On May 9, 2025, President Trump issued Executive Order No. 14294, "Fighting Overcriminalization in Federal Regulations" (EO), which reinforces the administration's deregulatory agenda. While sweeping in scope, the EO has immediate and concrete implications for companies facing potential criminal exposure under federal environmental laws. The practical result may be fewer but more severe environmental prosecutions, centered on egregious, intentional misconduct. Focusing on Intent The EO declares that "criminal enforcement of criminal regulatory violations is disfavored." [...]

On May 12, 2025, DOJ Criminal Division Head Matthew R. Galeotti issued a "multi-faceted" white collar enforcement plan (Memorandum) in which he noted that unchecked and overbroad white-collar enforcement burdens U.S. corporate interests. Galeotti cautioned that prosecutors must avoid overreach that "punishes risk-taking and hinders innovation," and called for an appropriate balance between prosecuting criminal wrongdoing and minimizing burdens on American enterprise. The Memorandum identified 10 high-impact areas for the Criminal Division's focus.1 In its [...]

Last week, the Head of the U.S. Department of Justice's (DOJ) Criminal Division, Matthew R. Galeotti, instructed DOJ personnel to continue the first Trump administration's anti-"piling on" policy. Galeotti's memorandum, titled "Guidance on Coordinating Corporate Resolution Penalties in Parallel Criminal, Civil, Regulatory, and Administrative Proceedings," in large part echoes the policy on corporate enforcement coordination that was established in 2018, but with a significant caveat. Corporations often are subject to parallel enforcement by multiple federal agencies, [...]