International Government Enforcement Defense & Investigations

Foley has been a leader in the international investigations, enforcement defense, and compliance space for more than 25 years, focusing on this area of law long before it became the topic of great import that it is today. This long tenure has generated deep knowledge and experience. In addition to decades of client work, our partners include former DOJ/SEC-appointed compliance monitors, a U.S. Attorney and multiple Assistant U.S. Attorneys, and other former DOJ, SEC, and Treasury prosecutors and enforcement lawyers. In the event of an enforcement action, our attorneys bring exceptional, long-practiced talent to bear on the response, providing business-driven solutions that balance risk and reward, and cost and benefit.

Like other top-tier firms with dedicated anticorruption, international trade, and national security practices, Foley offers industry-leading experience and world-class capabilities to handle the largest and most complex matters faced by individuals or companies with urgent, multidimensional, and multijurisdictional needs. Our international team features a formidable and diverse group of skilled legal professionals who manage government enforcement actions and internal investigations effectively and efficiently, and who design compliance programs that make sense, are implementable in the real world, and that are tailored to the company’s risk profile.

Our international team is not interested in dictating answers, employing formulaic tactics, or endlessly expanding the scope of our investigations to get ahead of anything the government conceivably might do. We don’t overstaff our teams, assign lesser-experienced attorneys to perform key work, recommend unnecessary steps, or expect our clients to accept our advice without question. Rather, our legal representation is practical, taking calculated steps we and the client agree is proportionate to the situation.

Foley is proud of its extensive history representing manufacturers, and Manufacturing remains a key focus area for our firm and this practice. We have prioritized and are particularly knowledgeable in the Energy, Health Care, and Technology sectors as well, and we fully understand the industry-specific needs and concerns that arise in each of these sectors. We also recognize that in certain circumstances, corporate executives and other individuals under adverse government scrutiny require their own representation, and we are experienced in providing these as well.

International Counseling, Enforcement & Compliance Services

Foley’s International Government Enforcement Defense & Investigations practice offers one-stop shopping for our clients. We offer experience and expertise in the full range of services required by companies that operate in, sell to, or source from overseas locations, including:

Our reach is global. We have handled matters arising out of more than 80 countries around the world, with particularly rich experience in India, China, and throughout Latin America. In and beyond our Mexico City office, we have a team of experienced enforcement authorities who are fluent in Spanish and can conduct native language investigations in Spanish. Extending our reach even further, we are a founding member of the Concilium Compliance, Investigations, and Defense Network, an international association of trusted lawyers and law firms that specialize in business crimes defense, internal investigations, and compliance. More than just “boots on the ground,” the Concilium Network provides hard-to-find, specialized local expertise to help our clients solve cross-border compliance, investigations, and defense challenges around the world. Our depth of experience assures our clients of informed, reliable representation in all the jurisdictions where they operate.

In-house counsel and corporate professionals alike appreciate our client-friendly, businesslike approach to the law and their needs, as well as our value-based approach. We function as an extension of in-house counsel and interact with every client team member on a level that helps them succeed.

International Trade Counseling

Our International Trade & National Security team also regularly counsels clients that source, purchase, or operate abroad regarding managing the risk of international trade and investments, including with regard to customs, supply chain, international trade litigation, or ITC Section 337 unfair trade matters.

Practical Advice, Practical Answers

Our international trade attorneys are thought leaders who have published dozens of leading legal treatises and white papers. They publish a biweekly series of articles that include a round-up of recent international trade, enforcement and compliance developments as well as an ongoing series of advisories regarding “What Every Multinational Company Should Know About”  key international trade and regulatory topics of concern to every company that operates, imports from, or sells abroad.