Attorney General Merrick Garland's Department of Justice promises to make life trickier for companies in its crosshairs for alleged criminal violations—both by bringing more white-collar cases and taking the relatively unusual step of targeting individuals.

The stepped-up criminal enforcement—if it proves to be more than rhetoric—is sure to make decision-making even tougher for corporate legal teams. When government investigators come calling, they're highly incentivized to cooperate, with the reward often being a deferred or non-prosecution agreement.

Such deals often include an eye-popping financial settlement, but critics say the sums can amount to a rounding error for large corporate defendants. Meanwhile, individuals often sidestep accountability, with CEOs and other senior executives at the helm keeping their jobs. And investors often cheer the deals by pushing stock prices up, thankful that a company has diffused a storm cloud looming over it.