When an allegation of serious misconduct surfaces inside an organization — a whistleblower complaint, an audit irregularity, a harassment report, a subpoena — the organization’s response in the first days often matters more than the underlying conduct. A credible, privileged, well-run internal investigation can resolve the problem, satisfy regulators, and protect the institution.
A mishandled one can destroy privilege, compound liability, and turn an internal matter into a government enforcement action.
At Maverick Litigation, we conduct internal investigations for corporations, universities, municipalities, counties, school boards, and other public and private entities throughout West Virginia, Ohio, and Pennsylvania. As former federal prosecutors, we spent years evaluating internal investigations from the other side of the table. We know what the government considers credible, what it considers a whitewash, and how the quality of an investigation shapes charging and settlement decisions.
When Organizations Need an Internal Investigation
- Corporations and businesses — whistleblower and hotline complaints, financial and accounting irregularities, embezzlement, procurement and vendor fraud, kickbacks, harassment and discrimination allegations, and conduct that may require disclosure to regulators
- Universities and colleges — misuse of grant or research funds, financial improprieties, misconduct by administrators or faculty, athletics compliance issues, and allegations that draw the attention of accreditors or federal agencies
- Municipalities, counties, and public bodies — misuse of public funds, procurement and bidding irregularities, ethics complaints, misconduct by officials or employees, and matters likely to draw an auditor, a commission, or a prosecutor
- Nonprofits and healthcare entities — board-level disputes, donor fund misuse, billing irregularities, and compliance failures
Some investigations are triggered from outside — a grand jury subpoena, a civil investigative demand, an agency inquiry, or a reporter’s phone call. Others begin internally, when leadership learns something that cannot be ignored. Either way, the questions are the same: What happened? How far does it go? What must be disclosed, to whom, and when?
How We Conduct Investigations
We scope each investigation to the problem and the organization — a public body answerable to taxpayers has different obligations than a private company — but the fundamentals are constant: preserving documents and data immediately; structuring the investigation to protect attorney-client privilege and work product; interviewing witnesses properly, with appropriate warnings; following the facts wherever they lead; and reporting findings in the form the situation requires, whether an oral briefing to a board, a written report, or a presentation to a government agency.
Because we handle criminal defense, civil litigation, and government enforcement matters, we also see around corners. We can advise on whether findings trigger disclosure obligations, whether self-reporting will help or hurt, how to remediate in a way regulators respect, and how the investigation may play out in any parallel litigation or enforcement action. When independence is essential — because leadership itself is implicated, or because the findings must carry weight with a prosecutor, an agency, or the public — our backgrounds as former federal prosecutors give our conclusions credibility that an ordinary review cannot match.
Move Quickly, and Get It Right
Evidence degrades, stories align, and deadlines run. If your organization has received an allegation, a subpoena, or an inquiry it cannot ignore, the right response starts with a call to experienced counsel. For more information or to schedule a confidential consultation, contact us at (304) 322-6625.