Cooperation and the experience of a trusted attorney made the difference in Parker Poe’s successful representation of Texas-based surgical instrument maker ArthroCare Corp. The giant medical device manufacturer agreed to pay a $30 million fine, enter into a deferred prosecution agreement (DPA) and maintain an “enhanced” compliance program with self-reporting after the company found itself facing allegations of a $400 million securities fraud scheme.

…the DOJ credited the company’s cooperation in the $400 million fraud probe with the reduction in a fine, reduced by 48 percent from the low end of the guideline range,  “an extraordinary reduction”…

Experience Matters When Providing Excellent Value and Service
Parker Poe attorney Richard S. Glaser, Jr. leaned on his experience as a former First Assistant U.S. Attorney to help his client facing the federal investigation. The government alleged ArthroCare executives put out inflated quarterly economic forecasts to defraud investors. When the feds knocked on ArthroCare’s door, the company trusted Glaser to create and execute an action plan.

Cooperation Equals Success
After five and a half years of protracted litigation and investigations, involving multiple parties and nationally recognized law firms and lawyers, it all came together for ArthroCare. The value-added service in this case comes down to one word: cooperation. 

Following Glaser’s lead, the company cooperated fully with DOJ investigators and admitted to one count of conspiracy to commit securities fraud and wire fraud. Even with competing interests at stake, the attorneys involved also cooperated fully with each other and the investigators. More than once, the DOJ took note of the cooperation throughout the lengthy and highly scrutinized investigation.

The two-year DPA in this case is a year less than the usual three-year minimum. Additionally, the 48 percent reduction in a fine  from the low end of the guideline range, is something Glaser calls “an extraordinary reduction.”