ACADEMI Wins Washington Metropolitan Area Corporate Counsel Association's 2013 Outstanding Law Department Award

MCLEAN, Va., Oct. 21, 2013 /PRNewswire/ -- ACADEMI, LLC, a provider of assessment, training and protective services to both the federal government and corporate clients, has been honored by the Washington Metropolitan Area Corporate Counsel Association (WMACCA) with the prestigious Outstanding Law Department Award. The award recognizes excellence by in-house counsel in the Washington Metropolitan Area. The 2013 WMACCA Corporate Counsel Awards received nominations and entries submitted by the legal community at large.

"It is a great honor for ACADEMI to be recognized with this prestigious Corporate Counsel award," said Suzanne Folsom, EVP, General Counsel and Chief Compliance Officer, ACADEMI, LLC.  "Our selection shows that with the right tone at the top, a qualified team of legal and compliance experts and appropriate resources, a company can overcome its challenges of the past and serve as a governance standard-bearer in its respective industry."

The niche security and protective services provider was established in 1997.  In 2010, the company was purchased by a group of private investors who immediately set out to build a more compliant, transparent and accountable business structure based on the company's core competencies.

The investors hired a new management team and instituted a Board of Directors, led by Texas businessman Red McCombs and including former U.S. Attorney General John Ashcroft, Admiral Bobby Inman (Ret.), and Former White House Counsel Jack Quinn, among others.  The management team also built a comprehensive in-house governance and compliance program, led by Ms. Folsom. 

ACADEMI was previously awarded the Corporate Compliance Office of the Year Award for 2012 by the National Law Journal.

"We are proud that ACADEMI's outstanding efforts to set a new bar for excellence within the industry are repeatedly recognized by our colleagues and peers.  We have worked hard to continue this standard of excellence at every level of the company," said ACADEMI CEO Craig Nixon.

ACADEMI's 20-person Legal/Regulatory & Compliance Office has proactively worked to establish best-in-class excellence in the legal, ethics and compliance areas.

"ACADEMI's selection for Outstanding Law Department underscores the important effort we have made to build a gold standard legal operation and the best compliance processes possible," said Jack Quinn, a member of the ACADEMI Board of Directors and former White House Counsel. "Our selection confirms that no company need be forever defined by its past.  ACADEMI's Legal/Regulatory & Compliance team, led by our outstanding General Counsel and Chief Compliance Officer, has painstakingly over the last few years established a company-wide culture of corporate governance and compliance.  We know that doing this was the right thing to do and we know that doing right things is also the best business practice."

ACADEMI provides protective services to global clients and conducts customized, comprehensive training programs at its 7,000-acre training facility in Moyock, North Carolina.  It also operates facilities in Salem, Connecticut and San Diego, California as well as in Kabul, Afghanistan.  The company's corporate office is located in McLean, Virginia.  For more information, visit www.academi.com.

SOURCE ACADEMI, LLC