This article, authored by a sitting US District Judge and a former federal prosecutor and State Department Section Chief now in private practice, is focused on the reality that, whether engaging in the civil discovery process or investigating criminal conduct, the need to collect evidence located in a foreign country arises more frequently today than ever before.

David and Jasmine talk with Markus Funk about the investigation and trial of the powerful Chicago-based Calabrese family mob, who engineered years of extortion, gambling, bookmaking, and hundreds of murders.

On Jan. 19, the Kentucky House passed the controversial Bill 5, known as the “Safer Kentucky Act.”

The chapter discusses effective best practices for topics ranging from recordkeeping and internal controls, anti-bribery,  affirmative defenses, and trends and developments to penalties, the US Travel Act, and UN, OECD, and various country specific (UK, Canada, France, Brazil, etc.) anti-bribery instruments.

Co-authored with Prof. Eugene Volokh and Andrew S. Boutros

Every August and December, thousands of practicing lawyers like clockwork ready themselves for their fall or spring classes at the country’s 199 ABA-approved law schools.

Some believe we should follow the examples of countries like Germany and Mexico that do not punish inmates who engage in nonviolent “walkaway” prison escapes.

When, how, and why a nation has the right to deploy deadly defensive force is one of the most widely discussed and passionately debated legal questions of the day. On October 22, 2023, President Biden joined leaders from Western-allied countries reaffirming Israel’s right to deploy deadly defensive force against Hamas, while also emphasizing the need to protect civilians.

The U.S. Department of Education's (DOE) 2022 proposed Title IX regulations were accompanied by confident claims that their impact would be nothing short of historic. After receiving over 239,000 comments, the DOE's anticipated release of the final rule in October has been delayed. The official reasons for the delay are a mystery, but the avalanche of comments has likely led the agency to reconsider important aspects of campus Title IX disciplinary hearings, somewhat awkwardly referred to as grievance procedures.

On October 22, President Biden joined leaders from Western-allied countries in reaffirming Israel’s right to deploy deadly defensive force against Hamas, while also emphasizing the need to protect civilians. China later followed suit by similarly endorsing Israel’s right to self-defense. Some, including certain United Nations officials, disagree.

Markus Funk addresses how the long-anticipated new federal guidelines for how schools should respond to allegations of sex discrimination and sexual misconduct threaten to strip away certain important due process rights for those accused of violations.

Perkins Coie’s Markus Funk analyzes the broad scope of the Department of Education’s proposed changes to Title IX’s implementing regulations, and effect finalized rules would have on campus disciplinary procedures.

China is ramping up investment in technology and data, passing two new data privacy laws in 2021 as part of this effort.

Perkins Partner T. Markus Funk, joined by UCLA Professor Eugene Volokh and Dechert’s Andrew Boutros, tackle the question of whether today’s adjunct law professors are teaching temps, cash cows, valued instructors, or something else.

On April 29, 2023, the U.S. Department of Justice, Antitrust Division, suffered another defeat in its ongoing efforts to criminally prosecute conduct affecting workers’ compensation and job mobility.

Late last month, the U.S. Department of Justice, Antitrust Division, suffered another defeat in its ongoing efforts to criminally prosecute conduct affecting workers' compensation and job mobility.

Self-defense, the “first civil right,” continues to be among criminal law’s most controversial, enduring , and intuitively understood topics.

The February 2020 murder of Ahmaud Arbery, the November 2021 Wisconsin trial of Kyle Rittenhouse, and the January 2023 shooting of a masked robber in a Houston taqueria predictably ignited media firestorms.

A federal judge and two former federal prosecutors disagree with widespread claims, made in the context of the leak of the Supreme Court’s draft opinion on abortion, that a federal law clerk who leaks court-confidential information cannot face criminal charges. In this article Perkins Coie partner T. Markus Funk, Andrew S. Boutros and U.S. District Court Judge Virginia M. Kendall discuss federal statutes under which criminal charges are possible.

Perkins Coie attorneys explain how China’s new data security laws and use of third-party apps, such as WeChat, by Chinese employees create significant obstacles for companies conducting internal investigations in the country.

Markus Funk’s book, "Rethinking Self-Defence: The ‘Ancient Right’s’ Rationale Disentangled," was reviewed by Prof. Dr. Armin Engländer in Goltdammer's Archiv, the oldest and most traditional German journal on criminal law. The review concluded that the book should be studied by “all who are interested in self-defense.”

The U.S. Department of Justice Procurement Collusion Strike Force secured a guilty plea on July 13, 2022, from a Texas military contractor for conspiring to rig bids on $17.5 million in government contracts.

JurorSearch CEO and Co-Founder Dan Johnson sits down with White Collar & Investigations Partner Markus Funk to discuss all things jury. They talk about how ever-evolving customized software solutions help prosecutors, civil litigators, and jury consultants better understand what makes their potential jurors tick, as well as help them ask the right voir dire questions to avoid bad selections.

SCOTUS in Ruan sided with doctors seeking a burden of proof higher than mere negligence in prosecutions for unlawful distribution of controlled substances.

We are grateful to Professor Volokh for featuring our June 1 Wall Street Journal op-ed (and, previously, our Bloomberg Law article) questioning common claims that there is no federal law criminalizing the leaking of court-sensitive information, such as a draft Supreme Court opinion. In his parting comments on the WSJ piece, Eugene observes that he is "not sure how viable these arguments are," and then observes two discrete issues.

Markus, joined by Judge Virginia Kendall and Andrew Boutros, challenges the legal commentariat's widespread (and mistaken) media claims that there are no laws under which a federal law clerk leaker or other court staff member could be criminally prosecuted. 

The U.S. Supreme Court is poised to issue what could be a monumental decision in the Court’s Controlled Substances Act (CSA) jurisprudence as applied to the nation’s opioid epidemic.

Perkins Coie attorneys predict a historic push by the DOJ among other regulators to find and stop companies and individuals from evading sanctions imposed against Russia in their business dealings.

The U.S. Department of Justice Antitrust Division, on January 28, 2022, revealed the criminal prosecution of a conspiracy that allegedly suppressed wages and limited job mobility for essential healthcare workers.

A recent DOJ indictment charges several Maine health-care agency managers with allegedly suppressing wages and limiting the job mobility of essential workers during the pandemic.

For the first time since 2000, child labor is on the rise, according to the International Labour Organization (ILO) and United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF). A staggering 160 million children were victims of forced labor in 2020.

A Colorado state court recently joined a growing chorus of courts across the country rejecting insurance companies’ arguments that there is no coverage for COVID-19-related losses and costs under commercial property insurance policies because COVID-19 cannot cause “physical loss or damage” to property as a matter of law.

COVID-19 disrupted business operations, supply chains, and economies around the globe. In response, businesses had to respond to multiple crises throughout their operations. Companies sought to make good choices concerning procurement, logistics, HR, and go-forward strategies.

With the new year approaching, this is an excellent time to turn over that new leaf and commit to starting, or reestablishing, good habits. Businesses should be no different.

Rarely does a week pass in White Collar and Investigation or SEC-regulatory outside counsel life that an auditor or government enforcement attorney does not request some interim or final read-out. These requests for information can encompass investigative process and factual findings, lists of search terms, interview outlines, or similar investigative materials.

The “ancient right” of self-defense is among the handful of criminal law areas that has received substantial academic (and increasingly public) attention, and deservedly so, given the foundational role it plays in criminal justice systems the word over.

