“Don’t Worry. We’re From the Government. We’re Here to Help.”: Preparing for and Responding to Regulatory Investigations

Regulatory investigations and enforcement actions present unique financial and reputational exposure for clients. Managing them effectively is essential to minimize business disruption, collateral consequences in parallel proceedings, runaway costs, and penalties. Knowing what to do, and what your rights are, when the government shows up is crucial. A panel of experienced counsel will discuss how to best protect clients in preparing for and responding to these investigations, ranging from agencies such as the FDA, OSHA, EEOC, and DOL to state Attorneys General and the Department of Justice. Topics will include the plans that need to be in place before investigations arise, crucial response times, methods for initial contact and through the course of the investigations, and impacts of the potential findings—including penalties, admissibility in civil litigation, and reputational exposure. Counsel with experience responding to these investigations will lead a panel including in-house counsel charged with overseeing these investigations with her company, a construction lawyer with experience guiding clients through OSHA investigations, and a regulatory compliance attorney addressing FDA and enforcement actions by state AGs and the DOJ.