Internal Investigations

For companies of all kinds, especially those in highly regulated industries like defense industry work, banking, financial institutions and health care, effective internal investigations can be an important tool to assess a company’s compliance with relevant laws and regulations, to respond effectively and efficiently to governmental investigations or threatened investigations and, where necessary, and to work with legal and regulatory authorities to resolve potentially significant legal problems.

Our Internal Investigations lawyers have the experience to conduct investigations for our clients. For example, members of our Investigations Team regularly assist clients in addressing federal contracting concerns and are routinely involved in extensive document reviews in multijurisdictional proceedings. The Investigations Team has also dealt with the regulatory fallout from government investigations involving multiple agencies. In addition, other practice areas at the firm are available to assist with regulatory counseling, if and when necessary.

Phillips Lytle also has a Crisis Response and Management Team that is available to provide advice to minimize the public impacts of any crisis—including government investigations and labor strikes, student conduct concerns, and technology and data breaches. It is critical to be prepared before a crisis strikes and to have immediate help available when a crisis does occur, which is why we have the ability to deploy experienced attorneys at a moment’s notice to implement the proper emergency response protocols. Should you have a crisis, our Crisis Response and Management Team is accessible 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, 365 days a year to handle the most time-sensitive situations. We understand the importance of immediate and appropriate response to a broad range of circumstances; our team is ready and available to assist our clients. Our attorneys can be reached at 1-866-812-5116.

In the event of a security incident, our Data Privacy and Cybersecurity Team can manage digital forensics investigations to mitigate potential harm.

We have represented many small and large businesses and institutions in internal data breach investigations as a result of actions by competitors, disloyal employees and other bad actors. Our attorneys and staff regularly conduct sophisticated digital forensic investigations into fraud, theft of confidential information, and other improper or unlawful conduct involving data or data systems.

If any data protection or privacy issue results in government inquiries, investigations or litigation, our Data Privacy and Cybersecurity Team’s experienced litigators are ready to pursue or defend our clients’ interests.

Our Internal Investigations lawyers have broad experience in government proceedings involving the False Claims Act. We are also well-versed in addressing debarment and other consequences that may arise out of a False Claims Act investigation or prosecution.

We have a background navigating New York’s regulatory framework, as New York State Finance Law Article 13 allows whistleblowers, agencies, and local governments to pursue claims against vendors and others who submit false filings. We work closely with business clients to ensure compliance with relevant laws and protect against investigations or litigation that could negatively impact their businesses.

Our experience representing for healthcare providers, suppliers and payers includes navigating the complex regulatory demands of the healthcare industry. We also represent clients in investigations by various governmental entities, including the following:

• U.S. Department of Justice
• U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, including the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services
• Office of Inspector General
• New York State Office of the Medicaid Inspector General
• Medicaid Fraud Control Unit in the New York State Attorney General’s Office
• New York State Department of Health
• New York State Department of Financial Services
• U.S. Food and Drug Administration
• Office of Professional Medical Conduct
• New York State Education Department’s Office of the Professions

We have extensive experience in defending colleges, universities and secondary education institutions against government investigations and private charges of state and federal discrimination, wage and hour, safety and constitutional violations, and wrongful discharge involving, but not limited to, Title VII, Title IX, Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), Section 504, Age Discrimination in Employment Act (ADEA), Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA), Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) and Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) compliance. We also work with institutions of higher education to conduct sensitive internal investigations when an objective outside evaluation is needed.

We have also worked with the U.S. Department of Justice’s Civil Division to investigate potential corrupt foreign influence at American colleges and universities and have interviewed dozens of principal investigators and agency and university program officers to obtain information regarding the use of National Science Foundation funds.

Our team of investigations attorneys has extensive experience responding to investigations and subpoenas, crafting solutions to permit our clients to continue operating their businesses with minimal repercussions related to the investigation.

We regularly handle matters involving civil and criminal investigations as well as subpoenas from state and federal agencies. This includes, but is not limited to, the New York State Attorney General’s office, individual U.S. Attorneys’ Offices, the U.S. Department of Justice, the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, and local prosecutors’ offices.

Our role spans negotiations and litigation, coordinating with specialists in media or government relations as needed to help our clients develop and execute the right strategy in light of their particular objectives.

The firm has deep expertise helping our clients navigate international business law and preparing for and minimizing risks relating to the U.S. Foreign Corrupt Practices Act and the UK Bribery Act, as well as the increasing array of international sanctions regimes (e.g., those pertaining to Iran and Russia) imposed by the U.S., the European Union and the United Nations. The firm also has capabilities and experience in dealing with the intersection of tariff and False Claims Act enforcement defense, as well as the relationships with sanctions and trade restrictions liabilities.

Efficient and effective internal investigations are a core component for companies to maintain compliance with relevant regulations and to appropriately respond to government investigations and potential litigation. Our attorneys have conducted internal investigations for companies of all sizes, assessing risk, identifying fraud and noncompliance, and defending clients in litigation when it arises.

Our Internal Investigations attorneys have experience assisting clients with Congressional and other legislative inquiries and testimony, and the accompanying legal and political issues that arise.

The regulations governing financial institutions and the securities industry require ongoing review to ensure compliance. Our Securities Litigation attorneys have experience managing regulatory and enforcement actions in the securities and commodities arenas. We have handled arbitrations before the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA), National Futures Association (NFA), and the American Arbitration Association. These cases include customer claims, employee claims, “raiding” cases, shareholder disputes, the exclusion or modification of improper shareholder proposals, clearing disputes, and regulatory investigations.

We have conducted investigations into former employees and competitors engaged in alleged criminal activity that posed a risk of significant harm to our business clients. Our efforts in investigating intellectual property theft and business losses often include the proper confidential gathering of evidence prior to the involvement of law enforcement.