Legal news and trends for Canadian in-house counsel and c-suite executives
Issue link: https://digital.canadianlawyermag.com/i/50885
IS YOUR COMPANY AT RISK? How to spearhead a compliance plan that fits your organization office. That role comes primarily in helping create a robust com- pliance program, which begins with a thorough risk assessment. But Morrison emphasizes that such programs won't be one size fits all. I "In-house counsel needs to examine their company's particu- EARLY BIRD SPECIAL prices as low as $ based on standing order of 100 copies or more 60 With more than 1,400 pages of essential legal references, Ontario Lawyer's Phone Book is your best connection to legal services in Ontario. Subscribers can depend on the credibility, accuracy and currency of this directory year after year. More detail and a wider scope of legal contact information for Ontario than any other source: More than 26,000 lawyers More than 9,000 law firms and corporate offices Fax and telephone numbers, e-mail addresses, office locations and postal codes Lists of: Federal and provincial judges Federal courts, including a section for federal government departments, boards and commissions Ontario courts and services, including a section for provincial government ministries, boards and commissions The Institute of Law Clerks of Ontario Small claims courts Miscellaneous services for lawyers Contact information that is current, up to date and easy to find: Alphabetical tabs on every page for quick reference "Blue pages" to highlight government listings This special offer expires December 1, 2011 EARLY BIRD MULTIPLE COPY DISCOUNTS ....................$68* 6-49 copies .................$64* .............. $62* 100 or more copies ....$60* SPECIAL PRICE $68 Visit canadalawbook.ca or call 1.800.387.5164 for a 30-day no-risk evaluation CANADIAN LAW LIST n-house counsel have a significant role to play in protecting organizations from foreign corruption prosecutions, says Mark Morrison, a partner at Blake Cassels & Graydon LLP's Calgary lar business operations, and the nature of the risks created by those operations," says Morrison. "The nature of the compliance program that's going to be put in place is going to differ from company to company, and the risks faced by the companies will be different." That means counsel should begin the risk-assessment exercise by surveying the company's operations for potential red flags. That will likely begin by taking a look at where the bribes to move investments along in for- eign countries. As Northwestern Univer- sity Law School professor Juliet Sorensen pointed out recently, it wasn't too long ago that international corporate bribery was tax-deductible in many countries. The former assistant U.S. attorney in Chicago, Ill., applauded efforts at the OECD and United Nations to cut down on bribery involving foreign officials, but she believes there's still a long way to go. "Too much corruption continues to be tolerated today for me to say that there is an international united front against it," Sorensen said during a seminar at the recent American Bar Association Annual Conference in Toronto. "But do I think we're getting there? I do, little by little." Sorensen did note the significant progress that has been made on account of the OECD convention. Information collected as of March 2011 indicates that 199 individuals and 91 entities have been sanctioned under criminal pro- ceedings for foreign bribery in a total of 13 of the 38 states that have signed on to the convention. The data also shows there are currently 260 ongoing inves- tigations, along with pending criminal charges against 120 individuals and 20 entities. These numbers demonstrate the need for Canadian companies with operations abroad to consider their exposure to international anti-corrup- tion statutes in other countries. Yet Klotz believes they should be far more concerned about protecting them- selves from prosecution under the CFPOA. Luckily, the probation order in the Niko prosecution sets out what a proper compliance program ought to look like. The company must set up the program, and report on it over the 26 • OCTOBER 2011 ntitled-4 1 INHOUSE 11-09-01 11:17 AM