Counsel Katherine J. Stoller (Litigation-New York) participated in Practising Law Institute’s program titled “Best Practices in Internal Investigations – The Legal Perspective for CFEs,” on April 16, 2021. Katherine discussed how legal considerations can inform investigative techniques and procedures for Certified Fraud Examiners, highlighting common legal pitfalls and liability issues that arise during internal investigations, as well as best practices to avoid these issues.  Additional topics included:

• Initial planning considerations, including document retention, scope of investigation and successful investigative work plans
• Techniques for organizing investigations, deploying resources, and reporting investigative findings, including recommended practices for avoiding conflicts of interest
• The scope and function of the attorney-client privilege and attorney work-product doctrine in investigations
• How CFEs and attorneys can leverage their respective skills and perspectives in conducting investigations
• Best practices in witness interview, including so-called Upjohn warning and how to avoid conflicts issues and other challenges to investigative integrity
• How interviews of current and former employees should be handled, including the complexities raised by whistleblower laws and policies
• Specific privacy issues with documents and witnesses from the European Union, and other data privacy considerations under U.S. law