Lisa Osofsky’s appointment as SFO director (Gazette, 4 June) is to be welcomed. Coming as she does from a different background to her predecessor, we should expect some changes in approach.
US prosecutors tend to be more open about their policies and how they plan to implement them, for example via the recently confirmed FCPA Enforcement Policy. This gives defendants more certainty – and incentives to cooperate – than they typically experience from the SFO. We may also see a move towards more US-style investigation tactics, such as offering immunity to cooperating witnesses. There are, of course, statutory constraints that mean that some of the methods that Ms Osofsky would have been familiar with from her time at the FBI cannot be used in the UK, but it is possible that she may wish to advance the case for changes in those laws.
Kelly Hagedorn, Partner, Jenner & Block, London EC2
Matt Cowen
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