Wilmer, Cutler, Pickering, Hale and Dorr was caught Wednesday in an email mix-up that revealed secret U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission and internal investigations at PepsiCo, after a Wilmer lawyer accidentally sent a Wall Street Journal reporter privileged documents detailing a history of whistleblower claims at the company.
The internal investigation revolves around PepsiCo’s 2011 acquisition of the Russian drinks company Wimm-Bill-Dann and the departure of general counsel Maura Smith in 2012 following allegations of financial misreporting and other wrongdoing at PepsiCo. A subsequent SEC investigation into Smith’s dismissal, and whether the company fired her in violation of whistleblower laws, is “at an early stage,” the Journal reported.
