Welcome to Compliance Hot Spots, our Law.com briefing on white-collar enforcement, regulatory and compliance. Paul Hastings' Robert Luskin speaks with us about the big Airbus settlement. Rod Rosenstein was the keynote at ALM's Legalweek conference. Makan Delrahim recuses in the Google probe. Scroll down for Who Got the Work, headlines, moves and more.

Tips, feedback and general thoughts on your practices are always appreciated. Contact C. Ryan Barber in Washington at [email protected] and 202-828-0315. Follow him on Twitter @cryanbarber. Contact Mike Scarcella at [email protected] and follow him on Twitter @Mikescarcella. Thanks for reading!

 

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In Airbus Investigation, Teamwork Made the Global Resolution Work

Staring down what promised to be a years-long investigation into foreign bribery, Airbus turned to five law firms for counsel. It was an arrangement that could have come with sharp elbows—a "too-many-cooks-in-the-kitchen" phenomenon—as the airplane manufacturer faced inquiries from French, British and U.S. authorities.

Instead, as the Toulouse, France-based company emerged from the investigation with a record-setting $4 billion global settlement, its lawyers reflected on the team Airbus general counsel John Harrison admiringly dubbed the virtual law firm, or "VLF."

In an interview Tuesday, Paul Hastings partner Robert Luskin (above) said the relationships within the "VLF"—a group that included not only his firm and Airbus' in-house counsel but also Clifford Chance, Dechert, Arnold & Porter and August Debouzy—that allowed the company to negotiate the twists and turns of a complex, multinational investigation involving separate agencies and differing legal frameworks. The Paul Hastings team included Nathaniel Edmonds and Jennifer Riddle. Edmonds formerly was assistant chief of the FCPA unit in the fraud section at Main Justice.

"There were certainly times when we disagreed about things. But there was never territorial conflict. Part of what made it work was John [Harrison] picked lawyers he liked and trusted personally. This was a situation where the transitive property applied," Luskin said.

Luskin said Airbus also benefited from increased cooperation among the prosecutors. "To the extent we caught a break," he said, it was the 2016 passage of a law in France that allowed the country's anti-corruption prosecutors to strike corporate settlements without admissions of liability. French authorities are taking more than $2 billion of the sanctions assessed in the settlement, which resolved claims that Airbus used intermediaries to pay bribes for business overseas.

"The DOJ showed enormous flexibility in allowing the [British and French authorities] to assert leadership in this case. DOJ demonstrated they were absolutely capable of being a flexible, contributing but nevertheless junior partner in a very large investigation led by others," Luskin said.

"To that extent, we caught a wave. The legal architecture wasn't there three or four years ago.

U.S. Justice Department lawyer Elizabeth Cannon, a deputy chief in the national security division, signed the Airbus deferred prosecution agreement, in addition to Christopher Cestaro, a deputy chief in the criminal division.

'Democracy Is Messy,' Rod Rosenstein Says

Rod Rosenstein, the former U.S. deputy attorney general and now a partner at King & Spalding, addressed a range of topics Tuesday at ALM's Legalweek conference in Manhattan. Rosenstein spoke with Richard Caruso, vice president and general manager of global legal news for ALM.

While Iowa Democratic Party officials have said the issues that delayed caucus results into Tuesday involved technical bugs and not hacking or another bad faith effort, Rosenstein said the situation illustrates the ongoing importance of ensuring that technology used in the United States is secure, high-functioning and protected from intrusion, my colleague Jane Wester reported. It also illustrates another principle, he said: "Democracy is messy."

In a high-ranking role like deputy AG, Rosenstein said, he understood it would be impossible to avoid negative reports and criticism. He said it's wise to avoid watching too much TV or reading comments on Twitter. Caruso then read an audience question about whether President Donald Trump's Twitter account is a threat to the country. "I don't think it's a danger to the country," Rosenstein said. "I do think it's a challenge."

