A Shift Away from Corporate Monitors Signals DOJ’s More Active Role in Compliance Oversight
In May 2025, the Department of Justice (“DOJ”) announced changes to its corporate enforcement policies, including revisions to the Criminal Division’s standards for the selection and use of monitors . While the new guidance on monitors affirmed that “monitors can be an effective resource to ensure that corporate offenders comply with the terms of a corporate criminal resolution,” the guidance cautioned how “monitors can also impose substantial expense and interfere with lawful business operations.” According to the guidance, moving forward, monitorships must be “narrowly tailor[ed]…to address the risk of recurrence of the underlying criminal conduct and to reduce unnecessary costs.” To that end, Criminal Division prosecutors are now instructed to consider certain factors when determining whether the imposition of a monitor is appropriate, including: (1) “the nature and seriousness of the conduct” and the risk of recurrence “that would significantly imp...