1-Hour Program

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Overview

Enforcement of the Foreign Agents Registration Act (FARA) by the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) is more aggressive today than at any point during the 82-year history of the statute, as exemplified by recent high-profile criminal prosecutions and regulatory enforcement actions.  Many lawyers mistakenly assume that FARA applies only to companies and individuals engaged in lobbying or public relations activities in the United States, and that the statute pertains only to representing the interests of foreign governments.  In fact, FARA applies to a broad range of activities in the United States, and it can require registration for representing the interests of foreign companies, other non-governmental entities, and individuals, as well as the interests of foreign governments.  Lawyers and law firms can also be required to register if engaged in certain activities outside the narrow scope of an exemption for legal services.

David H. Laufman oversaw the enforcement of FARA at DOJ from late 2014 to early 2018 as Chief of DOJ’s Counterintelligence and Export Control Section, and now leads the FARA practice at Wiggin and Dana LLP.  He will address:

  • The activities in the United States that trigger the requirement to register under FARA
  • What types of information FARA registrants must disclose to the government
  • Exemptions from registration and how DOJ construes them
  • How lawyers and law firms can trigger FARA  
  • How DOJ enforces FARA, and the penalties for FARA violations
  • Best practices for compliance programs to identify when registration is required and avoid inadvertently triggering the statute

 

Program Level:  Update 

Intended Audience:  Intended Audience: Law firm attorneys, in-house counsel, compliance professionals, accounting professionals and policy experts inside or outside of government 

Prerequisites:  None 

Advanced Preparation:  None

 

Credit Details