Markus contributed a book chapter titled “On the Law of Self-Defense (And Why Transparency About Our Value-Judgments is the Missing Piece in Today’s Justice Reform Debate)” to The State of Criminal Justice 2021.

The exercise of self-preferential force to fend off an actual or perceived threat finds itself at the center of today’s simmering criminal justice reform debate, particularly in the wake of the carefully watched (and oft-misunderstood) Rittenhouse and McMichael/Arbery cases.

Self-defense is a right so fundamental that the scholarly literature regularly refers to it as the ancient right or the first civil right. But despite the right’s bedrock status in criminal law, legislators, academics, and every-day citizens alike all have strongly held—and, in fact, often strongly divergent—opinions about when it is legally (and morally) appropriate to exercise self-preferential force. 

Arguing that a value-centric dialogue over self-defense is both overdue and necessary to drive hidden normative judgments, biases, and false dichotomies out of the shadows, while concurrently facilitating a more democratic and transparent approach to the “first civil right.”

Chelsea Curfman and Markus Funk are joined by Professor Mike Koehler, better known as the “FCPA Professor.” In 2009, Koehler launched his “FCPA Professor” blog, described as “the Wall Street Journal concerning all things FCPA-related.”

Antitrust lawyers Jon Jacobs and Kevin Schock join host Markus Funk to discuss the fundamental legal principles applicable to no-poach and wage-fixing agreements, explore current government enforcement priorities related to these types of agreements, and evaluate examples of recent enforcement activity in the no-poach and wage-fixing space.

Cam Simpson and Markus Funk discuss Cam's diverse career, with a particular focus on Cam's work relating to human trafficking and other forms of forced labor.

Markus Funk talks to Jim about his experience at Tate & Lyle and discuss how white collar practitioners can collaborate with management to foster a compliance-oriented atmosphere, while helping business units to accomplish their goals.

Markus Funk and Kevin Feldis speak with Corey Norton, Vice President for Supply Chain Legality at the World Wildlife Fund (WWF), about the important role that non-governmental organizations (NGOs) can play in corporate supply chain compliance.

Education trailblazer Lana Israel, Ph.D., and entertainment legend Bob Doyle, co-founded and closely collaborate on Nashville-based education technology (edtech) company Muzology. They join host Markus Funk to discuss their disruptive platform.

[Warning: The juxtaposition of joyous holiday festivities and forced labor is not intended to make light of human rights violations, but to assist companies in avoiding common mistakes in their anti-human trafficking disclosure statements.] 

Markus Funk welcomes two Chicago-based guests, Jeremy Gottschalk of Sittercity.com and Marketplace Risk and the Hon. Virginia M. Kendall of the U.S. District Court for the District of Northern Illinois.

In Part 2 of our examination of internal investigation trends in India, Perkins Coie partners Markus Funk and Chelsea Curfman speak with Arpinder Singh, a partner with EY Forensics & Integrity Services and head of their India and Emerging Markets group.

Continuing our series of episodes regarding investigation and enforcement trends around the globe, Perkins Coie partners Markus Funk and Chelsea Curfman interview Sherbir Panag, firm co-founder and head of the Compliance and Investigations Practice at the Law Offices of Panag & Babu, in New Delhi, India.

As colleges and universities reopen, the potential for another shutdown and lawsuits over refunds for tuition, fees, and health and safety looms.

Chapter 6

On this episode of White Collar Briefly, Perkins Coie’s White Collar & Investigations practice attorneys Markus Funk and Lili Timmermann interview special guest (and colleague) retired Colorado Supreme Court Chief Justice Mike Bender.

The positive economic value of environmentally sustainable supply chain practices is broadly understood and accepted by the outdoor industry.

Dave Eggers and Markus Funk have a candid and probing conversation about today’s calls for fundamental criminal justice reform.

The University of Colorado’s Interim Executive Vice Chancellor and Chief Operating Officer Patrick O’Rourke discusses experiences including his path from private practitioner to the GC and then COO of one of the Nation’s premier educational institutions.

A conversation with Ross Mansbach, deputy general counsel at Avanos Medical, a publicly-traded medical device and technology company about the impacts of COVID-19, the transition to remote working, and what it all may mean for corporate legal departments and their relationships with outside counsel.

A candid conversation with Joel Esquenazi about, among other things, his time as a defendant in the high-profile U.S. v. Esquenazi trial.

As countries around the world overcome the first wave of coronavirus infections, one thing is becoming apparent: Remote working will almost certainly become a permanent fixture of modern life for many.

As countries around the world overcome the first wave of coronavirus infections, one thing is becoming apparent: Remote working will almost certainly become a permanent fixture of modern life for many.

Internal investigators and their in-house clients are familiar with having to explain their investigative methodology to the client's outside auditors or government regulatory and enforcement agencies like the DOJ and SEC.

Judge Virginia Kendall covers a wide range of topics with former AUSA colleague, Markus Funk.

On this episode of White Collar Briefly, attorneys, Markus Funk and Chelsea Curfman, interview special guest, Caroline McMichen, global ethics and compliance chief for Molson Coors Beverage Company, about the hallmarks of a successful internal investigation.

A new $2 million SBA safe harbor for PPP loans appears to create a wide umbrella that substantially reduces the risk that adverse consequences will rain down and soak companies with loans in this category.

A new $2 million SBA safe harbor for PPP loans appears to create a wide umbrella that substantially reduces the risk that adverse consequences will rain down and soak companies with loans in this category.

The world may be getting smaller, but the key legal risks affecting those with foreign business are only getting bigger.

“Trust, but verify.” This has gained new currency in the context of the Department of Treasury and the Small Business Administration’s April 23 and April 28 guidance concerning “necessity” certification of Paycheck Protection Program loans and a new interim final rule issued April 30 limiting loans to corporate groups.

Companies seeking PPP loans must certify they have an “economic necessity” to obtain these loans.

Markus Funk’s Updated Privilege Flow Chart Released

It’s been one year since federal agents made dozens of arrests in the nationwide college admissions scandal. Funk and Trombino provide four guideposts to help colleges and universities needing to investigate allegations of misconduct steer themselves, and their communities, through such moments of crisis.

In this article, Judge Kendall and Markus discuss why the coronavirus pandemic threatens to trigger a new wave of human rights violations if companies are not careful to root out forced labor in supply chains. They conclude that companies must have effective compliance programs in place and bolster supply chain vigilance to ward off potentially business-ending scrutiny.

White collar attorneys regularly discover crimes like theft, bribery, and embezzlement committed by current or former employees and competitors. This article analyzes how mandatory reporting laws, like Colorado’s, provide formal legal “cover” for disclosure of suspected misconduct and suggests best practices for reporting crimes to authorities on behalf of clients.

Complete with practical checklists and diagrams deconstructing the investigative process, this chapter covers topics important to in-house counsel, including:  Establishing an emergency response team; developing investigative protocols; understanding counsel’s role in the investigation; responding to search warrants and service of legal process; educating employees on their rights; inventorying seized records; handling government requests for employee interviews; determining the facts through interviews; reporting to stakeholders; and remediation.

The U.K. Modern Slavery Act of 2015, which was modeled after the California Transparency in Supply Chains Act, requires companies falling under its jurisdictional hook (and there are many) to honestly and completely disclose their efforts to eradicate trafficked, slave, indentured, coerced and child (collectively “forced”) labor from their supply chains.

