Dawn Raid Preparation and Response Checklist

In this Lexis Practice Advisor® Practice Note, Jeffrey Amato explains what to expect from a U.S. authority dawn raid in connection with a federal antitrust investigation and outlines a protocol companies should have in place and implement in the event of a dawn raid.

The Antitrust Division of the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) has generally relied on civil processes, including civil investigatory demands and subpoenas, seeking evidence of collusive activity among competitors. With increasing frequency, however, the DOJ’s Antitrust Division has also used search warrants to investigate criminal antitrust violations. In many instances, these search warrants are executed through “dawn raids,” or on-site searches of corporate offices without warning.

A dawn raid poses a significant risk to the subject company. Even if the company is ultimately determined to be innocent of any antitrust violation, it may still face significant problems due to issues with compliance or irregularities occurring during the raid. It is important that a company have a dawn raid response procedure in place to ensure that the company fulfills its legal obligations while safeguarding its own legal rights. An effective response procedure will also minimize the stress to the company’s employees and blunt a raid’s impact on the company’s business operations and reputation.

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