LAW 646 - The Foreign Corrupt Practices Act

The course will cover not only a history of the adoption of the statute, and the reasons therefor, but also the development of caselaw and amendments since its initial passage almost sixty years ago. We will discuss both the civil jurisdiction exercised by the Securities & Exchange Commission (“SEC”) and the criminal jurisdiction exercised by the Department of Justice (“DOJ”). If there is time, we will also discuss the recently-enacted Foreign Extortion Prevention Act (“FEPA”).
The students would benefit from learning about these laws no matter what practice area they choose. The FCPA is such a pervasive law and is so aggressively enforced by both DOJ and SEC, that any lawyer needs to be aware of its potential impact on his or her clients. Students who choose to specialize in corporate law, M&A, antitrust, and litigation, especially criminal defense, will benefit the most, but given the broad scope and reach of these laws, virtually any practitioner will have a client experience where basic knowledge of the FCPA will be an asset. Students will be assessed on a pass/fail basis