This article unearths a little-known U.K. Home Office tender announcement underscoring why and how companies falling under the U.K. Modern Slavery Act of 2015’s jurisdiction (and there are many) must get their supply chain disclosures ready for prime-time, lest they risk receiving a starring role on the U.K. Home Office’s contemplated “naming & shaming” list of non-compliant companies and be otherwise subjected to official enforcement actions.

The wave of federal charges against some fifty individuals for college admissions fraud and testing bribery schemes caught numerous universities and much of the United States by surprise.

This series, written by recent in-house counsel and federal prosecutors, takes a practical approach to helping in-house legal and compliance teams, operating in a world of complex regulatory schemes and increased whistleblower activity, avoid the types of seemingly minor or inconsequential missteps that can lead to aggressive government responses, including parallel civil and criminal investigations. In part two, the authors explain what to do when a search warrant is served and how to prepare for government interviews with employees. 

This article summarizes the basic elements of the FCPA Corporate Enforcement Policy and its application to the health-care industry. The authors also analyze some of the issues that health-care companies should consider before making a self-disclosure in accordance with the Policy.

The DOJ announced a “road map” for the healthcare industry last month to guide voluntary self-disclosures and cooperation with government investigations.

Commonly, and frequently for some, companies find themselves facing the daunting proposition of reporting an actual or potential violation of law to a government authority. 

This article explains why duplicative, serial anti-corruption/FCPA enforcement actions are now part and parcel of the enforcement landscape, despite a healthy ongoing debate over the need for, and fairness of, serial enforcements.

Markus Funk and Charles Sipos discuss the theories of liability putative class actions against food and beverage manufacturers based on the Ninth Circuit clarification in Hodson v. Mars Inc.

On Monday, June 4, 2018, the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals issued an important opinion, Hodson v. Mars, Inc., holding that food manufacturers do not have any independent obligation under California consumer protection laws to disclose on their labels the possibility of alleged harmful labor practices occurring in the downstream supply chain of the manufacturer’s products. 

This article surveys key investigation-related issues important to companies, including why investigations matter; balancing investigative objectives against business realities; key investigative steps (and pitfalls); how to avoid the "runaway investigation"; how to share investigative findings; and how to construct an effective remediation plan.

Despite the 2016 dismissal of federal human rights cases against food companies in California, a similar class action suit has been filed in Massachusetts federal court — and it’s one that companies in the sector should be watching closely.

In the wake of the 2016 dismissal of human rights cases filed against food companies in California, on February 26, 2018 a new class action case appeared in Massachusetts federal court (Tomasella v. Hershey Co.) alleging human rights violations associated with cocoa farming and processing. This article examines the plaintiffs’ unjust enrichment theory that defendants, by failing to disclose trafficking and child labor in their supply chains (and in fact asserting in their disclosures that they had “zero tolerance” for such activities), caused consumers to purchase their products when they never would have done so had they known about the purported trafficked and child labor taint in the products’ supply chains.

Managers are not acrobats. But the series of balancing acts internal investigations require are unique even among company management—and the lawyers who serve them.

True, the search for the truth is obviously the immediate goal of any internal investigation, regardless of whether the investigation concerns bribery, fraud, breach of fiduciary duties, cybercrime, trade secret theft, fraud, sexual harassment, or some other business-sensitive issue. But that observation constitutes little more than spotting the pig in the python.

There will be little debate that this has been a bad day for the state-sanctioned (and regulated) marijuana industry. Stated simply, the Obama-era directives that significantly fettered the discretion of the nation’s 93 presidentially appointed U.S. attorneys to bring federal narcotics charges against marijuana growers, distributors and possessors in those states that “legalized” marijuana for medicinal or recreational purposes (there are some eight states falling into the latter category) are now a thing of the past.

This article was quoted in a Law360 article, "In Case You Missed It: Hottest Firms And Stories On Law360," on 01.05.2018.

Imagine the public relations nightmare poor Santa Claus would face if forced labor or corruption was found in his factory.

In this article Perkins Coie’s Markus Funk and U.S. District Judge Virginia Kendall discuss how the “Magnolia City’’ has squarely perched itself on the compliance world’s cutting edge. It, as a city, has taken a significant, innovative step to rid its many supply chains for goods and services of human trafficking and other forms of forced and coerced labor. And the impact of this proactive decision—particularly if emulated by others—is certain to be felt well beyond the city limits.

An investigating attorney’s choice of key terms and search patterns can reveal a significant amount about the nature and status of an internal investigation. Producing this list to, say, plaintiff's counsel or the government may inform this adverse third party about your concerns and thinking in just a few words: “Employees Smith and Johnson,” “bribe,” “Haiti,” “December 2012–2014.” The impact of this decision may also have other long-lasting results, including waiver of the work-product privilege. This article lays out the issues, and then explains why (and how) attorneys conducting internal investigations should protect their client’s interests by protecting such important information from improper and unnecessary disclosure.

Everyone knows that getting ahead of a problem is always a good idea. And this certainly has proven true with respect to company compliance programs. This article explains that, if properly developed, implemented, and maintained, a well-devised, practical compliance program not only helps companies prevent business-interrupting and morale-crushing problems in the first place, but can also have a dramatic impact on how a company is treated by U.S. authorities if and when problems do arise.

Today's busy executives and compliance officers already have plenty of compliance-related concerns on their collective plates. That said, one of the most basic objectives when dealing with the federal government is to not make any false statements in submissions to the federal government. Although this, on its face, may strike many readers as simultaneously self-evident and a relatively light lift, in practice —and in the context of today's modern (and often transnational) company or organization — ensuring that such statements are, in fact, completely accurate is routinely fraught with danger. This chapter focuses on the elements of a Section 1001 violation, as well as the interplay between Section 1001 charges and those brought for other substantive crimes. Finally, the chapter explores the ways in which compliance officers and their compliance functions can limit liability under Section 1001.

Markus Funk’s widely-used, and first-of-its-kind, flow chart illustrating the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act and U.S. Travel Act’s logic and process has been translated into Chinese. Download the Simplified Chinese version of the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act and U.S. Travel Act Flow Chart.

The article, co-authored by four Perkins Coie attorneys, discusses the recent global ransomware attack, which hit all types of industries, including FedEx, hospitals in Britain’s National Health Service, and automakers Renault and Nissan. The authors provide a road map for companies to follow to help mitigate the risks of being attacked, and also what to do if your company becomes a victim.

Computer systems around the world have been impacted by the largest cyber-extortion attack in history.

This update has been republished in Computerworld on 05.30.2017, "Answering the WannaCry Wake-up Call."

The article notes that the holiday retail season is an ideal time to check that forced labor and bribery—the two top and interconnected supply-chain threats—do not undermine the success of your critical sales period.

Amnesty International recently released a report alleging that supply chains for production of palm oil—a common ingredient in many consumer products—are tainted by forced and child labor.

The holiday retail season is an ideal time to check that forced labor and bribery—two top and interconnected supply-chain threats—do not undermine the success of your critical sales period.

This updated version of Markus Funk’s widely-consulted flow chart outlines the interconnected flow and logic of the FCPA and Travel Act.

Partner T. Markus Funk (along with Seyfarth Shaw Partner Andrew Boutros) contributed Chapter 13 in the American Bar Association’s book The State of Criminal Justice 2016.

Australia. Effective in March 2016, Australia strengthened its anti-bribery laws by adding the new books and records offence of intentionally or reckless false dealing with accounting documents. This first-of-its-kind flow chart deconstructs the flow and logic of this new law.

