Cross-Border Investigations: A Look Back on 2017, and Ahead to 2018

2017 was a year of transition and change in the world of cross-border investigations.

In the U.S., the first year of the Trump administration brought questions about enforcement priorities and approach.  In the U.K., the debate continued over whether lawyers’ work in furtherance of internal investigations enjoys privilege protection.  Globally, new enforcement authorities stepped forward, while companies worked to incorporate new guidance and enforcement priorities into their corporate compliance programs.

Looking back, we focus on five key themes from 2017:

a)     corporate resolutions;
b)     developments in legal privilege;
c)     corporate responsibility;
d)     cross-border inter-agency cooperation; and
e)     cross-border data transfers.

We also look to the future to address what we consider to be some of the key characteristics of the current cross-border investigations landscape that may influence significant developments in this field in 2018.