Compliance Stuff

On March 10, 2026, the U.S. Department of Justice released an updated Corporate Enforcement and Voluntary Self-Disclosure Policy (the “DOJ CEP”) 1 , which for the first time in the Department’s history will cover most corporate criminal matters . The policy builds upon revisions released in May 2025 (which “traces its roots to 2016” according to Department leadership) 2  with the stated goal to further incentivize companies to promptly report misconduct, cooperate with government investigations, and remediate wrongdoing , while providing clearer and more predictable outcomes for companies that do so. The DOJ CEP reflects the Department’s continued emphasis on early disclosure, individual accountability, and strong corporate compliance programs as key components of effective enforcement. Under the revised policy, companies that voluntarily self-disclose misconduct, fully cooperate with Department, and timely and appropriately remediate the misconduct themselves  will generall...

Baker Botts and ACC Houston hosted a half-day seminar on January 29, 2026 that featured timely discussions on AI, employment law, and what’s ahead for the workplace. Partners Rich Harper, Paul Morico and Scott Nelson and Latasha McDade, Senior Counsel at Exxon Mobil Corporation, Tenley Krueger, Vice President, Global Intellectual Property at Technip Energies and Courtney Flores, Managing Compliance Counsel at Motiva Enterprises participated in a session titled “Where AI, Employees, and the Law Intersect.” Key Takeaways   AI use in employment has shifted from experimentation to accountability.   Employers of all sizes are using AI to inform hiring, pay, promotion, discipline, and workforce reductions. The central legal question is no longer focused on a manager’s intent. The focus is now on how AI tools are trained, governed, documented, and reviewed. Weak documentation, limited human involvement, or overreliance on vendor tools increases risk even where no discrimin...

The landscape of legal practice has significantly changed due to the proliferation of third-party litigation funding, a financial mechanism that provides capital to plaintiffs, including patent owners, in exchange for an interest related to any recovery. This funding source can be a vital tool for expanding access to justice, particularly for patent owners who would otherwise be unable to afford the high costs of patent litigation, but it introduces several dynamics that require careful ethical consideration from attorneys. After assessing an attorney’s ethical duties of loyalty to the client and client control, attorneys can examine how they are applied and safeguarded in the context of litigation funding, and analyze how state bar ethics opinions and judicial interpretations are guiding attorneys in this evolving field. I. Ethical Rules Governing Attorney Conduct in Funded Litigation At its heart, litigation funding creates a triangular relationship between the attorney, the client,...