By Adam Turteltaub

Richard Powers, the Acting Deputy Assistant Attorney General for Criminal Enforcement in the US Department of Justice’s Antitrust Division was good enough to sit down for a podcast and share where the DOJ’s priorities are in this significant risk area.

His key message:  The DOJ is focused on antitrust compliance and companies should be, too.

At the same time, compliance has never been more important.  As he explains, the Antitrust Division is looking more closely at compliance efforts and is willing to reward companies at sentencing if they have made extraordinary efforts to change their corporate culture after an antitrust violation occurs.  Also, the Antitrust Division is considering ways it could encourage companies to have more robust antitrust compliance all the time, not just after an incident.

So what makes for a good compliance program?  From his vantage point

* It is embedded in the company, not just good on paper

* The right incentives are in place to make sure that the employees understand the rules and are abiding by them

* Senior management is involved, as well as the rest of management

Listen in to gain further insights into the Antitrust Division’s expectations.