>> Read more here.

 

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Who Got the Work

>> Sidley Austin's Timothy Murin in counsel to Harry's Inc. and Wachtell, Lipton, Rosen & Katz's Joseph Larson is advising Edgewell Personal Care Company in a Federal Trade Commission civil action in Washington's federal trial court. The publication Recode has more here on the FTC suit attacking the sale of Harry's, the razor company, to Edgewell, the parent of the company that manufactures the Schick brand razor.

>> Consovoy McCarthy PLLC was retained to represent Living Essentials LLC—maker of the popular 5-Hour Energy drink—in a consumer protection case at the U.S. Supreme Court. William Consovoy, a leading attorney for Donald Trump, is counsel of record. The case confronts a Washington state ruling that said certain marketing claims were deceptive.

>> A team from Holland & Knight was retained by Polsinelli PC to help assist one of the firm's clients, Kuwaiti businessman Talal F. AlDabbous. "H&K will assist with strategic and legal advice including communication and media relations services in support of Mr. AlDabbous' business and legal objectives," the firm said in new Foreign Agents Registration Act filings at the U.S. Justice Department. Holland & Knight said estimated monthly fees would be $10,000 to $15,000 for the first six months. The firm said Audrey Young, a senior strategic communications advisor at Holland & Knight, will lead the engagement. Young's discounted hourly rate is $650, the firm said, and other lawyers and professionals will bill at between $180 to $850 hourly.

>> The Boston firm Donnelly, Conroy & Gelhaar is representing Harvard scientist Charles Lieber, charged in Massachusetts federal district court with lying about his ties to China. Lieber's defense includes Peter Gelhaar and Peter Levitt.

Compliance Reading Corner

Federal agencies

Top Antitrust Official Is Said to Recuse Himself From Google Inquiry. "Makan Delrahim (above), the head of the antitrust division at the Department of Justice, has recused himself from investigating Google, even as the agency's examination of the largest tech companies ramps up. Mr. Delrahim, 50, recently removed himself from looking into allegations of anticompetitive practices at Google because of a potential conflict of interest related to his past work for the internet search company, two people with knowledge of the decision said." [NYT] The Wall Street Journal has more here. The recusal roughly coincided with Orrick, Herrington & Sutcliffe partner Alexander Okuliar leaving the firm to become a deputy assistant attorney general overseeing antitrust investigations and litigation.

Trump Called Global Anti-Bribery Law 'Horrible.' His Administration Is Pursuing Fewer New Investigations. "The number of new corporate anti-bribery investigations has started to fall, according to data collected by Stanford Law School's Foreign Corrupt Practices Act Clearinghouse. Last year, publicly traded companies disclosed that just six new government investigations were initiated in 2019. That compares to an average of 20 investigations initiated per year over the past 10 years, according to the clearinghouse." [The Washington Post]

Justice Department Accused of Abusing Process to Extend Statute of Limitations. "Justice Department lawyers have improperly used requests for overseas evidence to buy more time to bring some fraud cases, a memo filed with the agency's internal watchdog alleges. The document, filed Friday and reviewed by The Wall Street Journal, accuses prosecutors of sending such a request to the U.K. when they already had access to similar information. It also says prosecutors delayed following up with their British counterparts, which, according to the author, former federal prosecutor Ankush Khardori, showed they didn't urgently need that information." [WSJ]

FTC Commissioner: Antitrust Enforcement Isn't Answer to Tech Privacy Concerns. "A Republican member of the Federal Trade Commission voiced skepticism that government antitrust enforcement against big tech companies will lead to better privacy protections for consumers. Commissioner Noah Phillips (at left), speaking Thursday at Stanford Law School, said competition in tech markets, as well as privacy for consumers, are both important issues, but ones that can pull in different directions. "Competition and privacy are often at odds," Mr. Phillips said in prepared remarks." [WSJ]