Brazil. As this flow chart illustrates, Brazil’s Clean Company Act 2014 (Law No. 12,846) now holds companies responsible for the corrupt acts of their employees; it also introduces strict liability for those offences, meaning a company can be liable without a finding of fault. While the Act provides strict civil and administrative penalties, but no criminal penalties for companies, the Criminal Code establishes domestic criminal offences.

The week of Feb. 22, the federal government took a significant step in the fight against forced (that is, slave, trafficked, child, and indentured) labor. President Barack Obama signed into law the ‘‘Trade Facilitation and Trade Enforcement Act of 2015.” As explained in this BNA-Bloomberg article, this enactment, which takes effect March 10, 2016, critically closes a loophole by amending the Tariff Act of 1930 (Tariff Act) to remove the long-standing ‘‘immunity’’ for broad classes of goods made with forced and prison labor.

Forced labor’s impact on supply chains is the emerging ‘‘hot topic’’ in today’s boardrooms. This chart compares and contrasts key aspects of the UK Modern Slavery Act of 2015, the California Transparency in Supply Chains Act, the Federal Acquisition Regulation on Human Trafficking in Government Contracts , the EU disclosure directives, and recent Congressional action to close the Tariff Act of 1930’s loophole concerning importation of goods made with forced labor, all of which are part of a broader effort to recruit/conscript the global business community into the fight against forced/child labor. 

The federal government took another step in the fight against human trafficking and forced labor.  President Obama signed into law on February 24, 2016, the Trade Facilitation and Trade Enforcement Act of 2015 (TFTEA).

Issues of privilege often take center stage in internal investigations. This flow chart in an easily-understood manner sets out the key questions to ask, and provides “practical pointers” of value to practitioners.

In many businesses, supply chain management historically has fallen outside the core of the company's compliance function. But that was then.

The chart traces the flow and logic of Article 435-3 (proscribing foreign corruption), discusses the Government’s 2015 anti-corruption “Compliance Guidelines,” and summarizes the pending anti-corruption legislation.

This year has brought an unparalleled spike in state, federal, and international legislative and enforcement efforts specifically focused on ridding the world’s supply chains of products tainted by forced labor, slavery, human trafficking, and child labor, as well as indentured servitude (collectively, “coerced labor”). This article surveys this new legal landscape, and provides compliance tips.

Supply Chain Practice Co-Chairs Funk and Hirose’s chart compares human trafficking laws impacting businesses.

The article, in the context of evaluating the recent spate of class actions premised on “misleading” disclosures, surveys recent regulatory efforts requiring businesses to make disclosures on a subject of political controversy, namely, extent and efficacy of a company’s efforts to purge its supply chain of goods and services obtained through forced labor (that is, human trafficking/slavery/indentured servitude/child labor).

This article, written by partners Hartmann Young and T. Markus Funk, examines the application of recent federal human trafficking rules for federal contractors.

Companies doing business in the United Kingdom take note: the U.K. government just made the not-so-long-awaited announcement that businesses with an annual turnover of 36 million British pounds (£36M) will be subject to the reporting requirements of the U.K. Modern Slavery Act of 2015 (U.K. Act).

Partner T. Markus Funk and Assistant US Attorney Andrew S. Boutros co-authored Chapter 18 (“Tracing the Development of Victim's Rights Under International Law (And At the International Criminal Court”).

This article examine how cyber scam works, how to protect against the scam, steps to take if the scam hits your company and insurance coverage for scam damage.

A simple yet highly effective and increasingly common cyber scam, based on social engineering and playing on fear, the desire to be helpful and other emotions, has caused U.S. companies of all sizes to lose millions of dollars in recent months.

This article, written by partner T. Markus Funk, senior counsel Paul Hirose and associate Elizabeth Breakstone, examines the U.K. Modern Slavery Act of 2015 and how it will affect companies doing business in the U.K.

Perkins Coie co-authors Funk, Oehler, and Breakstone analyze the just-released (and effective March 1, 2015) anti-trafficking and force labor FAR provision, which promise to have an immediate and significant impact on contractors, subcontractors and lower-tier subcontractors to the world’s largest consumer of goods and services, namely, the U.S. government.

Companies that contract with the federal government will soon be subject to new rules aimed to stamp out human trafficking (see discussion of some of the existing rules and regulations here and here).

Partners T. Markus Funk, Richard Oehler and associate Elizabeth Breakstone wrote the first analysis of the just-released Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR) provisions — arising out of President Barack Obama’s 2012 Executive Order 13627 — mandating that all federal contractors take certain actions related to combating human trafficking and slavery in their supply chains.

This article examines the circumstances under which traditional authorities, such as aboriginal “band” (otherwise referred to as “tribal” or “traditional authority”) leaders, may qualify as “foreign officials” under the FCPA.

This article examines the circumstances under which traditional authorities, such as aboriginal “band” (otherwise referred to as “tribal” or “traditional authority”) leaders, may qualify as “foreign officials” under the FCPA.

Worldwide, governmental transnational law enforcement efforts, including prominently initiatives to stem global corruption, have been ramping up like never before. As a survey of recent global enforcement trends confirms, resolving a matter with the original investigative authority may well only be the start of the legal woes. Put another way, the very same facts that give rise to the initial investigation in Country A could—and, indeed, often do—lead to a successive prosecution in Country B, Country C, and so forth. This book chapter – co-authored by Partner T. Markus Funk and Assistant U.S. Attorney Andrew S. Boutros – examines the new global enforcement landscape, and provides practical guidance for companies and individuals operating in it.

Examining the compliance dangers inherent in obtaining a “social license to operate” in the mining industry.

Today’s investigation of transnational criminal matters, and prosecution or defense of civil cases increasingly involves the gathering of evidence located in foreign jurisdictions.  However, national sovereignty prevents U.S. prosecutors and litigators from doing so without prior judicial approval and assistance.  This first-of-its-kind guide, which the Federal Judicial Center per its statutory mission distributed to all federal judges across the country, discusses how civil and criminal litigants can obtain such litigation or investigation-related evidence and assistance from foreign jurisdictions.

This article conducts a comparative analysis of Germany’s anti-corruption laws, and examines why its efforts to fight bribery are second only to the United States (with the U.K. Bribery Act only occupying the to-some-surprising distant third spot).

This article and accompanying flow chart examine the just-enacted “Brazil Clean Companies Act,” a groundbreaking legislative effort at stemming corruption in the world’s seventh largest economy.

A central, recurring definitional challenge facing FCPA practitioners worldwide is whether, and under what circumstances, traditional local authorities, such as tribal leaders, qualify as “foreign officials” under the FCPA. Perkins Coie Senior Counsel Barak Cohen and Partner T. Markus Funk, both former USDOJ prosecutors, provide the most comprehensive analysis on this issue to date, concluding that the one-size-fits-all analytical approach once favored by observers cannot be reconciled with present-day enforcement realities.

Perkins Partner T. Markus Funk created a chart demonstrating the flow and function of Brazil’s just-released Clean Companies Act.

Following a relatively flat enforcement landscape and some bumps in the 2013 prosecutorial road, the DOJ and the SEC appear poised to spring back into action on FCPA and related anti-corruption enforcement.  Perkins Partner T. Markus Funk and Associate Sambo “Bo” Dul take a closer look at the year that past and what lies ahead.  (Article also reprinted in Vol. 3, No. 2 of the FCPA Report)

We live in a world that appears smaller each day due to the ease of instantaneous electronic communication.  As a result, gathering evidence for use in litigation or criminal cases is an increasingly global challenge.  Partner T. Markus Funk and U.S. District Judge Virginia Kendall describe the substance and procedure of the two primary avenues for obtaining such evidence, namely, Mutual Legal Assistance Treaties (MLATs) and Letters Rogatory.

