Releasing Internal Investigative Findings Not Necessary June 02, 2017 Uber Can 'Draw Line in the Sand' by Releasing Eric Holder's Investigation – Corporate Counsel Corporate Counsel interviewed Manatt’s Deborah Kelly, a partner in the firm’s employment and labor practice, for an article about Uber’s internal investigation into allegations of sexism and sexual harassment at the company. As the investigation nears its end, the ride-hailing business must now decide whether, and how much, to publicly release. Kelly, who has conducted corporate investigations for big companies, said she generally tells clients to keep investigative findings brief—at least the portion that will appear in writing. “It’s not something they have to share with the public because it’s none of their damn business,” Kelly said. “The norm is if you’re representing a company and you’re brought in to do an internal investigation, you’re brought in to get the facts and call balls and strikes. You’re just collecting information . . . in a prompt and thorough way that protects all the witnesses to the greatest extent possible and promises no retaliation. To pull all of that off, you want this to be as confidential as you can.” Uber’s case, Kelly explained, is atypical though, simply because the company is facing intense public scrutiny and should consider whether choosing secrecy over transparency will potentially damage its brand. Kelly thinks Uber was smart to hire a third party to investigate claims and to make the findings in some part public. Read the article here.
