Shortly before the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) published its September 9, 2015, policy memorandum, Individual Accountability for Corporate Wrongdoing (“the Yates memo”), an article published in a prior issue of the Mass Torts newsletter made the following observation:
Recent pronouncements by DOJ officials at the highest levels—and the outcomes they obtain—reveal that parallel criminal, civil, and regulatory/administrative proceedings will continue to trend upward. Pharmaceutical, medical device, and biotech companies, and the lawyers who handle lawsuits involving them, may be affected more than any other industry.
Adam J. Spicer, “Increasing Coordination among Federal Prosecutors, Regulators, and Civil Enforcers,” Mass Torts, Vol. 13, No. 4 (Summer 2015), at 13–14.
The article also noted that “[i]ncreased coordination is not limited to corporations. Indeed, the individuals employed by these corporations will continue to be affected as well.” Id. at 14.