Investigations

Local governments, businesses, nonprofits and educational institutions are under ever-increasing scrutiny for their activities from state and federal agencies or from media and social media. When something goes wrong or simply appears to go wrong, organizations can rely on Smith Anderson as their independent and trusted adviser. Our team of attorneys deploy tried-and-true investigative strategies to identify significant legal and reputational risks and then help organizations navigate them. 

Investigations require technical skill and knowledge of the law – equally important, they require sound judgment, independence and a commitment to investigate ethically and efficiently. Lawyers in our Investigations practice consistently deal with complex corporate issues such as financial mismanagement, regulatory non-compliance, false claims allegations and other corporate issues, as well as serious employment matters such as harassment, discrimination and other misconduct. Team members include attorneys with a wealth of diverse experience—a former federal prosecutor well-versed in investigations by the FBI, HHS-OIG and other federal government agencies; an attorney with deep experience counseling local governments on sensitive, media-intensive investigations; and long-time business attorneys who have handled comprehensive employment and financial investigations for corporate clients. Many of our attorneys serve on boards and other governing bodies, including as university trustees, giving them a unique perspective on institutional risks through the eyes of a client.

No matter what an investigation may yield, our attorneys have the judgment needed to achieve the most favorable outcome. Our firm includes lawyers conversant in many aspects of governmental regulations, including OHSA, Medicare and Medicaid regulations. We also have employment, regulatory and general corporate attorneys who are knowledgeable about best practices for internal policies and procedures and can help mitigate the risk of administrative and civil proceedings. If administrative and civil proceedings are unavoidable, our team includes experienced litigators who can manage those matters effectively and efficiently. In 2020, 2021 and 2022, Benchmark Litigation named our firm “North Carolina Firm of the Year” for Litigation.

Retained as special counsel by hospitals, assisted living facilities, nursing homes, and other health care providers, government entities, banks, manufacturers, defense contractors and employers in a variety of industries to conduct internal corporate investigations into allegations of:

• Discrimination and employee misconduct, including allegations of pattern and practice of sexual harassment and racial discrimination.
• Employee embezzlement.
• Kick-backs and favoritism in the award of vendor contracts.
• Procurement fraud in a government-contract bid by a former employee whistleblower, and assistance with self-reporting to the government.
• Wrongdoing against senior corporate officers and identification of root causes of potential management failures.
• False claims submitted to state and federal government entities.
• Stark Law and Anti-Kickback Statute allegations.
• Medical Board inquiries.
• Employee misconduct in home health agencies and in assisted living and skilled nursing facilities, and group homes.
• Elected official corruption and other misconduct.
• Asset diversion, falsification of records, failure to fulfill statutory duties by law enforcement officers, and other criminal misconduct by law enforcement officers.