Oakland associate Anna C. Mourlam was recently featured in the Indiana State Bar Association's publication, Res Gestae. Her article, "Moral Enforcement: The Futility of Corporate Compliance Programs," analyzes how internal programs designed to foster ethical conduct tend to have minimal (if any) impact on actual moral behavior.
For years, economists have argued that this failing is due to programs being poorly structured, perhaps cured by reforming the sentencing guidelines to make the existing composite liability regime a more efficient enforcement tool. Yet, this argument presupposes that corporations – and, by extent, people – make rational or judicious decisions. In her article, Mourlam demonstrates that that is simply not the case.
To read the article in full, please click here.
Mourlam is a member of the Environmental/Toxic Tort practice group. Prior to joining the firm, Mourlam served at the Santa Clara County District Attorney's Office as a post-bar law clerk and volunteer deputy district attorney. She handles a wide range of civil litigation matters.