Perkins Coie Partner T. Markus Funk and Associate Sambo “Bo” Dul anticipate the top 10 compliance challenges facing businesses worldwide in 2014.  (Reprinted in vol. 22, issue 2, ABA Criminal Justice Section Newsletter (Winter 2014).

Perkins Partners T. Markus Funk and Michael Sink survey five hot-button regulatory and compliance issues worth paying attention to in 2014.

Now that 2013 has wrapped up, it is that time of year again when Markus and Bo dust off the compliance crystal ball and take a look at what might be in store for 2014. Trends examined include FCPA enforcement, supply chain compliance, OFAC actions, the conflict minerals rules, carbon copy prosecutions, and SEC actions on whistleblower complaints.

Journal article co-authored with U.S. District Judge Virginia Kendall and Perkins Coie Associate Elizabeth Banzhoff.

A company’s board of directors has a duty of care to respond to and investigate allegations of wrongdoing by officers and employees of the company. But what happens when the board member is the one in the investigatory hot seat? Do the same investigative rules and techniques apply when, for instance, a director has been accused of trading on insider information or leaking confidential information? And what are the best practices companies should consider proactively implementing so they are best-positioned to effectively investigate alleged board member misconduct? This article provides some time-tested, commonsense — but often overlooked — guidance to help you prepare for these not-so-uncommon eventualities.

Compliance professionals recognize that today’s effective CSR compliance and reporting go far beyond simply arranging for the occasional FCPA training, patching together an “Environmental Sustainability Report,” or maintaining a “paper-only” code of business conduct.  Funk and Reider-Gordon demonstrate how, by coordinating compliance efforts to address the various risks sketched out in this article, businesses can put themselves in the best position to avoid potentially devastating criminal and civil liability.

Criminal justice practitioners understand that ‘‘joint and several liability’’ stands for the common proposition that each co-conspirator should be equally responsible for all provable losses the conspiracy caused. Despite the dubious fairness of this one-size-fits-all approach, joint and several liability is, in fact, so common that federal prosecutors, defense counsel, and judges rarely even consider whether there might be some available alternatives.  As this article explains, the ready—and oft-overlooked—answer comes in the form of 18 U.S.C. § 3664(h).

Funk and his co-authors reviewed the key developments in the area of corporate social responsibility and supply chain compliance.  (The Year in Review was published by the SMU Dedman School of Law, and Funk’s article appears on pages 183-200.)

Funk and Boutros author Chapter 6 ("'Carbon Copy' Prosecutions:  A Growing Anticorruption Phenomenon in A Shrinking World") in 2013’s The State of Criminal Justice.

T. Markus Funk and USDOJ’s Andrew S. Boutros co-authored a chapter examining the growing phenomenon of “carbon copy prosecutions” (occurring when a prosecution in Country A is mirrored by a virtually identical prosecution in Country B, C, etc.).  The rise in carbon copy prosecutions is particularly notable in the context of the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act.

As those who have gone through investigations into allegations of board member wrongdoing can attest, the process can be exceptionally costly both financially, as well as emotionally.  Perkins Partner T. Markus Funk and Ciber, Inc. General Counsel Sean Radcliffe point out that, with a bit of foresight and preparation, the duration and toxicity of the experience can be drastically limited, and the ultimate reliability of the resulting findings and recommendations notably enhanced.

Supply chain compliance is on the government’s enforcement radar like never before.  If the recent Executive Order on Trafficking in Government Contracts and final SEC Conflict Minerals Rules were not notice enough, the Department of Justice’s  (DOJ’s) February 20, 2013 announcement of headline-grabbing charges against the two largest domestic honey processing companies eliminates any doubt that companies must carefully examine the effectiveness of their existing supply chain compliance programs.

T. Markus Funk and partner J. Cabou analyze the Chicago U.S. Attorney’s Office’s February 20, 2013’s record-breaking anti-dumping and food fraud case.

The article examines the California Transparency in Supply Chains Act’s oft-confused website homage disclosure requirements.

Partner T. Markus Funk and Counsel Michael Sink examine the rise in the DOJ’s enforcement of the U.S. Travel Act to punish commercial bribery, including cases involving conduct that largely occurs overseas.

Partner T. Markus Funk and associate Elizabeth M. Banzhoff explore the new but growing phenomenon of “carbon-copy prosecutions”— successive, duplicative prosecutions by multiple countries arising out of the same common nucleus of operative acts.

In this article, Denver partner T. Markus Funk and associate Elizabeth M. Banzhoff predict key areas that will garner attention from compliance professionals in 2013, from the implementation of new regulations on federal contractors in March to the onset of required compliance with the SEC’s conflict minerals rules on January 1.

The article, co-authored by T. Markus Funk and Elizabeth Banzhoff, examines the possibility that USDOJ may begin filing FCPA cases in the Eastern District of Virginia’s legendary “rocket docket.”

The article, co-authored by partner T. Markus Funk and associate Elizabeth M. Banzhoff, explores key aspects of the latest compliance regulations affecting businesses today and suggest basic steps that they recommend companies involved in foreign business take to avoid supply chain and other compliance problems.

Against a rapidly-shifting anti-trafficking backdrop, this article examines the potential impact of a pair of powerful, little-known (and almost never associated) statutes—18 U.S.C. § 545 (prohibiting certain categories of smuggling) and 19 U.S.C. § 1307 (prohibiting importation of products made by or through forced labor).

This article argues that the milestone Executive Order against trafficking in government contracting will have an immediate and significant impact on the more than 300,000 companies and organizations doing business (and who want to continue doing business) with the U.S. government, as well as on the hundreds of thousands of companies around the world that supply and otherwise provide services to these direct government contractors.

On November 14, 2012, the Department of Justice (DOJ) and the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) issued their long-anticipated Resource Guide regarding the agencies’ enforcement of the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA).

In this article, Pravin Rao, Lee Stein, Markus Funk, Bridget Minder, Caryn Trombino, and Amy Chang analyzed the DOJ and SEC's new guidance on the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA). The authors discussed that the long-anticipated guidance provided helpful clarifications and hypothetical case studies for corporate counsel, and yet is not binding on courts or even the agencies themselves. The article cautioned that corporate counsel remain cognizant that the guidance may change, perhaps even dramatically.

Denver Partner T. Markus Funk and colleagues Paul O. Hirose and Elizabeth M. Banzhoff survey today’s key compliance challenges - from the recently-signed Executive Order on strengthening protections against trafficking in persons in federal contracts, the Business Transparency in Trafficking and Slavery Act, and the Securities and Exchange Commission’s rules on conflict minerals, to perennial compliance ‘‘hot topics’’ such as the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act, U.S. Travel Act, U.K. Bribery Act, and carbon copy prosecutions - point out that a small number of “risk aggregators” are responsible for the greatest risk exposure, and argue that compliance professionals, to be effective, increasingly must break out of their narrow subject-matter expertise.

When the largest single purchaser of goods and services in the world — the U.S. government — puts its weight behind something, companies and organizations take notice. In their article, Partner T. Markus Funk and Navigant’s Mikhail Reider-Gordon point out that, on Sept. 25, the government announced in no uncertain terms that taxpayer dollars used for government contracting were no longer to support the global scourge of human trafficking.

