Shearman & Sterling partner Philip Urofsky, head of the firm's Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA) practice, was widely quoted in a recent Bloomberg Businessweek story titled, "Foreign Bribery Defendants May Fight More as Cases Falter." Urofsky's comments, tied to the release of the firm's semiannual update of its FCPA Digest, focused on current corruption probes and court cases.

Urofsky noted that the 2011 outcomes will make individual defendants in FCPA cases more confident in contesting charges, in particular because they may face long prison terms under the plea deals the Justice Department offers. “If a defendant is able to finance a significant defense, they can really put the government to the test,” he said. The article cited Shearman & Sterling data that showed that, of the 93 people charged over the past seven years, including 43 in 2009 alone, 41 pleaded guilty and six were convicted at trial. Four defendants are fugitives, one was exonerated and three had their cases dismissed. Of the remainder, 38 either have a trial date scheduled or are awaiting one. The 31 defendants who’ve been sentenced got an average of 2 years and 2 months in prison.

Urofsky noted that the multimillion-dollar settlements the Justice Department reached with public companies has led to more resources, including prosecutors and FBI agents, getting assigned to FCPA cases, as well as more investigations of smaller, closely held companies and individuals and an uptick in FCPA trials the past two years. “Corporations will look at it as part of business management and settle as long as the costs are reasonable and don’t break the bank,” Urofsky said. “An individual can go to jail—they have a lot more tangible skin in the game.”