U.S. Targets Phone Companies for Allegedly Aiding Robocallers. "Robocalls aren't always illegal, but they can be if made without recipients' permission or if they facilitate fraud. The latest move is one of many efforts in Washington, D.C., to curb the scourge of illegal robocalls, which annoy many Americans and defraud others. Previous efforts to stem the tide of the calls haven't worked, in part because mass dialing continues to be low-cost and easy to execute." [WSJ]

Compliance

Women Are Dominating in Complex Compliance Roles. "U.S. Labor Department statistics over the past 20 years show that compliance is one of the fastest-growing professions for women." [Corporate Counsel]

Increasing Regulation the Reason Top Lawyers Will Send More Work to Outside Counsel. Even chief legal officers and general counsel who plan on hiring more in-house attorneys anticipate a significant amount of work will go to law firms because of the complex regulatory landscape, according to the Association of Corporate Counsel's 2020 Chief Legal Officers Survey. [Law.com] More here at Bloomberg Law: 'Age of the CLO' Dawns as More Chief Lawyers Report to CEO

Lobbying

Law Firm Scraps Contract to Work for Maduro Government After Criticism. "The law and lobbying firm Foley & Lardner has scrapped a multimillion-dollar contract to represent the Venezuelan government of Nicolás Maduro following criticism of the move, according to two people familiar with the matter. The move came after Sen. Rick Scott (R-Fla.) wrote in a letter to the law firm on Tuesday that he was "disgusted" it had agreed to represent Maduro's government, which is under U.S. sanctions for abuses, including human rights violations and restricting freedom of the press." [Politico] Associated Press first reported the news. The American Lawyer has more here.

Notable Moves & Announcements

>> Jenner & Block has hired Lee Wolosky and Dawn Smalls as partners from Boies Schiller Flexner in New York. Smalls and Wolosky are overseeing Deutsche's compliance with a settlement with the New York Department of Financial Services. Both also worked in the Obama administration, with Wolosky tasked with the administration's efforts to close the Guantanamo Bay prison camp and Smalls having filled senior posts at the Department of Health and Human Services.

>> Timothy Shea, an advisor to U.S. Attorney General William Barr, has been appointed interim U.S. attorney for the District of Columbia. Shea, who would succeed Jessie Liu as the top federal prosecutor in Washington, formerly was of counsel at Morgan, Lewis & Bockius in Massachusetts. The Washington Post has more here.

>> Davis Polk & Wardwell said Suzanne Munck af Rosenschold has joined the firm as counsel in the antitrust and competition group in Washington. Munck arrives from the Federal Trade Commission, where she had served the past 12 years in roles including chief counsel for intellectual property and deputy director of the office of policy planning. "Suzanne is one of the premier competition lawyers in the country," said Arthur Burke, head of Davis Polk's antitrust and competition group. "She is an excellent fit for the firm, and her extensive government experience combining antitrust and intellectual property law will further diversify our practice."

>> Mintz, Levin, Cohn, Ferris, Glovsky and Popeo has hired Joseph Miller as co-chairman of the antitrust practice. Miller arrives from Crowell & Moring.

>> Thomas Ward, a longtime former Williams & Connolly litigation partner, has been named assistant director of enforcement at the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau. Ward joins the agency from the U.S. Justice Department, where he had been serving as a deputy assistant attorney general in the civil division. Bloomberg Law has more here.

>> The U.S. Justice Department's tax division finally has a nominee for assistant attorney general, more than three years into the Trump administration. The White House said on Saturday that Richard Zuckerman, who joined the tax division in December 2017 from Detroit-based firm Honigman Miller Schwartz and Cohn, would be nominated for the Senate-confirmed assistant attorney general post.

>> Davis Wright Tremaine has added former federal prosecutor Matthew Diggs as a partner in the firm's Seattle office. Diggs formerly served as a senior member of the complex crimes unit in the U.S. attorney's office for the Western District of Washington.