Our high-stakes civil and criminal litigation experience means that the lawyers at Baker Botts are particularly suited to conduct internal investigations for corporations. According to Chambers USA 2008, which recognized Baker Botts as a leader in the field, our firm possesses "significant resources and an impressive depth of personnel."

Our corporate and trial lawyers represent management or special committees of the boards of publicly held companies in matters involving alleged corporate malfeasance, whistleblower claims, questionable foreign payments, conflicts of interest, government or shareholder challenges to board authority, contests for corporate control, director and officer indemnification and insurance, and other questions of director and officer fiduciary responsibilities and liabilities. Working with forensic experts, auditors and in-house corporate counsel, we conduct or oversee fact-finding, assess areas of vulnerability and advise clients on appropriate action. We also have considerable experience in advising clients on public disclosures, structuring investigations in accordance with various government voluntary disclosure programs, and developing remedial plans and preventive corporate compliance programs. 

Our internal investigation practice draws on years of experience representing public companies and their directors in SEC, NASD and criminal investigations. Since the Sarbanes-Oxley Act took effect, issues involving corporate governance policies, internal controls and misconduct by executives are often widely publicized. Inevitably, these types of matters threaten the reputation of the company and of the individuals involved. As a result, it is critical to work with a firm that understands both the governmental agencies and the interests of the corporation and its employees.

Criminal, Administrative and Congressional Investigations
We regularly advise companies and individuals in investigations initiated by government authorities and have represented many corporations and corporate officials, as well as attorneys, accountants and other individuals who are under investigation or may be witnesses in an investigation.

The firm has also represented public officials, including members of Congress, in investigations that have involved procurement fraud, tax fraud, health care fraud, violation of export controls, environmental violations, antitrust issues, perjury, false statements, securities fraud, security clearance violations, banking crimes, payments to foreign officials, commercial bribery, election and campaign finance fraud and money laundering.