When settling a corporate matter they have investigated, federal or state regulators or the court entering the order, may appoint an independent monitor to ensure the corporate entity is complying with the terms of the settlement or resolution agreement. In such circumstances, it is important that the chosen monitor have proven integrity, unimpeachable judgment, the respect of their colleagues and the bar, impeccable legal skills, and experience relevant to both the misconduct in question and ideally, the particular industry involved. Monitorships can be highly specialized and require repeated, diligent testing over time of the monitored company’s compliance with its agreement with the authorities.
Shook attorneys understand that monitors must scrupulously remain independent. Having both litigated vigorously against, and when called for cooperated with, the most prominent state and federal regulators, Shook attorneys’ independence is clear. At the same time, monitors must have a deep understanding of the monitored entity’s business and the need for practical, sustainable reforms. In this tradition, monitors need also to have the ability to recognize that their role is to ensure compliance—not micromanage companies or their boards or executives. And, when a company has reached the point of no longer needing monitoring, a good, strong monitor must be able to recognize that achievement and have the character to recommend the early closure of the monitorship.
With a deep bench of former federal and state prosecutors, representatives of federal agencies, and leaders of the U.S. Judge Advocate General’s Corps, Shook has attorneys have been active in the monitorship space for decades. They have the necessary experience and qualifications to serve as monitors in a variety of industries and areas of misconduct. These attorneys have served as legal counsel to monitors and also regularly advised clients anticipating or dealing with the imposition of a monitor. They have written about the monitorship process, held senior leadership positions in monitorship organizations, helped write the code of conduct for outside monitors, and taught legal courses addressing the monitorship experience.