Shearman & Sterling partners Danforth Newcomb (New York-Litigation) and Philip Urofsky (Washington, DC-Litigation) were quoted on the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act in a November 4, 2009 Corporate Counsel article titled “Companies Shelling Out to Avoid That One Nasty Prosecution.”

According to the article, which cited the firm's "Recent Trends and Patterns in FCPA Enforcement" report, part of Shearman & Sterling's FCPA Digest, "With the number of foreign bribery cases soaring, corporations (and their general counsel) in mergers or acquisitions are spending more time and legal resources making sure they don't acquire a nasty prosecution along with the new business."

This increased risk of enforcement "has directly impacted how companies approach M&A due diligence and other business transactions," said Newcomb, the New York-based founder of Shearman & Sterling's FCPA practice and currently of counsel with the firm.

The article also notes that U.S. authorities are increasingly cooperating with a growing number of other countries on enforcement. "What is particularly significant is that, rather than going it alone, prosecutors around the world are partnering and sharing resources...in the pursuit of investigations, gathering of evidence and apprehension of charged individuals," Urofsky said.