Overview
Investigations require companies to make critical decisions that affect legal exposure, business operations, and reputation.
Epstein Becker Green guides clients through every phase of an investigation, whether triggered by government action, whistleblower claims, allegations of harassment and discrimination, retaliation complaints, claims of financial or ethical misconduct, or concerns regarding workplace violence or threats. We represent companies facing federal and state inquiries, health care and life sciences organizations responding to False Claims Act (FCA) investigations and government audits, employers navigating workplace conduct, and boards addressing sensitive internal matters.
We have a wide variety of attorneys with different types of investigative experience, including in employment and workforce matters; whistleblower and retaliation claims; child abuse and misconduct issues involving schools and youth-serving organizations; internal investigations arising from government inquiries/subpoenas; compliance and regulatory investigations; fraud and financial misconduct; reviews relating to allegations of research misconduct; corporate governance matters; and crisis-driven or special committee investigations. Our investigations team includes former Assistant U.S. Attorneys from multiple federal districts, a former U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) Criminal Division attorney who investigated and prosecuted some of the most complex financial crimes on Wall Street, and former state prosecutors. That experience shapes how we anticipate government priorities, interact with prosecutors and regulators, and position clients throughout an investigation.
Our Investigations Services
▶️ Employer-Side Workplace Investigations
When a complaint is filed internally, an employer’s response (including the quality and defensibility of any investigation it conducts) can have lasting consequences on its workforce, in litigation, EEO and other agency proceedings, and employment decisions. Our investigations team includes experienced employment litigators and counselors who have individually conducted hundreds of internal workplace investigations across industries, including financial services, health care, media, legal, nonprofit, and retail.
We investigate, or advise clients’ internal investigators on, allegations of:
- Discrimination, harassment, hostile work environment, and bullying, including sexual harassment and sexual assault
- Disability accommodations and FMLA retaliation
- Unequal pay
- Retaliation
- Wage and hour violations, internal control failures, and policy violations
- Other general compliance and policy violations, such as theft or alleged broken promises
For additional information, visit our Workplace Investigations page.
▶️ Government and Internal Investigations in White Collar Matters
Federal and state white-collar investigations can proceed through various stages—initial inquiry, subpoena or other government process for documents, witness interviews, and charging decisions. Our investigations team includes several former federal and state prosecutors with direct experience in how government investigations are run and how charging decisions are made.
We represent companies and individuals throughout federal and state investigations, drawing on our team’s experience to anticipate government priorities and navigate each stage of the investigative process. We also conduct attorney-directed internal investigations for boards of directors, special litigation and audit committees, and at the direction of general counsel.
Our work spans:
- Grand jury, administrative, and HIPAA subpoenas, DOJ Civil Investigative Demands (CIDs), and SEC formal investigations
- FCA investigations, including qui tam matters and matters involving criminal exposure
- Dodd-Frank and SOX whistleblower investigations
- Executive misconduct investigations and sensitive governance matters
To learn more, visit our White Collar Defense and Internal Investigations page.
▶️ Health Care and Life Sciences Investigations
Health care providers (including health care systems, physician practices, skilled nursing facilities, and substance abuse treatment providers), telehealth companies, durable medical equipment companies, pharmaceutical companies, Medicare Advantage plans, and life sciences organizations operate in a high-stakes regulatory environment. A compliance issue can quickly escalate into a government audit, an FCA investigation, or parallel civil and criminal proceedings.
We conduct privileged internal investigations before government involvement and represent clients responding to government audits and investigations involving the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services’ Office of Inspector General (HHS-OIG), the DOJ, and other enforcement agencies, as well as audits and requests for records from Unified Program Integrity Contractors (UPICs) and other government contractors. If an investigation progresses to an enforcement action, we help clients navigate that transition as well. Our team includes an attorney who began her career on the DOJ’s nationwide Medicare Fraud Strike Force and another who served in the Health Care and Government Fraud Unit of the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of New Jersey, providing firsthand insight into the investigative strategies and enforcement priorities of federal health care regulators.
Our experience includes:
- HHS-OIG and Medicaid Fraud Control Unit (MFCU) investigations and responses to government inquiries
- Self-initiated internal investigations related to FCA overpayments, Anti-Kickback Statute concerns, and HIPAA breaches
- Internal investigations and voluntary self-disclosures to HHS-OIG, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS), and the DOJ
- FCA investigations and qui tam matters involving health care and life sciences organizations
- Responding to government audits conducted by Medicare Administrative Contractors, UPICs, and Recovery Audit Contractors
- Research grant investigations, including allegations of fraud
For more details, visit our Health Care and Life Sciences Investigations and Enforcement page.
Intersecting Legal Domains
Investigations frequently cross more than one area of law. Workplace complaints can implicate securities disclosure obligations, health care compliance reporting requirements, and government whistleblower statutes. Health care matters may involve privileged internal investigations alongside parallel government audits or enforcement proceedings. Investigations involving executive conduct often raise employment law issues, including executive compensation and whistleblower retaliation.
Our investigations attorneys integrate their deep experience across health care, employment, securities, and criminal law. This combination of experience allows clients to work with a single, coordinated team that understands how these legal issues intersect and how decisions in one area can affect another.
Representative Investigations Experience
The matters below illustrate the range of our investigative work.
▶️ Employer-Side Workplace Investigations
- Executive Misconduct Investigation: Conducted an independent investigation on behalf of a technology company’s Board of Directors into an alleged inappropriate relationship and misuse of corporate funds by a C-suite executive, delivering a detailed written report of findings and recommendations for Board action.
- Disability Harassment and Retaliation: Led a workplace investigation for a prominent retail company involving allegations of disability harassment and retaliation, delivering actionable recommendations to enhance workplace policies and culture.
