In this article, authors Daniel Patrick Wendt* and FeiFei Ren discussed the implications of the Department of Justice's (DOJ) declination to prosecute Lifecore Biomedical, Inc. (Lifecore) considering the DOJ's new safe harbor policy for self-disclosure of misconduct in mergers and acquisitions. "Although Lifecore's declination resulted from a disclosure and negotiations that predated the safe harbor policy, the declination still provides helpful guidance on DOJ's view of timely self-disclosures and remediation in the M&A context," the authors write, adding, "[u]ntil the DOJ issues more declinations under the new safe harbor policy, the Lifecore declination is the best available resource for understanding DOJ expectations for M&A due diligence and any related voluntary self-disclosures."

*Former Miller & Chevalier attorney