The U.S. Government’s transformation since the start of the second Trump administration compels a reassessment of how companies identify, prioritize and thwart compliance risk. This first article in a four-part series explores what risk assessments should look like in light of recent changes to the DOJ’s Evaluation of Corporate Compliance Programs, how to design an assessment to address rapidly changing risk environments and the importance of documenting the process. Future articles will examine when risk assessments should be updated and by who, what risk areas have been most heavily impacted by the advent of the Trump 2.0 administration, and how the use of data and technology are reshaping risk assessments into more responsive tools for identifying and addressing uncertainty. See “A Quick-Start Guide to Risk Assessments” (Mar. 31, 2021).