(July 27, 2011, Financier Worldwide)
Weil, Gotshal & Manges partner Ellen Odoner was quoted by reporter Matt Atkins in his cover story
“New US Whistleblower Provisions” appearing in August’s
Financier Worldwide magazine. The new provisions were adopted by the Securities and Exchange Commission as required under the Dodd-Frank Act. Odoner addressed the need for corporations to renew their focus on internal compliance programs “to ensure that they convey the importance directors and top management place on employees coming forward with concerns.” Looking ahead, Odoner suggested that the new bounty program and anti-retaliation provisions will not “require a sea-change for companies,” but it will nevertheless make “good sense for companies to redouble their own compliance efforts in areas of particular sensitivity for them, such as, for many global companies, FCPA.”
Odoner heads the firm’s Public Company Advisory Group, which advises US public companies and US-listed foreign private issuers on corporate governance, SEC disclosure, financial restatements and internal control matters. She is one of the leaders of the firm’s high-stakes corporate counseling team and also specializes in M&A and securities transactions, particularly those with cross-border elements.