Whether “Corporate Social Responsibility” (CSR) is a new phrase to your company or is something you have observed and worked on for years, these are perilous times indeed for companies with large, complex, global supply chains.

T. Markus Funk argues that the milestone Executive Order Against Human Trafficking in Federal Contracts will have an immediate and significant impact on the more than 300,000 companies and organizations doing business (and who want to continue doing business) with the U.S. government, as well as on the hundreds of thousands of companies around the world that supply and otherwise provide services to these direct government contractors. Businesses must come to grips with this new regulatory reality or risk severe business disruptions ... or worse.

Although there may be differences in opinion over the efficacy of the groundbreaking recent Executive Order’s anti-trafficking requirements, there can be little doubt that they will have an immediate and significant impact on the over 300,000 companies and organizations doing business (and who want to continue doing business) with the world’s largest purchaser or goods and services, namely, the U.S. government.

On Sept. 25, 2012, President Obama signed a groundbreaking Executive Order designed to strengthen protections against trafficking in persons in federal contracting. This article deconstructs the Executive Order and highlights the areas of greatest relevance to the business and legal community.

On September 25, 2012, President Obama signed a groundbreaking Executive Order designed to strengthen protections against trafficking in persons in federal contracting.

Co-Authored with AUSA Andrew S. Boutros
This article examines this growing - but still largely under-recognized - international phenomenon of “carbon copy” prosecutions.  A country’s incentive to vindicate its own laws is not insubstantial, especially when a company or individual has already admitted, in a foreign proceeding, to having violated local law. The days of one-dimensional government investigations appear to be over. Duplicative, serial enforcement actions are now part and parcel of the enforcement landscape, despite a healthy ongoing debate over the need for, and fairness of, serial enforcements. Our prediction is that, as globalization makes the world smaller, what we call carbon copy prosecutions will increase in frequency, size, scope, and force.

In the morning hours of Aug. 22, law firms, boardrooms and compliance professionals around the globe were humming with anticipation (or perhaps more accurately, laboring under a chilly frisson of dread). The cause for this collective anxiety was the SEC’s much-anticipated – and much-delayed – announcement of the Dodd-Frank Act’s final disclosure and reporting rules concerning “conflict minerals.” This article, by Partner T. Markus Funk, examines the contours of the new rules from a retail perspective, and tries to answer the question of whether one man’s well-intentioned humanitarian effort has once again become another’s costly export of moral imperatives for difficult-to-achieve public policy objectives.

The Securities and Exchange Commission recently adopted final disclosure and reporting rules as mandated by the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act requiring certain public companies to disclose on a new Form SD their use of conflict minerals originating in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (the DRC) or an adjoining country.

Whatever one’s position on the public policy wisdom of the announced final rules, it is now clear that auditing complex supply chains and vetting difficult-to-control vendors, often located worlds away, has become the new corporate imperative. In the morning hours of Aug. 22, the Commission held its highly anticipated public meeting to announce its final Conflict Minerals Rules pursuant to Dodd-Frank Section 1502. Perkins Coie Partners Jean-Jacques Cabou and T. Markus Funk deconstruct the complex new rules, and provide practical "what next" advice for potentially impacted businesses.

In recent years, Germany has assumed a leading position in the investigation and prosecution of foreign bribery cases.  In their article, "Germany's Increasingly Robust Anti-Corruption Efforts," T. Markus Funk and co-author Jess A. Dance examine the legal and enforcement developments fueling Germany's anti-bribery push.

Those working in today's in-house law departments or supervising global supply chains and third-party business partners have become sensitive to the significant dangers posed by not complying with the U.S. Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (“FCPA”).  The well-publicized recent events surrounding Wal-Mart's FCPA woes have only raised already-elevated anxiety levels.

Funk and Clark''s SEC Whistleblower Article Published in the ABA's The State of Criminal Justice 2012.

Partners Jean-Jacques "J" Cabou, Jason Day, and T. Markus Funk examine the SEC's pending "conflict minerals" rules.  The authors provide a useful flow chart illustrating the proposed rules' logic and flow, and offer specific suggestions for how companies can get ahead of the curve and gauge what impact the anticipated rules are likely to have on their operations and compliance functions.

Earlier this year, Washington state legislators unanimously passed the nation's first criminal law requiring age verification for commercial sexual services advertisements depicting minors. The landmark law's goals are laudable, but its broad reach has some on-line service providers and traditional publishers concerned. For example, on-line service providers that allow users to post content and images on their sites, including on social networking sites, dating sites, discussion forums, blogs and chat rooms, could now face criminal exposure, even if they have absolutely no interest in placing, or permitting the placement of, such ads.

In their article, Partners T. Markus Funk and Al Gidari, together with Associate Nathan Christensen, discuss the nation's first-of-its-kind criminal law requiring online service providers and traditional publishers to conduct in-person age verification for certain adult service advertisements.  Although the law's objectives are unquestionably laudable, the authors examine the significant risks to which the law's broad reach exposes otherwise innocent OSP's and other publishers, and discuss the potential legal obstacles standing in the way of the law's enforcement.

T. Markus Funk's article, "Marketing Opportunity to Business Imperative:  How Yesterday's 'Dolphin-Safe' Tuna Became Today's Child, Human Trafficking, and Slave Labor-Free Product," examines what companies can do to comply with the landmark California Transparency in Supply Chains Act, as well as its pending federal analog.

In the wake of the recent negative publicity deluge, including a segment on a national newsmagazine show, alleging labor violations including the use of child labor, safety violations and unfair pay practices, late last week Apple released a third-party report detailing problems and proposed solutions at one of its largest suppliers.

As this article discusses, a fresh wave of legislation designed to foster and promote what its backers alternatively describe as responsible corporate citizenship or corporate social responsibility is cresting on U.S. businesses’ shores - and this time the aim is to combat the world’s most serious forms of labor exploitation.  The requirements of substantial due diligence and disclosures, and the corresponding threat of negative publicity, shareholder and consumer protests and boycotts, and Federal Trade Commission Action for insufficient compliance, are all reasons that the vetting of global supply chains for evidence of human trafficking, forced labor, slavery, and child labor is current hot topic in corporate boardrooms and compliance offices.

A fresh wave of legislation designed to foster and promote what its backers describe as responsible corporate citizenship/corporate social responsibility is cresting on US businesses shores—and this time the aim is to combat the world’s most serious forms of labor exploitation.  Effective January 1, 2012, the California Transparency in Supply Chains Act requires qualifying companies to detail and publicly disclose the nature and scope of their efforts to eradicate human trafficking, slavery, child labor, and forced labor from their worldwide supply chains.  This flow chart deconstructs the logic and flow of the California Act's detailed disclosure requirements.

On the heels of the California Supply Chains Act is the "Business Transparency on Trafficking and Slavery Act" introduced in Congress on August 1, 2011. If the Act's Congressional sponsors prevail, it will nationalize (and expand) the California Act's requirements.  The pending federal Act, indeed, picks up the California Act's leitmotiv: "[T]he United States is the world's largest importer, and in the twenty-first century, investors, consumers, and broader civil society increasingly demand information about the human rights impact of products in the United States market."

Funk's article uses practical decision trees and charts to deconstruct the operation of the FCPA, Travel Act, and UK Bribery Act.

Partners T. Markus Funk and Douglas L. Sawyer in their article discuss the pitfalls of the FCPA and emerging US Travel Act anti-bribery provisions in the IP context.

