Overview
– Client Testimonial in Chambers USA
Today’s organizations and individuals need legal advisors who can help them navigate government investigations; defend qui tam actions, criminal charges, and parallel proceedings; and interpret and address complex regulations. McDermott has the necessary global experience, deep insider knowledge of government processes, and business acumen to help our clients favorably resolve investigations, minimize legal risk, protect reputations, and achieve business goals.
Fortune 500 companies, executives, and board members rely on our global team of more than 60 lawyers to defend them in high-stakes government investigations and lawsuits. Among our key differentiators, we are one of the few law firms with experience handling white-collar proceedings involving digital assets like cryptocurrencies and NFTs, earning us a Band 1 ranking in Crypto-Asset Disputes by Chambers USA. Working in conjunction with our leading healthcare regulatory team, our white-collar lawyers are also uniquely positioned to handle the most sophisticated healthcare matters and to drive government investigations, agency inquiries, and litigation to the best possible results for our clients.
McDermott’s white-collar team includes dozens of former senior government officials from the US Department of Justice (DOJ), the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), the Federal Trade Commission (FTC), the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), and other leading US agencies that investigate and prosecute white-collar crime. While serving in these roles, our lawyers led high-profile enforcement matters across every major industry. We combine insider experience with deep knowledge of white-collar law to help clients develop effective compliance programs, craft strong positions against government allegations, and minimize reputational damage.
Capabilities
Healthcare and False Claims Act Defense
McDermott’s white-collar defense team works closely with lawyers in our market-leading health and life sciences practice to defend the world’s largest healthcare and life sciences companies in government investigations, fraud and abuse lawsuits, and other high-profile civil and criminal cases that shape the industry.
Our lawyers have decades of experience defending clients against civil and criminal government enforcement and litigation, including False Claims Act (FCA) investigations and litigation, whether intervened by the government or not. We routinely handle matters under the FCA, the Stark Law, and the Anti-Kickback Statute. We also advise on corporate governance, cybersecurity, pharmaceutical marketing and pricing, and payer-provider disputes. Our team includes:
- Numerous former US attorneys and healthcare fraud lawyers from the DOJ
- Former senior officials from the HHS Office of Inspector General and the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services
- Regulatory and compliance lawyers who are nationally recognized authorities on the Stark Law and the Anti-Kickback Statute and its safe harbor regulations
- Seasoned healthcare defense lawyers with a proven track record representing health and life sciences clients in high-stakes disputes
- Lawyers skilled at advising on regulatory and compliance issues and FCA risk in transactional settings
SEC Enforcement
Led by former SEC enforcement attorneys with deep knowledge of SEC process and federal securities laws, our team regularly defends executives, regulated entities, auditors, and public companies against SEC investigations and enforcement actions. Our seasoned trial and appellate lawyers have decades of experience defending clients in complex SEC disputes, private class actions, and derivative litigation.
We frequently persuade the SEC to drop allegations against our clients or to reduce the nature and scope of charges, including eliminating fraud-based charges. With an understanding of the business and personal challenges that come with SEC investigations, our team partners with clients to minimize risk. We advise on matters involving a range of legal issues related to:
- Accounting, disclosures, and internal controls
- Investment adviser and broker-dealer regulation
- Insider trading
- Market manipulation
- Offering fraud
- Public finance
- Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA)
- Auditor and attorney negligence
Our team is also equipped to conduct internal investigations and manage the parallel private securities class actions and shareholder derivative actions that often accompany SEC enforcement matters.
FCPA and Global Anti-Corruption
Our team has decades of experience navigating the shifting global anti-corruption landscape and advising on compliance with the FCPA, UK Bribery Act, and other anti-corruption laws. Offering a strategic and practical approach paired with a deep understanding of compliance risk, we guide our clients through FCPA industry sweeps, complex cross-border investigations, DOJ and SEC enforcement actions, and monitorships. Global companies and individuals turn to us to build effective anti-corruption compliance programs, weather uncertainty, and respond effectively to government scrutiny.
Our team handles a broad range of anti-corruption matters, including:
- High-stakes internal and government-facing investigations
- Enforcement matters before DOJ, SEC, and other government authorities
- Compliance program development and implementation
- FCPA monitorships, as both the government-appointed monitor and company counsel
- Compliance risk assessments
- Anti-corruption due diligence for M&A transactions
Criminal Investigations and Prosecutions
McDermott represents and defends companies and individuals facing government investigations and prosecutions involving allegations of white-collar crime. Our deep bench includes former federal prosecutors from the DOJ with experience leading hundreds of investigations and high-profile criminal trial proceedings across the full range of white-collar criminal offenses in every major district in the US and across all industries. We have a robust global team in the UK and Europe that comprises former regulators, in-house counsel, and private practice litigators with decades of experience representing companies and individuals in criminal and regulatory proceedings and associated litigation.
Our white-collar lawyers excel in crisis management and leverage insider knowledge of how criminal cases are investigated and prosecuted globally to help clients minimize their exposure. Clients turn to us for defense against allegations of white-collar crime, including:
- Bank fraud and Bank Secrecy Act (BSA)
- Bankruptcy fraud
- Corporate Fraud
- Counterintelligence and national security matters
- Crypto-enabled offenses
- Cybercrimes
- FCPA and Foreign Extortion Prevention Act (FEPA)
- Healthcare fraud
- Insider trading
- Mail and wire fraud
- Money laundering
- Public corruption
- Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act (RICO) offenses
- Securities fraud
- Tax fraud
Global Investigations and Compliance
Multinational companies and their executives face an increasingly complex – and increasingly global – enforcement environment. McDermott’s global compliance team helps clients anticipate and manage global risk with confidence and, where necessary, respond to global investigations quickly and efficiently.
Our multinational team draws on its deep experience to help clients develop and enhance compliance programs; conduct multidisciplinary, cross-border investigations; and defend them in regulatory investigations, enforcement actions, and associated related civil litigation. We have particular experience helping clients navigate issues in the US, UK, and EU across the full spectrum of regulatory compliance, including:
- Cross-border government investigations and enforcement actions
- Global anti-money laundering and sanctions compliance
- Anti-bribery and corruption, including potential violations of the FCPA, UK Bribery Act, and other international laws
- Global whistleblower protections and initiatives
- Corporate governance and reputation management
