Rand White Paper Highly Critical Of KBR Mandamus Appeal
A formal “White Paper” presented on May 28, 2014, to the highly prestigious Rand Center for Corporate Ethics and Governance, blasted the positions taken by KBR and the U.S. Chamber of Commerce in the False Claims Act case filed by whistleblower Harry Barko. The paper provides extensive policy and legal support demonstrating that the arguments raised by KBR and the Chamber, in their attempt to keep corporate compliance records confidential, are without merit and harmful to important public policies.
This paper should be carefully studied. It sets forth in detail why the recent decision of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit in the case of In Re KBR, was wrongfully decided and should not be followed by other courts.
The D.C. Circuit’s decision in KBR undermines years of effort to ensure that internal corporate compliance programs are effective and independent. The decision classifies most corporate compliance programs, as components of a company’s law department, whose primary function is to protect the company from liability, not conduct independent reviews of potential misconduct. The court shielded documents created as part of internal corporate compliance department investigation from discovery, even though it was conceded that the documents contained evidence of fraud and violations of federal contracting law.
The whistleblower in the case, Mr. Barko, has asked the full appeals court to reconsider the decision issued by a three judge panel of the Court.
Links:
Redefining The Relationship Of The General Counsel And Chief Compliance Officer
