Corporate Compliance Certificate Program
Pitt Law’s Online Corporate Compliance Certificate program is designed for U.S. and foreign corporate employees who already work in the corporate compliance field, or wish to make a career move to focus on this area of business, making this certificate program perfect for paralegals, lawyers, and other compliance professionals in finance, internal audit, human resources and environmental sustainability.
After earning your Corporate Compliance Certificate, you will know how to establish an effective program to monitor organizational misconduct, audit compliance and ethics risks, evaluate the effectiveness of the ethics and compliance program, and much more. Enhance your career by expanding your knowledge, skills, and professional understanding of corporate compliance with Pitt Law.
*Our Corporate Compliance Certificate program will launch in Fall 2023.
Program Benefits
- Learn on your schedule with asynchronous classes
- Certificates can be completed in 10 months
- Learn from experienced, working legal experts who teach and practice corporate compliance
- Gain access to a valued and diverse network of colleagues and mentors within the Pitt Law and broader Pitt communities
- Learn how to establish an effective corporate compliance program
- For non-lawyers, build concentrated expertise to work more knowledgeably with lawyers
Download Program Brochure
Find the online program that fits your needs. Our Online Master of Studies in Law (MSL) program is designed for professionals seeking to enhance their careers through a legal education with a versatile alternative to the traditional three-year JD degree. Our graduate certificates can further your expertise within a specific area of the law in 10 months. Students who complete a certificate program have the option of applying those 15 course credits toward the Online MSL degree.
Complete the form to get a program brochure for Pitt Law’s Online MSL plus your chosen specialization, or your chosen certificate program, delivered to your inbox.
Pitt Law’s Corporate Compliance Certificate Program Students
The Corporate Compliance Certificate is ideal for:
- U.S. and international professionals who work in a corporate environment and are focused on, or looking to focus on, securities compliance, antitrust issues, and other compliance-related activities
- U.S. and international non-lawyers, including paralegals and other business professionals who work closely with lawyers day-to-day, including financial, insurance, and legal support professionals
- U.S. lawyers who wish to expand their knowledge and practice portfolio of corporate compliance
- Foreign-qualified lawyers seeking a flexibly obtained U.S. credential that does not require residence in the U.S.
Position yourself for leadership in:
- Corporate compliance and ethics
- Regulatory affairs
- Compliance program training
- Policy development, including Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) and Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG)
- Auditing and monitoring
- Financial fraud
- Environmental and other corporate compliance
Objectives of the Online Corporate Compliance Certificate Program
The Corporate Compliance Certificate program was developed to meet the growing need for compliance professionals. Busy professionals will build a strong compliance foundation by learning how to:
- Understand the fundamentals of corporate compliance
- Design a compliance program from the ground up, as well as related policies and procedures
- Evaluate the effectiveness of ethics and compliance programs
- Work with third-party mechanisms to report misconduct and seek advice
- Audit for compliance and ethics risks
- Manage other issues around public company disclosures and compliance programs
- Understand the nuances of the different potential clientele students may work with, such as individuals, for-profit and nonprofit corporations, and hybrid and governmental entities
Corporate Compliance (15 credits)
Introduction to Corporate Compliance (3 credits)
This course will provide an introduction to corporate compliance programs for U.S. and foreign lawyers, as well non-lawyers. Learn the basics of a compliance program to build a strong foundation to approach corporate compliance.
Topics covered in this course will include:
- Importance of a compliance program
- Importance of ethics, organizational culture (vision and values), and a code of conduct
- Understanding the key issues of an organization’s compliance policies and procedures
- Understanding which policies and procedures should be covered in a compliance program
- Incorporating compliance and ethics standards in contractual arrangements
Ethics and Compliance Programs (3 credits)
This course introduces students to creating an ethics and compliance program.
Topics covered will include:
- Framework: U.S. Department of Justice Sentencing Guidelines and Guidance on corporate compliance programs
- How to create an effective ethics and compliance program
- Conducting a risk assessment to determine the greatest risk facing an organization, including understanding its path to market (agents, distributors, licensees, and other intermediaries)
- Creating a culture of integrity
- Effective drafting of compliance policies and procedures
- Effective drafting of a code of conduct
- Drafting a gifts and entertainment policy
- Integrating the ethics and compliance program into the organization
Designing, Measuring Effectiveness, and Auditing Compliance Programs (3 credits)
This course introduces students to designing and measuring effective audit compliance programs. This will be based on the Department of Justice Sentencing Guidelines.
Topics covered will include:
- Administering an effective compliance program, such that the goals and objectives are achieved
- Defining the authority and role of ethics and compliance professionals, including reporting lines and access to an organization’s board of directors or audit committee
- Creating an annual ethics and compliance work plan
- Ensuring that the organization has processes in place to assess key areas of risk, including intermediary review and assessment
- Compliance lines and other telephone or online reporting mechanisms
- Communication, education and training of a compliance risk program
- Monitoring for organizational misconducts
- Monitoring ethics and compliance related activities and risks
- Conducting a risk-based assessment of the compliance program
Conducting Investigations and Risk Assessments (3 credits)
This course introduces students to conducting investigations and risk assessments and teaches them how to conduct an internal investigation.
Topics covered will include:
- Representing the company, not the interviewee
- Purpose of the interview
- Legal and ethical considerations of internal investigations in foreign jurisdictions, i.e., preserving attorney client privilege where it exists
- Responding to governmental inquiries and investigations and voluntary disclosures to regulatory agencies
- EU Dawn Raids and other unannounced governmental investigations
- Conducting periodic risk assessments
- Use and development of risk assessment methodology
Special Topics in Compliance Seminar (3 credits)
This seminar study allows students to take an in-depth look at special topics in corporate compliance.
This includes topics such as:
- Securities Compliance, including SEC Disclosures
- Antitrust Compliance
- Foreign Corrupt Practices Act
- UK Antibribery Act
- Joint Ventures
- Enterprise Risk Management
- Financial Compliance
- International Trade and Export Compliance
- Pharmaceutical and Medical Device Compliance
Meet Corporate Compliance Online Program Director Max Laun
Professor Laun currently serves on several public service non-profit boards of directors, including the Pennsylvania Legal Aid Network, Inc. (PLAN); the National Legal Aid and Defenders Association (NLADA); on the Pennsylvania PA Continuing Legal Education Board; and on the Advisory Council to Pitt Law’s Center for International Legal Education (CILE).
Earning Your Corporate Compliance Certificate is Just the Beginning
With your certificate, you will have a sure footing in corporate compliance. Certificate students who successfully complete a graduate certificate program with a 3.0 GPA have the option to pursue the Master of Studies in Law degree at Pitt Law.
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