What should I do if I receive a subpoena, a target letter, or a call from a federal agent?

Contact an attorney before you answer any questions, respond to the request, or produce any documents. Preserve every potentially relevant document and communication, including emails, text messages, and files, since destroying or altering records after a request arrives can create separate criminal exposure on its own. An attorney can help determine whether you are being treated as a witness, a subject, or a target, and can advise on how and whether to respond. Making a false statement to a federal investigator is itself a separate federal crime under 18 U.S.C. § 1001 , so it is important to never guess or speculate when answering a government agent’s questions.

Does the group represent individuals as well as companies, and how are conflicts handled?

Yes. The group represents executives, employees, and other individuals, as well as companies, boards, and committees. In some matters, the interests of a company and an individual within it diverge, for example when a company’s cooperation with the government includes providing evidence that may expose an executive or employee individually. Ward and Smith evaluates these conflicts at the outset of a matter and advises on separate counsel where the company’s and the individual’s interests cannot both be served by the same counsel.

White Collar Defense & Investigations NC

Q: If we receive an internal allegation of potentially criminal conduct, should we self-report?

That depends on the facts. Voluntary disclosure can reduce penalties and demonstrate good faith to a regulator, but it also starts a process that is hard to stop once it begins. Ward and Smith’s White Collar Defense and Investigations team assesses the risks and benefits of self-disclosure and cooperation beginning the moment an allegation arises, and continuing throughout the investigation.

A subpoena, a search warrant, or an internal report changes what a business needs from its lawyers overnight.

Ward and Smith’s White Collar Defense and Investigations Practice Group represents companies, boards, executives, and individuals in federal and state government investigations, enforcement actions, and criminal prosecutions, and conducts internal investigations for companies when allegations surface internally.

An investigation rarely stays in one lane. The same set of facts can draw a criminal referral, a civil lawsuit, and a regulatory inquiry at the same time, often from different agencies working on different timelines. A response built for only one of those tracks can damage a client’s position on the other two, which is why Ward and Smith evaluates every matter with each of these potential risks in mind.

Companies are often best positioned for a favorable outcome when they learn about potentially criminal allegations first, internally, before the government is involved. When that happens, companies can investigate the allegations internally and make informed self-disclosure decisions along the way – starting when the allegation arises and continuing as the facts develop – positioning them to potentially capture significant self-disclosure and cooperation credit if the facts warrant proactive engagement with the government. Ward and Smith helps clients investigate internal concerns and set up compliance infrastructure so that employees and third parties can safely report concerns directly to the company. When a regulator or enforcement authority becomes involved, Ward and Smith manages that relationship and advocates for a timely and cost-effective resolution.

What We Handle

We assist companies, not-for-profits, and individuals with issues such as:

Grand jury proceedings and federal criminal investigations, from the first contact with an agent through indictment
Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA) and cross-border anti-corruption investigations and enforcement defense
Investigations of financial fraud and accounting fraud, whether internal or before the DOJ, SEC, or other authority
Securities fraud and insider trading defense for executives and individuals
False Claims Act defense, including qui tam whistleblower suits and government-initiated claims under federal and North Carolina law
Compliance program design and implementation, including reporting hotlines, response protocols, and risk-based policies and training (e.g., anti-bribery and corruption (ABAC))
Subpoenas, search warrants, and civil investigative demands
Professional licensing investigations and state attorney general investigations
Regulatory agency inquiries across industries including healthcare, financial services, and government contracting
Government contracting fraud matters
Tax offense investigations and defense

Clients We Serve

Ward and Smith represents companies and the boards and audit committees overseeing them, beginning the moment a government inquiry or an internal allegation raises the possibility of enforcement exposure. The group also represents individual executives and employees who face exposure separate from their company’s, including those who have received a subpoena, a target letter, or a request for an interview. When a company’s interests and an individual’s interests start to diverge, as sometimes happens once an investigation is underway, that is often the point at which the individual needs a lawyer of their own rather than relying on the company’s.

Deciding Whether to Bring a Matter to the Government

Government investigations often begin somewhere other than a knock on the door. A whistleblower report, an audit finding, or an internal investigation can surface conduct that raises the question of whether to self-report to the government before the government finds it independently.

When white collar allegations surface internally, this group handled the investigation from the outset and advises the client along the way about the risks and potential benefits of self-disclosure, including:

Evaluating voluntary disclosure and cooperation credit
Assessing potential legal exposure and mitigation strategies
Advising on personnel actions and disciplinary measures, in concert with Ward and Smith’s Labor and Employment team
Managing shareholder and stakeholder communications
Coordinating with auditors and other external advisors

Representative Experience

Ward and Smith’s White Collar Defense and Investigations attorneys have handled the following representative matters, including before joining Ward and Smith:

Represented the audit committee of a global healthcare company in a DOJ and SEC investigation of alleged FCPA violations involving third-party distributor relationships and interactions with government officials across multiple foreign jurisdictions.
Represented a global pharmaceutical company in an internal investigation of alleged FCPA violations at an Eastern European business unit.
Represented a global media company in a DOJ and SEC investigation of alleged financial fraud and bribery at an Asian subsidiary.
Conducted an internal investigation of alleged accounting fraud at a global travel company on behalf of a Special Committee of the board.
Defended the Chief Financial Officer of a U.S. corporation in a DOJ and SEC investigation of alleged insider trading.
Conducted an internal investigation of allegations of channel-stuffing at a global, publicly traded medical supply company.
Represented a private equity fund in a DOJ and SEC investigation of alleged financial fraud against investors.
Conducted hundreds of internal investigations involving various allegations as in-house counsel.

Why Ward and Smith

Ward and Smith’s White Collar Defense and Investigations team includes an attorney with experience handling government-facing and internal investigations at a large, global law firm, as well as in-house as investigations counsel for a large organization. The team also includes a former federal prosecutor who is also the former Chief Legal Officer of the North Carolina Board of Nursing, bringing direct experience with professional licensing boards and regulatory enforcement. Ward and Smith’s Appellate team advises throughout investigations and handles the appeals that can follow a criminal conviction, an enforcement judgment, or a licensing board decision.