Release from the Department of Justice (DOJ); that being Opinion Release 12-01 (12-01). As first noted by the FCPA Professor, in his post entitled “DOJ’s Recent Opinion Procedure Release Creates Additional “Foreign Official” Confusion”, 12-01 is dated September 18, 2012, but was apparently only publicly released last week. Pedaling away and listening to The Who it made me think of the evolving nature of not only best practices under the FCPA but also the DOJ’s thinking on the subject. So while the song’s ending line speaks of nothing changing, I realized the nature of FCPA analysis is and can be changing. So rather than being confused, I think that the DOJ has underlined again the fact intensive nature of the analysis required under the FCPA and how companies, if they used a reasoned approach for a specific FCPA issue or problem, can go a long way towards protecting themselves from potential FCPA liability or exposure.
Please see full publication below for more information.
