Risk Mitigation and Corporate Compliance

Over twelve years’ experience as an Executive Director, Principal, and Director in the Fraud and Investigations practices of Ernst & Young LLP and Deloitte & Touché LLP. During this time Dr. Koletar conducted and managed investigations in retail, manufacturing, media, hospitality, health care, energy, banking, financial services, insurance, transportation, and not-for-profits. Matters addressed included: executive defalcations, conflict of interest, revenue recognition, court-ordered monitoring of a business convicted of criminal tax violations, channel stuffing, sales commission schemes, payroll and disbursement schemes, Foreign Corrupt Practices Act, vendor integrity, grey market and product counterfeiting, anti-money laundering controls, protection of intellectual property, due diligence, fraud vulnerability assessments, compliance testing, and crisis management preparedness.

Pete has extensive experience in federal criminal law, having been a federal prosecutor in both Charlotte and Washington, D.C., as well as a defense attorney in various national law firms since 1996. Apart from his counseling and trial practice, he is an adjunct professor at the Charlotte School of Law, and teaches courses in both Trial Practice and White-Collar Crime. Pete also frequently writes and lectures on topics relating to federal business crimes, corporate compliance planning, trial advocacy, and sentencing issues. Pete was also selected by U.S. Senator Hagan (D-NC) as one of the three finalists whose names were sent to President Obama for consideration as the U.S. Attorney for the Western District of North Carolina.

As Principal of Lauer & Associates, Steven A. Lauer consults with law departments and law firms on the value of legal service. He assists them to better align and recalibrate the cost and value of legal service delivered to corporations and other business entities.

Steve served as Corporate Counsel for Global Compliance Services in Charlotte, North Carolina, specializing in data protection and privacy for that hotline and compliance services company. Before that, he served for over two years as Director of Integrity Research for Integrity Interactive Corporation, in which capacity he conducted research, wrote white papers and otherwise worked with clients and potential clients of the company on issues related to corporate ethics and compliance programs. Those two positions culminated Steve’s approximately seven years in the compliance industry.

Previously, he consulted with corporate law departments and law firms on issues relative to how in-house and outside counsel work together after spending over 13-and-one-half years as an in-house attorney in the real estate industry, in law departments ranging in size from two attorneys to over 300 attorneys and as the sole in-house attorney for an organization, serving as its General Counsel for over one year. He also spent over two years as Executive Vice President, Deputy Editor and Deputy Publisher of The Metropolitan Corporate Counsel, a monthly journal for in-house attorneys. For six years prior to becoming an in-house attorney, he was in private practice.