"In terms of going back to basics, the FCPA/Travel Act Intellectual Property decision tree uniquely traces out the key questions to be answered in any potential corruption case, and sets forth the flow, form and logic of FCPA and the Travel Act analysis [from the perspective of the Intellectual Property practitioner]."

"Simmering throughout 2011, the robust FCPA reform debate can now be divided into a number of distinct drafting and public policy battle fields. . . .  We examine (1) the core criminal law theory assumptions and (2) some of the public policy objectives driving the debate, including whether reforming the FCPA is advisable on public policy grounds, and the extent to which the position that foreign governments will view even modest FCPA reform as a signal to abandon wholesale their domestic anti-corruption efforts are justified."

Each year, more than two million children around the world fall victim to commercial exploitation. The numbers of children abused for non-commercial purposes are even higher. Put simply, the growing, increasingly-organized epidemic of child exploitation demands a coordinated response. The aim of this book is to bring some fresh thinking to this complicated area of the law, and to help erase some of its counterproductive mythology.

This chart examines the flow and logic of the FCPA/Travel Act's anti-bribery provisions through the lens of the Intellectual Property practitioner.

Perkins Coie Partner and ABA Global Anti-Corruption Task Force Co-Chair T. Markus Funk and associate Jess A. Dance compiled a chart comparing and contrasting the FCPA to the U.K. Bribery Act, German Anti-Bribery Laws, Chinese Anti-Bribery Laws, and India's Prevention of Corruption Act.

Perkins Coie Partner and ABA Global Anti-Corruption Task Force Co-Chair T. Markus Funk has drafted a novel and practical UK Bribery Act decision tree/"cheat sheet" sketching out the key analytical steps in evaluating a potential bribery situation and illuminating the Act's logic, function, and flow.

Facing the combined challenges of extreme poverty, high levels of crime and public corruption, and an outdated system of laws, Haitian lawyers grapple daily with problems unfamiliar to most of the world’s attorneys. Authored by Denver Partners T. Markus Funk and Douglas Sawyer, as well as Denver Associate Zane Gilmer, and produced in collaboration with the ABA Section of Litigation's Haiti Task Force and the International Senior Lawyers Project, the first-of-its-kind Haiti Trail Skills Manual provides the talented and enthusiastic Haitian attorneys of all backgrounds and areas of specialization with a broad, practical summary of the range of practical approaches geared to providing Haitian lawyers with the basic skills most useful in effectively representing a client’s interests.

Article examines the performance of the world's first permanent judicial body with the explicit mission of "bringing to justice the world's most notorious mass-criminals."

Practitioners in the exploding field of corporate anticorruption compliance need little convincing that today we find ourselves in what Assistant Attorney General Lanny Breuer aptly characterized as ‘‘a new age of [significantly ramped-up U.S. and foreign anticorruption] enforcement.’’ Funk and Clark in their article (1) discuss how the SEC’s much-anticipated 2011 whistleblower rules fall within this enforcement paradigm, and (2) examine practical steps companies can take to ensure that their compliance efforts are effective and user-friendly, motivating potential employee-whistleblowers to report perceived problems internally first.

This feature article from the current edition of The Champion examines an increasingly important obstruction provision -- 18 U.S.C. 1519 -- which is potentially at play in virtually all criminal cases, because it criminalizes "anticipatory" obstruction of justice (that is, attempts to hide or destroy evidence even if no federal investigation is on the horizon at the time of the allegedly obstructive conduct).

The ABA invited Markus to author Chapter 5 of its The State of Criminal Justice, examining the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act.

On May 25, 2011, in a 3-2 vote, the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (“SEC”) adopted its final rules (“Rules”), as required under Section 922 of the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act (“Dodd-Frank Act” or the “Act”). The Rules implement the SEC’s hotly anticipated new whistleblower bounty program that rewards individuals who provide the SEC with information leading to successful enforcement actions that exceed $1 million in monetary sanctions. Eligible whistleblowers can earn a payout of 10% to 30% of any monetary sanctions collected because of the tipster's information.

Chicago may be known as the “Second City,” but Markus Funk contends that, in the white-collar world, the U.S. attorney’s office there announced a blockbuster case last summer that is peerless. That case, United States v. Wolff, stands as the nation’s largest ever anti-dumping and food fraud criminal prosecution.  Prosecutors’ aggressive use of the U.S. Code’s most powerful — and underappreciated — obstruction-of-justice statute promises to leave an enduring legal imprint.

In most recent FCPA cases, liability has attached indirectly, through the misconduct of foreign third parties, such as agents, intermediaries, consultants, joint venture partners, suppliers, distributors, local counsel, private equity companies and franchisees. As we move into 2011, all signals indicate such liability will be an increasing target, says T. Markus Funk.

The UN Security Council recently referred the embattled Gadhafi regime to the International Criminal Court for investigation into its possible involvement in atrocity crimes.  Markus examines what the ICC's track record to date may tell us about the likely outcome of this historic Security Council referral.

Markus Funk, together with co-author Caryn Trombino, conducts a critical comparative analysis of recent efforts to evaluate the effectiveness of U.S. anti-corruption/Foreign Corrupt Practices Act ("FCPA") efforts.  Specifically, Funk and Trombino compare and contrast the reports issued by the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development ("OECD"), Transparency International, and the U.S. Chamber of Commerce.

Many companies might be surprised to learn that the difficult to control acts of their foreign agents, intermediaries, consultants, joint venture partners, suppliers, distributors and even outside counsel, private equity portfolio companies and franchisees can result in—and, in fact, have resulted in—potentially devastating civil and criminal Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA) liability to the principal or parent company . . . even absent any evidence of the company’s actual knowledge of this misconduct. And all indications are that the government will ramp up its reliance on such third-party liability as we move into 2011 and beyond. This update examines the growing threat of third-party liability and how clients can, through precautionary steps tailored to the particular circumstances of the company, effectively fend off the potentially catastrophic effects of third-party liability.

2010 was without question the FCPA's break-out year.  In his Bloomberg retrospective, Markus discusses (1) the major 2010 developments leading to this record-breaking performance, and (2) the key trends promising that 2011 will set a new standard in FCPA enforcement.

American Bar Association Global Anti-Corruption Initiatives Task Force
Complying with the November 1, 2010, Sentencing Guidelines amendments both prevent liability through deterrence and rapid response, and mitigates the impact any misconduct may have. In this article, Markus discussed how to reap these benefits in four simple steps: Review, Revise, Hire, and Submit.

In this blog post, T. Markus Funk and Caryn Trombino examine recent criticism aimed at U.S. global anti-corruption efforts, as both the OECD and the U.S. Chamber of Commerce have offered specific proposals to amend or improve the FCPA. These proposals, as well as the recent drop in U.S. ranking on Transparency International's Corruption Perception Index, suggest that U.S. global anti-corruption efforts are still a work in progress.

After surveying the OECD's "Phase 3" review of U.S. global anti-corruption efforts, Markus concludes that U.S. diplomatic pressure, buoyed by the OECD's encouraging findings, signals an era of continued domestic and international efforts to stem the tide of global corruption. Companies that fail to appropriately adapt to this new enforcement reality risk exposure not only to massive fines and financial penalties, but also to stiffening criminal sanctions.

Effective November 1, 2010, the U.S. Sentencing Commission has changed how fines for companies are calculated under the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines. The inquiry has now shifted away from the (mis)conduct of the company’s high-level personnel and toward the effectiveness of the company’s compliance and ethics program.

