Members of the Special Litigation and Corporate Investigations Practice Group have extensive experience conducting internal investigations and counseling clients under inquiry or investigation by law enforcement authorities. Whether the context is white-collar crime, regulatory enforcement, civil litigation brought by the government, or some combination of these challenges, the Group is dedicated to obtaining a prompt and discrete resolution of serious allegations of civil or criminal wrongdoing or regulatory noncompliance and to preventing escalation to a worst-case scenario. To that end, attorneys in the Special Litigation and Corporate Investigations Practice Group evaluate each case promptly and devise a strategy at the outset of the matter designed to deliver the best possible result.

The Firm’s attorneys practicing in this Group have guided companies and individuals through criminal investigations; regulatory enforcement proceedings; responses to grand jury, criminal, and civil subpoenas; as well as other matters in which creating and maintaining a confidential and privileged investigation is a priority. In addition, these attorneys have developed internal controls, compliance systems, document review and production models, and security plans to respond efficiently, rapidly, and effectively to inquiries, enforcement actions, and lawsuits brought by government agencies and private litigants, all with minimal business disruption.

Members of the Group have conducted a broad range of internal investigations across all industries and throughout the United States and are adept at representing clients in parallel proceedings and the unique challenges such representations present.

A snapshot of the Firm’s experience in this area includes the following: 

• Representing a Fortune 50 bank and investigating allegations of executive misconduct from government agencies and private plaintiffs;
• Representing a Fortune 50 bank and investigating allegations of employee misconduct regarding foreclosure processing for mortgages insured by the Federal Housing Authority (FHA);
• Representing publicly traded companies, audit committees, directors, former directors of such in securities fraud class actions, Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) inquiries, and criminal and civil lawsuits brought by the SEC;
• Representing financial institutions and their boards and holding companies in inquiries from the FDIC, the OCC, the OTS, and the Federal Reserve regarding various regulatory and operational matters, including allegations of irregular or unsound banking practices;
• Representing broker dealers and financial representatives in investigations and inquiries by federal and state agencies, state attorneys general, and self-regulatory organizations, such as Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA);
• Representing a Fortune 100 shipping company in an investigation relating to alleged discriminatory hiring practices;
• Representing a state agency in an investigation relating to allegations of executive misconduct and improper accounting practices;
• Representing pharmaceutical companies with regard to off-label drug promotional issues including conducting internal investigations and issues arising with Average Wholesale Price (AWP) manipulation;
• Representing healthcare systems, practice management, and third-party billing companies in reimbursement and policy matters before Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) and voluntary disclosure matters before the Office of Inspector General (OIG) under the OIG’s formal voluntary disclosure protocol; and
• Regularly conducting privileged investigations of information security breaches and other systems intrusions and insider issues, while representing organizations hit by those incidents before state attorneys general and federal regulators.