Ethical Issues Associated with Internal Investigations

In an era of heightened government and regulatory scrutiny for employers across a wide range of laws and statutes, the importance for companies to perform their own thorough and effective internal investigations into allegations of wrongdoing has never been more apparent. In-house attorneys and outside law firms are frequently called upon to perform such investigations. When doing so, all attorneys must be mindful of the ethical duties and responsibilities that can be implicated in connection with such investigations. The failure to pay careful attention to these ethical obligations can have serious negative ramifications for both the corporate client and possibly the individual attorney as well.

Join John F. Fullerton III, a member of the firm at Epstein Becker & Green, P.C., who regularly conducts internal investigations and advises financial institutions and other corporate employers on employment and whistleblower related matters, as he discusses the important ethical considerations associated with internal corporate investigations.

Learning Objectives:

I.    Identify the distinctions in the roles of fact investigator and legal advisor

II.   Explore the rules of establishing and maintaining attorney client privilege and establishing and maintaining attorney work product protection

III.  Grasp the nature and scope of various waivers of privilege, including:

• General vs. Partial Waiver
• Selective Waiver
• Extrajudicial Waiver

IV.  Recognize the rules governing confidentiality of internal investigations

V.   Understand the limitations on the use of Social Media in connection with internal investigations