Invited to be a Guest Blogger, Markus Funk dissects the findings of the highly-anticipated October 21, 2010, Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) "Phase 3" report evaluating global U.S. anti-corruption efforts.

Invited to be a Guest Blogger, Markus Funk dissects the findings of the highly-anticipated October 21, 2010, Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) "Phase 3" report evaluating global U.S. anti-corruption efforts.

Invited to be a Guest Blogger, Markus Funk dissects the findings of the highly-anticipated October 21, 2010, Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) "Phase 3" report evaluating global U.S. anti-corruption efforts.

The OECD has criticized other signatory nations for not living up to their anti-bribery obligations, and in its just released report also identifies certain discrete areas for U.S. improvement. But the bottom line message is that the U.S. government is a leader in anti-corruption enforcement.

Invited to be a Guest Blogger, Markus Funk dissects the findings of the highly-anticipated October 21, 2010, Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) "Phase 3" report evaluating global U.S. anti-corruption efforts.

In this article, T. Markus Funk examines the historic charges recently lodged in United States v. Alexander Wolff, et al., the largest food fraud and anti-dumping criminal prosecution in U.S. history. The Government set the stage for what it undoubtedly hopes will be a convincing public test of the prosecutive powers of Section 1519’s powerful, but surprisingly little-understood, obstruction of justice provision, providing a glimpse of what could well be the next pivotal battlefield in the Government’s stepped-up war against white collar offenders.

The U.S. has introduced the world to its newest weapon in this anti-bribery fight, namely, the Dodd-Frank Act’s scheme of enhancing law enforcement’s evidence-gathering capacity via substantial "finder’s fees" for successful whistleblowers. In this article, Markus Funk argues that the U.S., in so doing, has once again raised the international anti-corruption enforcement bar. Moreover, considering the U.S.’s leadership position among signatory states to the Organization for Economic Co-Operation and Development’s (OECD’s) 1997 Anti-Bribery Convention, the Dodd-Frank Act is likely to spawn analogues in other parts of the world.

In this article, T. Markus Funk concludes that the historic Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act’s potentially huge financial rewards for Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (“FCPA”) whistleblowers, combined with enhanced protections against retaliation, provide a major boost to the U.S. Government’s already ramped-up anti-corruption efforts.

First-of-its-kind book concerning the international Criminal Court. Former U.S. Ambassador-at-large for War Crimes, David Scheffer, reviewed book as "must-read" and "ground-breaking."

In 2005, the United States government issued an unprecedented indictment against the Chicago mafia, naming the entire Chicago Outfit as a criminal enterprise.

Markus prepared a videotaped segment focusing on international corruption/bribery trends, enforcement efforts, and the harm corruption and bribery threaten to the rule of law, specific, and populations, more generally.

Self-defense is a right so fundamental that the scholarly literature regularly refers to it as the “ancient” or “first civil” right.

How Can Business Respect Human Rights Amid COVID-19?

The Yale Law School National Security Group, International Law Programs and the Career Development Office invited Perkins Coie Partner T. Markus Funk to speak at Yale on supply chain, trafficking and bribery issues. 

Partner Markus Funk, along with Maureen Bessette of the U.S. Department of Justice, Bruce Zagaris of Berliner Corcoran & Rowe, on a program moderated by Tyler Hodgson of The World Bank, discussed ways to collect foreign evidence for use in criminal proceedings.

Chelsea Curfman and Markus Funk addressed recent developments in FCPA enforcement, including how U.S. regulators are handling the DOJ’s new FCPA Corporate Enforcement Policy, voluntary self-disclosure, cross-border cooperation, and anti-corruption due diligence efforts, as well as how companies should respond.

Chelsea Curfman and Markus Funk shared their “in-the-trenches” experiences and views on internal investigations with a group of over 120 chief financial officers, treasurers, controllers, and other financial professionals.

Description from Event Program: Not long ago, many in the business community viewed ensuring a supply chain free from the taint of ‘‘forced labor’’—an umbrella term that includes trafficked, child, slave and indentured labor—as primarily a “PR/marketing” concern. Today’s consumers, however, expect to buy products free from the taint of forced labor. This presentation will cover both the history and present-day reality of landmark laws and regulations passed (and pending) in the U.S., Europe and elsewhere focused on recruiting—or, perhaps more accurately, conscripting—the business community into the global effort to rid supply chains of forced labor.

Chelsea Curfman and Markus Funk addressed recent developments in FCPA enforcement, including how U.S. regulators are grappling with recent directives such as the DOJ’s FCPA Pilot Program, the “Yates Memo” and individual prosecutions, voluntary self-disclosure, and cross-border cooperation.

A discussion with U.S. District Judge for the Northern District of Illinois, Virginia M. Kendall and Perkins Coie partner, T. Markus Funk as they share insights from the second edition of their recently published book.

Joining speakers from Microsoft, Starbucks, and the University of Washington’s Law School to discuss today’s key supply chain issues.

Partner T. Markus Funk led a 90-minute presentation titled “The New Reality of Supply Chain Compliance.” Topics included the federal contractor anti-trafficking provisions, the California Transparency in Supply Chains Act, and the UK Modern Slavery Act of 2010, as well as the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act, UK Anti-Bribery Act, and the US Travel Act.

T. Markus Funk to discuss supply chain and related compliance at the Anchorage Regional Compliance & Ethics Conference.

T. Markus Funk, joined by Federal Judge Virginia Kendall (Chicago), Chicago AUSA Andrew S. Boutros, and Katten Muchin Rosenman Managing Partner Gil M. Soffer, will discuss the criminal and regulatory implications of country-of-origin and other trade fraud violations, as well as recent corporate social responsibility laws and other mandates.

During the Ninth Circuit Judicial Conference in San Diego, CA, T. Markus Funk, joined by Federal Judges Tim Burgess (Alaska) and Virginia Kendall (Chicago), as well as former victim and author Shyima Hall, will discuss the latest developments in efforts directed at supply chain compliance.

Are you a manufacturer or supplier of goods or services? Does your company or client source goods or parts from others? From overseas? Learn how to recognize and navigate around the legal landmines posed by various new compliance challenges.

From conflict minerals to human-trafficking, more companies are faced with a need to address supply chain risks. T. Markus Funk discussed the major risk areas and how companies should address them. For more information, click here. 

Presentation before the ABA Public Contract Law Section’s Committee on Subcontracting, Teaming Agreements and Strategic Alliances.

The conference will include programming from the perspectives of business, law, international relations and more.  Markus will speak on the business community’s compliance challenges in the wake of new federal and state anti-trafficking and related labor laws and regulations.

T. Markus Funk was invited to guest-lecture at Harvard Law School on how to conduct International investigations, as well as on various aspects of cross-border enforcement in corruption cases

This conference is put on by The University of Chicago Corporate Lab and the ABA Global Anti-Corruption Committee.

The panel will include:  J. Crew Director of Compliance and Social Responsibility Margot Sfeir; New Belgium Brewery General Counsel Joe Davis, Honeywell Automation and Control Solutions Chief Litigation Counsel James Joslin; and Assistant United States Attorney (Chicago) Andrew S. Boutros.

Learn how to navigate the legal landmines posed by various new compliance challenges, including the new fight against human trafficking and forced labor in supply chains, new approaches to anti-corruption and enforcement, transparency, conflict minerals disclosures, and similar facets of government-mandated “corporate social responsibility.”

Markus and former White House Chief of Staff under President George H.W. Bush, Samuel K. Skinner, will jointly address key risk management and leadership issues impacting the audience of 500+ young leaders.