Venable partner Geoff Garinther was quoted in a January 1 InsideCounsel article discussing the recent indictment of Lauren Stevens, former vice president and associate general counsel at GlaxoSmithKline.
Garinther said, "There really shouldn't be a fine line between defending a client and obstruction of justice – it should be bright, not fine." He added, "This indictment blurs the line a little, so it will be important to see how the defense plays out and also exactly what happened."
With regard to the duty of in-house attorneys to disclose information to government investigators, Garinther said, "Any in-house counsel needs to verify facts that he or she is reporting to the government. That's always been important."
"But there's certainly a heightened level of scrutiny in this environment that I think inside and outside counsel will be feeling for some time. The danger is it chills people's willingness to be on the frontline when reporting to government."
Garinther said, "There really shouldn't be a fine line between defending a client and obstruction of justice – it should be bright, not fine." He added, "This indictment blurs the line a little, so it will be important to see how the defense plays out and also exactly what happened."
With regard to the duty of in-house attorneys to disclose information to government investigators, Garinther said, "Any in-house counsel needs to verify facts that he or she is reporting to the government. That's always been important."
"But there's certainly a heightened level of scrutiny in this environment that I think inside and outside counsel will be feeling for some time. The danger is it chills people's willingness to be on the frontline when reporting to government."