- Gender Harassment and Bullying: Managed a high-profile investigation for a fintech company addressing claims of gender harassment and bullying, resulting in improved workplace training and reporting mechanisms.
▶️ Government and Internal Investigations in White Collar Matters
- Franchisee Charitable Donation Misappropriation: Conducted an internal investigation for a large fitness and wellness franchisee into allegations that an employee had misappropriated charitable donations solicited from club members over several years. Through a cross-practice investigation involving our white-collar and employment attorneys, we determined how the funds had been mismanaged and subsequently worked with the client to remediate the problem and restore the confidence of its members and the nonprofit community.
- Board Whistleblower Investigation: Investigated whistleblower allegations made to the board of directors regarding compliance, governance, and financial management concerns related to potential federal criminal, civil, and regulatory violations, as well as the conduct of the executive director and other high-level individuals in leadership.
- Financial Services Fraud Investigation: Defended a highly regulated financial industry client in responding to multiple government-issued criminal and civil subpoenas from various federal and state law enforcement agencies, and conducted an internal investigation into the highest level of employees and board members relating to fraud against the client. An internal investigation and cooperation with government prosecution led to multiple former employees and affiliates of the client being sentenced to time in prison and owing substantial sums of restitution to the client.
▶️ Health Care and Life Sciences Investigations
- Clinical Diagnostic Laboratory Fraud and Abuse Investigation: Guided a clinical diagnostic laboratory through a complex federal fraud and abuse investigation involving hundreds of millions of dollars and covering multiple assays and numerous years. The investigation was ultimately settled on terms favorable to our client, including a negotiated corporate integrity agreement.
- Regional Health Care System HIPAA Compliance Investigation: Represented a regional health care system in a multiyear HHS Office for Civil Rights investigation into HIPAA compliance. The case was closed without a finding of liability, without any sanction, and without a requirement of remedial conduct.
- Skilled Nursing Facilities False Claims Act Investigation: Represented a chain of skilled nursing facilities in connection with a “worthless services” FCA investigation led by Main Justice, a U.S. Attorney’s Office, and a state Medicaid Fraud Control Unit. We resolved the matter favorably for the client, with the government bringing no claims against the client and imposing no penalties, fines, or administrative enforcement actions.
- Medicaid Managed Care Plan UPIC Audit: Advised a Medicaid managed care health plan in responding to a UPIC audit comprising more than 200 document requests across multiple audit areas. We directed the plan’s response under privilege, established a communication protocol for plan personnel and delegated entities, and coordinated rolling productions of narrative responses and supporting documents to the UPIC.
- Criminal Antitrust Investigation: Defended a hospital client in its response to a subpoena issued by the DOJ's Criminal Antitrust Division in conjunction with the New York State Inspector General’s Office, including conducting an extensive internal investigation involving multiple hospital campuses, technology vendors, and their executives, and assisting in overseeing a compliance review of the existing compliance program at the institution.
Recognition
Chambers USA: America’s Leading Lawyers for Business 2026: Ranked in Litigation: White Collar & Government Investigations in New Jersey and Tennessee.
No aspect of this advertisement has been approved by the Supreme Court of New Jersey. Learn more about the award selection criteria and ranking methodology.
Frequently Asked Questions
▶️ What is an Upjohn warning, and why does it matter to organizations conducting internal investigations?
An Upjohn warning (sometimes called a “corporate Miranda warning”) is a notice that outside counsel provides to an employee at the outset of an internal investigation interview, informing the employee that the attorney represents the company, not the employee, and that the company controls the attorney-client privilege and may disclose the contents of the interview to government investigators or regulators. The warning takes its name from Upjohn Co. v. United States, 449 U.S. 383 (1981). For boards and general counsel overseeing internal investigations, ensuring that Upjohn warnings are properly administered and contemporaneously documented is an important step in preserving the company’s privilege over investigation findings and maintaining the integrity of the investigation record.
▶️ What does it mean for an investigation to be “attorney-directed,” and how does privilege apply?
An attorney-directed investigation is one conducted under the supervision of outside counsel for the purpose of providing legal advice. When structured correctly, the findings, interview notes, and work product generated during the investigation may be protected by attorney-client privilege, meaning they are generally not subject to compelled disclosure in subsequent legal or regulatory proceedings. The applicability of privilege depends on how the investigation is structured from the outset (including who directs it and for what purpose), and privilege determinations are fact-specific. Organizations deciding whether to commission an internal investigation may wish to discuss these considerations with counsel before the investigation begins.
▶️ What is voluntary self-disclosure, and what frameworks govern it in government investigations?
Voluntary self-disclosure is the process by which an organization proactively reports potential legal violations to a government authority before the government identifies the conduct through its own investigative activities. The DOJ’s Corporate Enforcement and Voluntary Self-Disclosure Policy describes the factors the agency considers when an organization voluntarily discloses potential criminal conduct, cooperates with the government’s investigation, and takes timely remedial action. The HHS-OIG maintains a Self-Disclosure Protocol for health care providers, as does CMS for Stark Law violations. The SEC maintains its own cooperation framework for securities-related matters. The decision to self-disclose involves legal, factual, and strategic considerations specific to each organization’s circumstances.
▶️ What information should you have ready before consulting outside counsel about a government investigation?
Having the following available tends to make an initial consultation more productive: any government document received, such as a subpoena, audit notice, or CID; a description of the underlying complaint or conduct at issue; the names of individuals likely to have relevant knowledge; and any prior audit or compliance findings in the same area. If outside counsel has already been involved in any related matter, that context is also useful.
Our Team
Contacts
If you have received a government subpoena, a CID, or an audit notice, or a complaint has been filed that may require an internal investigation, contact our investigations team:
