Steven J. McCool Partner

Experience

White Collar / Internal Investigations

• Obtained a full acquittal as lead trial counsel for a former senior executive at an international broadcasting company charged in the FIFA bribery case, following an eight-week jury trial.*
• Lead trial counsel for a former executive charged alongside 21 other individuals in the first large-scale, FCPA-related FBI sting case. After an 18-week jury trial, in what was called the U.S. Department of Justice’s “Flagship FCPA prosecution,” the presiding Federal judge granted the government’s motion to dismiss all charges after the jury deadlocked in overwhelming favor for acquittal of the client.*
• Lead counsel for an emissions engineer in a U.S. Department of Justice investigation of allegations that a multinational automotive manufacturer implemented software to defeat U.S. emissions tests in hundreds of thousands of the manufacturer’s “clean diesel” vehicles.*
• Lead counsel for a former telephone company executive charged with defrauding the Federal Lifeline telephone program out of more than $32 million. On the eve of what was expected to be an eight-week trial, the U.S. Department of Justice dismissed all charges against the client.*
• Lead counsel in the DOJ’s first standalone prosecution of OFAC violations under the Kingpin Act.*
• Obtained declination of prosecution as lead counsel for an executive of a global healthcare services and products company in a Federal opioid investigation.*
• Conducted an internal investigation of a publicly traded company’s CEO, with findings reported to the Audit Committee.*
• Obtained a full acquittal as lead trial counsel following a jury trial for a vice president of a national transportation consulting firm, who was charged with giving an illegal gratuity to a public official and prosecuted by the Antitrust Division of the U.S. Department of Justice.*
• Secured declination of prosecution as lead counsel for executive of a global logistics provider under investigation by the Antitrust Division for allegedly conspiring to fix prices of freight forwarding services sold to customers in the United States and elsewhere.*
• Secured prosecution declination for crewmembers under investigation for violating the Act to Prevent Pollution from Ships by failing to maintain accurate records about the disposal of oil-contaminated waste.*
• Lead counsel for a former security contractor, who was indicted for a shooting incident in Baghdad, Iraq. Following a three-week Kastigar hearing, a Federal judge dismissed all charges. Following reversal in United States Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit, the United States dismissed all charges against Mr. McCool’s client with prejudice.*
• Lead trial counsel for licensed insurance broker and owner of consulting firm charged in a scheme to defraud national health insurance corporation.*

Complex Civil / Administrative Litigation

• Lead counsel for a Federal judge before a Judicial Special Committee regarding a charge of judicial misconduct.*
• Lead counsel for a former senior executive at an international broadcasting company in civil RICO lawsuit arising out of the FIFA investigation.*
• Lead counsel for an Am Law 200 international law firm in a discrimination lawsuit by a former employee. The plaintiff dismissed the case with prejudice just before her deposition, with no remuneration.*
• Lead counsel for officer and executive of a national healthcare provider at depositions pursuant to civil investigative demands issued by the U.S. Department of Justice in a multi-state False Claims Act investigation.*
• Lead counsel for an officer of a major Internet-access subscription service at a deposition in a civil suit in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California.*
• Secured settlement as lead counsel for owner of IT service lifecycle integrator following dispute with business partner.*
• Lead counsel for a foreign national whose funds were seized for forfeiture by the United States as substitute assets, following the convictions of other foreign nationals. The U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia granted Mr. McCool’s petition asserting a third-party interest in the money seized under 21 U.S.C. § 853 and ordered the United States to return the funds. Following a reversal by the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit, the Asset Forfeiture and Money Laundering Section of the U.S. Department of Justice granted Mr. McCool’s petition for remission of forfeiture and returned the seized funds.*

*Experience handled prior to joining McGuireWoods.