Government, Regulatory and Criminal Investigations

When individuals and organizations face allegations of regulatory or criminal wrongdoing, experienced legal counsel is an absolute necessity. At McGuireWoods, our Government, Regulatory and Criminal Investigations (GRCI) practice draws on a team of more than 40 lawyers devoted exclusively to these difficult, serious and high-stakes inquiries. Ranked among the top 30 “Largest White Collar Practice Groups” in the world in 2012 by Law360, our team has significant depth of experience in this arena. Prior to joining the firm, a number of our lawyers held leadership positions in federal and state law enforcement agencies across the United States and in the United Kingdom, including the following:

• U.S. attorney for the Eastern District of Virginia
• Assistant U.S. attorneys
• Various leadership positions at the Department of Justice (DOJ)
• Attorney general of Virginia
• Special counsel and acting deputy general counsel to the U.S. Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI)
• First general counsel, UK Serious Fraud Office (SFO)

Our lawyers have also served as counsel to government agencies, political leaders and campaign organizations, including the following roles:

• Deputy counsel to the president of the United States
• Counsel to the Speaker of the U.S. House of Representatives and House Majority Leader
• Deputy general counsel, U.S. Department of Education
• Branch chief, Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC), Office of Enforcement, Investigations Division
• Assistant director, Enforcement Department of the National Association of Securities Dealers (FINRA; fka, NASD)
• Senior counsel, U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), Enforcement Division

We also help clients identify, avoid and mitigate risks that, left unaddressed, could invite regulatory or law-enforcement scrutiny. Whether representing individuals, boards of directors or corporations and other regulated enterprises, we focus on providing scalable, responsive approaches to client compliance issues that yield the best possible results for their unique businesses and circumstances.

Our global reach is clearly illustrated by the representations and trainings that we have conducted in more than 60 countries in recent years. We regularly conduct audits, investigations and training to resolve internal issues, defend external investigations, and establish and strengthen compliance programs. We provide counsel across major substantive areas, including the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA), the UK Bribery Act 2010, environmental enforcement, immigration enforcement, SEC and corporate compliance, internal investigations, False Claims Act, qui tam, energy enforcement, and congressional ethics and other inquiries.

We also represent clients involved in investigations brought by the U.S. Department of State, the U.S. Congress, FINRA, FERC, various state attorneys general, and other federal and state civil and criminal regulators. We work closely with the firm’s other practice groups, our subsidiary McGuireWoods Consulting LLC and — for investigations involving large volumes of documents — our Discovery Counsel Services (DCS) practice. With two off-site facilities capable of housing up to 220 e-discovery document reviewers simultaneously, DCS has developed and tested best practices that have proven their value in government inquiries and complex litigation.