Controlled Burn: The Department Of Justice Announces It Will Not Rely On Agency Guidance Documents In Affirmative Civil Enforcement Cases

On January 25, 2018, Associate Attorney General Brand issued a memorandum titled “Limiting Use of Agency Guidance Documents in Affirmative Civil Enforcement Cases,” (the “Brand Memo“) which clarified that Department of Justice (the “Department“) civil litigators may not rely on guidance documents issued by executive branch agencies when enforcing federal regulations via affirmative civil enforcement …