Eric Carlson | Contributing Editor
Eric R. Carlson is a contributing editor of the FCPA Blog.
He’s a Shanghai-based partner at Covington & Burling LLP.
Eric advises clients operating in China and other jurisdictions in Asia on a range of anti-corruption laws, including the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA). He has deep experience leading highly sensitive anti-corruption/FCPA investigations in China and other jurisdictions in Asia, including investigations presenting complex legal, political, and reputational risks.
He also counsels clients on the corruption risks of proposed transactions, conducts anti-corruption due diligence as part of mergers, acquisitions, and joint ventures, assists companies in updating and strengthening their internal anti-corruption compliance programs and tailoring them to the unique features of Asian markets, and developing and presenting tailored compliance training in Chinese and English. He has advised scores of companies and organizations representing nearly every major industry.
He speaks Mandarin and Cantonese and has led hundreds of witness interviews in Chinese in 20 provinces in China, and conducted dozens of trainings in Chinese.
He advises clients on privacy and data security issues, particularly as they relate to China and other jurisdictions in Asia. He also counsels clients on U.S. export controls and economic sanctions applied by the U.S. Departments of Commerce, State, and Treasury, and related Chinese trade control regulations, including conducting internal investigations into potential violations of these laws.
More information about him can be found here.
Recent Posts
Eric Carlson: Expect more anti-corruption enforcement in China
China’s biggest government reorganization in a generation, coinciding with rapidly escalating U.S.-China trade tensions, will impact many aspects of doing business in China, including an uptick in anti-corruption enforcement.
Eric Carlson: In China investigations, messaging platforms can be a goldmine or a landmine
Anyone who has spent much time in China or dealt with investigations in China has probably heard of WeChat, a social media application. WeChat has over 900 million daily users, making it far and away the most ubiquitous social media platform in China.
Eric Carlson: Measuring President Xi’s ‘crushing tide’ against graft
Almost exactly five years ago, I wrote a post for the FCPA Blog analyzing the impact that China’s leadership transition to Xi Jinping would have on anti-corruption enforcement in China. This post assesses those predictions and makes new ones for the coming five years, in light of the recently concluded Party Congress.
Life Science Alert: China judicial interpretation criminalizes submission of false clinical trial information
A recent judicial interpretation issued by China’s top judicial and prosecutorial bodies now criminalizes submitting falsified nonclinical study or clinical study reports and related materials. This could affect life sciences companies and contract research organizations operating in China.
Carlson and Ma: Revised China commercial bribery rules would broaden offenses and raise penalties
Last week China released for public comment new draft amendments to the Anti-Unfair Competition Law (AUCL), which governs commercial bribery and other acts of unfair competition.
China FDA proposals could affect life science industry sales and promotional activities
Late last week, the China Food & Drug Administration released for public comment four draft policy circulars designed to speed approvals for innovative drugs and medical devices, permit conditional approvals for certain products where efficacy has been proven in clinical trials, further protect data exclusivity during clinical trials, allow more flexibility during clinical trials, and clarify IP rights.
Eric Carlson: China Releases Revised Draft Amendments to Law Governing Commercial Bribery
China recently released a revised draft of amendments to its law governing commercial bribery that would scale back some of the more far-reaching changes in a draft released last year while returning to a broader scope of commercial bribery.
Compliance Alert: China imposes ‘two invoice’ limit on pharma distribution
China announced a new policy this month that aims to reduce corruption and control the price of pharmaceuticals by effectively requiring there to be at most one distributor between the pharmaceutical manufacturer and the end hospital.
Eric Carlson: Take the headaches out of China investigations (Part 2)
Yesterday’s post on minimizing headaches during China investigations discussed company policies and mitigating risk under PRC privacy and state secrets laws.
Eric Carlson: Take the headaches out of China investigations (Part 1)
Any company with more than a small presence in China is likely to need to conduct an internal investigation there at some point.