Compliance hotlines are under attack from people who are posting phony and often malicious attacks.
See a summary of the developments here as posted to the SCCE blog by Ted Banks at https://complianceandethics.org/the-scammer-threat-to-your-hotline/.
Have you reviewed your compliance program in light of the COVID-19 pandemic? An outline of compliance issues you should consider is available.
A 38-page outline of the compliance issues raised by the COVID-19 pandemic and the enhanced awareness of racial bias is available. To receive a copy, please click here.
Ted Banks featured in SCCE podcast
Ted Banks was interviewed by Adam Turteltaub of the Society of Corporate Compliance & Ethics on the importance of conducting compliance due diligence before any business acquisition. The podcast can be found here.
Ted Banks speaks on compliance automation.
At the 2017 Compliance and Ethics Institute of the Society of Corporate Compliance & Ethics, Ted Banks discussed the role of automation in helping offset compliance staffing shortfalls. Here is an excerpt from his talk:
Ted Banks Speaks at Department of Justice Program on Criminal Antitrust Compliance
Ted Banks was a panelist at the Public Roundtable Discussion on Criminal Antitrust Compliance held at the United States Department of Justice in Washington, D.C., on April 9, 2018. Banks, reflecting his more than 40 years of experience with antitrust compliance, emphasized the need for the Antitrust Division of the Department of Justice to take a more active role in helping people avoid antitrust violations, rather than just prosecuting violators. He encouraged the Antitrust Division to follow the principles of the United States Sentencing Guidelines with regard to organizational compliance programs, as is done in every other Division of the Department of Justice. He also recommended that the Antitrust Division include a robust compliance program as part of the settlement of any antitrust case, or when the Division would grant amnesty to a company.
If you have any questions about compliance programs, please contact Ted at compliancelaw@comcast.netor (847) 431-8207.
Ted Banks spoke on a panel at the annual meeting of the International Competition Network (ICN), held in Ottawa, Canada on October 7, 2017. The ICN is composed of 104 national competition law (antitrust) enforcement agencies. It advocates the adoption of superior standards and procedures in competition policy around the world, formulates proposals for procedural and substantive convergence, and seeks to facilitate effective international cooperation to the benefit of member agencies, consumers and economies worldwide. Ted’s panel addressed how small companies can implement effective antitrust compliance programs. For a copy of an outline covering compliance by small businesses, contact Ted at compliancelaw@comcast.net.
Ted Banks appeared on a panel at the Northwestern Law School Corporate Counsel Institute on September 29. The theme of the panel was “Tuning Up Your Compliance Program.” A copy of Ted’s outline for the program, with suggestions as to how companies can follow best practices to modernize their compliance programs, is available by contacting compliancelaw@comcast.net.
On September 14, Ted Banks chaired a panel at the American Bar Association Business Law Section Annual Meeting, Restoring Trust in Your Hotline: Protecting Whistleblowers from Retaliation after Wells Fargo. The panel discussed both the legal implications of hotlines and the ethical obligations of attorneys to ensure that there is an effective compliance program in place. For a copy of Ted’s outline from the program, please contact compliancelaw@comcast.net.
Ted Banks Examines the Implications of Internet of Things Products in “Compliance Week” Article
Ted Banks was quoted in an article from Compliance Week about the ‘Internet of Things’: products and services that allow devices to communicate with each other and can include anything ranging from computer routers to baby monitors (also known as “IOT”). In the article, Mr. Banks noted that every time a company powers some device with an Internet connection, it becomes a compliance issue. For instance, if a product crashes because of Internet trouble, that could constitute a breach of contract. “So part of the risk assessment by management should be examining what’s in the contract. Are you protecting yourself from the legal implications of a failure like this?”
The upcoming Practising Law Institute (PLI) conference on Compliance and Ethics, chaired by Mr. Banks, the session on the ethics of compliance will include a discussion of IOT as part of the discussion of technology and compliance. “What we’ll be doing at the PLI program is trying to go through every type of technology and say, ‘here are the compliance implications of that technology,’ ” says Banks. “If you’re using some sort of app that relies on what we lump together as Big Data, have you considered all the implications and what might those be as far as compliance risks are concerned?”
PLI Corporate Compliance & Ethics Institute 2017
The Practising Law Institute will present the Chicago edition of its Corporate Compliance and Ethics Institute at the University of Chicago Gleacher center May 1 and 2. Program Chair Ted Banks noted that the seminar has been expanded to two full days this year, to cover additional issues facing compliance officers and lawyers involved in compliance. For more information, contact Ted or go to http://www.pli.edu/Content/Seminar/Corporate_Compliance_and_Ethics_Institute/_/N-4kZ1z10p50?fromsearch=false&ID=288743
Ted Banks Discusses Compliance Law Trends on “Compliance Beat” Podcast
Ted Banks was a guest on a recent “Compliance Beat” Podcast where he discussed a number of issues related to compliance.
Mr. Banks, the former Chief Counsel for Global Compliance Policy at Kraft Foods, discussed his early years giving compliance presentations to employees – and the need to remember that a compliance presentation is not the same as writing a court brief.. “The most important lesson I learned the hard way is that, whatever you’re doing, you have to always do it from the point of view of your target audience,” he said.
As adjunct professor of law at Loyola University, he’s challenged his law students to do the same. He asks them to take a step back from the law and instead craft policies that will work in the real world. “If I give them an assignment to write a policy about business gifts and entertainment, they come up with lots of language that they think should be in the policy – but is sort of confusing,” said Banks. “I ask them, ‘At the end of the day, if you’re an employee and someone handed this (policy) to you, would you know what to do?’”
When asked about compliance trends of the future, Mr. Banks predicted that technology advances from new social media platforms to autonomous cars will introduce a whole new area of compliance risk and compliance problems. “As you roll out this new technology, you have to consider not just the coolness of it but all the things that may happen based on the way people behave and interact with this technology,” he said.
Three Questions with Ted Banks is featured after the first 15 minutes of the show. Listen to the podcast.
Ted Banks was recently quoted in a Law360 article, “How Buffett’s Compliance Guide May Let GCs Down.” Banks noted that the recently released Commonsense Corporate Governance Principles made sense, but should have gone further. “I was struck by the absence of any reference to providing any sort of compliance oversight or recognizing the importance of following the law,” Banks said. He would have liked to see a recognition that it’s the director’s job to guide the corporation in an ethical way and to keep it in compliance with the law. For a copy of the complete article, contact compliancelaw@comcast.net
Ted Banks is featured twice as an author in the June issue of Business Law Today, published by the American Bar Association Section of Business Law, as part of its mini-theme: The Many Faces of Compliance. His article “Five Things to Think About Before You Give That Compliance Presentation,” discusses the importance of doing live compliance presentations well – and the damage that can be done as a result of poor preparation. He was co-author with James Lord on the article, “Compliance Programs, Individual Liability, and the Yates Memo: Has Anything Changed?” This article discusses the implications for compliance programs of the memorandum issued by Deputy Attorney General Sally Yates that called on federal prosecutors to focus on individual prosecutions, and not allow culpable individuals to hid behind a company conviction or plea agreement. Copies of the articles are available by contacting compliancelaw@comcast.net.
Ted Banks published an article in the newsletter of the Compliance Committee of the American Bar Association Section of Business Law, “5 Things to Think About Before You Give that Compliance Presentation.”
-Ted Banks has published two articles related to compliance.
In Compliance: The New International Law, published in the inaugural issue of Compliance Elliance Journal, Banks discusses how various aspects of corporate compliance programs have become accepted norms of behavior in international law.
In Why You Should Love Your Antitrust Compliance Monitor, published in Competition Policy International Antitrust Chronicle, he discusses the law surrounding the use of compliance Monitors in the United States, and how a compliance monitor can benefit an organization beyond the terms of the judgment or agreement that established the monitorship.
Both articles are available by sending an email to compliancelaw@comcast.net
-The work done by Ted Banks, who serves as a compliance monitor for the Federal Trade Commission, was recently lauded in the “Competition Matters” blog from the FTC. The newsletter mentions the challenges in ensuring that the compliance obligations of the Coca-Cola Co. with regard to confidential information are protected behind an internal firewall, with oversight by the monitor. The full text of the article can be found at https://www.ftc.gov/news-events/blogs/competition-matters/2015/07/monitors-expert-eyes-ears-commission-orders.
-In July 2014, Ted Banks was recognized by the National Law Journal as a Governanace, Risk & Compliance Trailblazer and Pioneer
Compliance concerns for 2015 and beyond, Part 1: Social media
Ted Banks, founder and partner at Scharf Banks Marmor, discusses the risks and opportunities presented by social media – Read more
Compliance concerns for 2015 and beyond, Part 2: BYOD and privacy
Ted Banks, founder and partner at Scharf Banks Marmor, discusses privacy concerns and the risks presented by bring-your-own-device policies – Read more
Compliance concerns for 2015 and beyond, Part 3: International risk
Ted Banks, founder and partner at Scharf Banks Marmor, discusses the risks that come with doing business overseas – Read more