For many years the Department of Justice (DOJ) has sought to encourage voluntary disclosure of wrongdoing by companies. This goal is reflected most clearly in DOJ's corporate leniency policy. Under that policy, companies can reasonably expect not to be prosecuted, absent specific aggravating circumstances, if they voluntarily report wrongdoing, cooperate with the government, and remediate misconduct. In light of that policy, companies often report misconduct to prosecutors and cooperate in the prosecution of employees.

Critics of corporate white-collar enforcement argue that prosecutors have not been sufficiently aggressive toward companies and senior executives. A particular concern has been that companies may be receiving leniency without doing enough to help the government. From this perspective, inadequate cooperation has impaired the government's investigation of individuals.