LITIGATION TRENDS 2025 | 131 T O C E M P E S G A N T I I P C A P R O W C S P O R T C O N T A C T I N T A P P P A T C C L S E C Federal Criminal Enforcement Under the New Administration Over recent months, federal criminal and civil enforcement has experienced significant changes in policy, staffing, and priorities. Under the new administration, the Department of Justice has profoundly altered its policies and enforcement priorities. Notably, through a combination of presidential Executive Orders and directives from Attorney General Pam Bondi, the DOJ appears to be shifting its focus away from corporate enforcement and investigations of international corruption, and towards enforcement of criminal laws targeting illegal immigration, transnational organized crime, cartels and gangs, human trafficking and smuggling, and protecting law enforcement personnel. The DOJ’s policy shift is expected to further curtail federal criminal enforcement, and in particular corporate fraud prosecutions, which had been continually trending downward year after year. There have been developments on the civil regulatory front as well. While Paul Atkins was only recently confirmed to lead the Securities and Exchange Commission, and although Brian Quintenz’s nomination to lead the Commodity Futures Trading Commission has yet to be confirmed by the Senate, the acting heads, Mark Uyeda (SEC) and Caroline Pham (CFTC), had already taken actions that signal a shift from the policies and priorities of the prior administration. At the SEC, these actions include dismissals of several high-profile enforcement actions filed by the prior Commission led by Gary Gensler; the closure of several investigations; the disbanding of the Crypto Assets and Cyber Unit, which had led the Gensler Commission’s enforcement efforts against the crypto industry; and the creation of a new national unit that will focus on fraud-related actions and harm to retail investors. In addition, views expressed by Chairman Atkins and Acting Chairman Uyeda suggest a lighter approach to seeking large Daniel Stein Head New York daniel.stein@weil.com C White Collar Defense 130 | Weil, Gotshal & Manges LLP
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