Good evening, and welcome back to Compliance Hot Spots, our weekly snapshot of white-collar enforcement, regulatory and compliance, and big trends. In your inbox this week: A top US Justice Department official takes stock of the challenges posed by the pandemic; Sidley Austin signs on as a "foreign agent" for a Russian company; and former FBI Director Louis Freeh lands at a new firm. Thanks for reading, and we'd love your feedback. Contact C. Ryan Barber in Washington at [email protected] and at 202-828-0315. Follow @cryanbarber.

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DOJ's Criminal Division Leader Opens Up About Pandemic's Toll

Federal prosecutors are facing a "significant backlog of cases in the pipeline" amid a global pandemic that restricted court operations and limited how they can bring criminal charges, a top U.S. Justice Department official said.

Brian Rabbitt, the acting head of the Justice Department's criminal division, said there is "no question the pandemic has had a big impact on what we do." Appearing at a virtual forum hosted by the Ethics and Compliance Initiative, Rabbitt said "the legal practice, in particular, has been impacted quite a bit, given the need for in-person interaction."