U.S. Solicitor General to speak at ABA white collar crime conference

U.S. Solicitor General Noel J. Francisco and Georgia Attorney General Christopher M. Carr will be featured speakers on Friday, Sept. 5, at the American Bar Association Criminal Justice Section’s 2019 Southeastern White Collar Crime Institute to be held Sept 4-6 in Braselton, Ga.

Carr will give the opening key­note address on Friday, speaking on the “State of Enforcement Agenda.”

Francisco, in what is billed as a “Fireside Chat,” will provide a review of Supreme Court and significant appellate court decisions during his talk on Friday. He’ll also discuss his background, the inner workings of the solicitor general’s office, issues that are percolating within his office and across the country and what is on the horizon – with a special emphasis on white collar crime.

The institute provides programs featuring practitioners from around the country covering topics such as e-discovery, international criminal enforcement, health care fraud and sentencing issues.

Program highlights include:

• “Electronic Discovery and the Evolution of Rule 16 in the Digital Era” — This panel will discuss recent developments in the law of criminal discovery, especially as it relates to electronic discovery. The panel will also cover how counsel can get what they need to prosecute or defend a case and give practical advice on how to deal with large quantities of electronic evidence. In addition, privacy concerns raised by the production of electronic discovery and how technology has changed and is likely to continue to change the practice of criminal law will be discussed.

• “Through the Looking Glass: A Glimpse at International Criminal Enforcement In 2019” — This panel of experts will examine three areas of international criminal enforcement including extraterritorial jurisdiction and extradition treaties, export control and sanctions and the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act.

• “A View from the Federal Judicial Bench: Examining Sentencing Issues” — From bench trials to jury trials, white collar criminal prosecutions offer many challenges and opportunities. This judges panel will provide a view from the bench on the most effective arguments, and ones to avoid. Speakers are Judge Jean Paul Boulee, U.S. District Court, Northern District of Georgia; Senior Judge W. Louis Sands, U.S. District Court, Middle District of Georgia; and Chief Judge Lisa Godbey Wood, U.S. District Court, Southern District of Georgia.

• “White Collar Enforcement Under New Department of Justice Leadership: What Areas Should Practitioners Look For?” — This roundtable discussion of U.S. attorneys will address how Department of Justice white collar enforcement priorities have changed under Attorney General William P. Barr and what these changes mean for corporate, health care and anti-fraud enforcement. Panelists will discuss the latest trends as well as initiatives the DOJ and the U.S. attorney’s offices are executing, including cybersecurity, corporate fraud, public corruption and other white collar criminal investigations. Panelists are: Byung J. Pak, U.S. attorney, Northern District of Georgia; Bobby L. Christine, U.S. attorney, Southern District of Georgia; Michael V. Herskowitz, chief, Cyber & Intellectual Property Crime Section, U.S. Attorney’s Office, Northern District of Georgia; Nathan Kitchens, deputy chief of Cyber and Intellectual Property Crime Section, U.S. Attorney’s Office, Northern District of Georgia; Stephen H. McClain, chief, Complex Fraud Section, U.S. Attorney’s Office, Northern District of Georgia; Charles E. Peeler, U.S. Attorney, Middle District of Georgia; and Jay E. Town, U.S. Attorney, Northern District of Alabama.

• “Health Care Fraud Enforcement ­– The Final Frontier” — This panel, including J. Thomas Clarkson with the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of Georgia, will examine the state of health care fraud investigations and prosecutions over the past year. Panelists will discuss the implications of recent DOJ policy — including the May 2019 guidance regarding cooperation credit in Financial Conduct Authority, the implementation of the 2018 Granston Memo and the related dispute about the proper standard for DOJ dismissal. Key recent court opinions in healthcare fraud, as well as the government enforcement approach to the opioid epidemic will also be discussed.