When allegations of financial improprieties are brought to the attention of the board, why is it in the boards best interest to retain outside counsel totally separate from the companys regular counsel?
Ohnegian: Retention of independent counsel tends to defeat the inference that the counsel might have a financial interest in reaching a certain decision. In addition, the attorney who performs an internal investigation could end up being a witness in the subsequent litigation and ethically precluded from also acting as trial counsel. To enable the company to retain its regular counsel in some future litigation, it is in the client’s best interest to have a neutral third party conduct the investigation. Editor: How have whistleblower statutes impacted an employer’s investigation of employee misconduct? Ohnegian: Employers must take seriously the issues raised by their employees. They cannot simply sweep an employee’s concerns under the rug by removing the “problem” employee. An employee’s concerns should be investigated thoroughly with the investigation documented and the results communicated to the employee who raised the concern. Where appropriate, those who have committed acts of mis
