Eric Snyder, an accomplished defense lawyer and former federal prosecutor who successfully led numerous international anti-corruption matters, has joined McGuireWoods’ Government Investigations & White Collar Litigation Department as a partner in New York.
Snyder represents corporations and individuals in civil and criminal fraud matters and anti-bribery, anti-corruption and Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA) litigation. He conducts internal investigations for public companies and banks facing government scrutiny of their operations in the United States and abroad. He also guides and trains corporate officers and directors of multinational companies and banks regarding best practices for compliance with U.S. laws and regulations.
Snyder joins McGuireWoods from Jones Day. With more than a decade of experience in private practice, his many high-profile engagements include representing former U.S. Attorney General William Barr in connection with Barr’s deposition before the House select committee investigating the Jan. 6, 2021, attack on the U.S. Capitol.
Snyder served as a prosecutor for 16 years, including eight years as an assistant U.S. attorney in the Southern District of New York, where he focused on cases involving bank and wire fraud, money laundering, obstruction of justice, and RICO and International Emergency Economic Powers Act violations.
Snyder prosecuted the 50 top leaders of the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia, a designated foreign terrorist organization, for alleged narcotics manufacturing and importation offenses and tried the first wave of defendants extradited to the United States. He received the U.S. Department of Justice Director’s Award for Superior Service in 2008 for his role in the successful prosecution of the Genovese organized crime family.
Snyder left the DOJ for private practice in 2010, but returned to public service in 2015 as senior counsel leading the U.S. State Department’s response to the congressional investigation of the attack on embassy facilities in Benghazi, Libya.
“Eric has had a distinguished career in public service and private practice and we are delighted he is starting a new chapter with McGuireWoods,” said Dion Hayes, the firm’s deputy managing partner for litigation. “We are pleased that our clients will now have the benefit of his unique insight and experience in complex cross-border investigations and other significant investigations and prosecutions.”
“Eric’s experience leading sensitive, high-profile domestic and international investigations will have enormous benefits for clients facing enforcement and compliance challenges in the U.S. and abroad,” added Todd Steggerda, chair of the firm’s Government Investigations & White Collar Litigation Department. “His arrival enhances our reputation as a government investigations powerhouse.”
With more than 80 attorneys — including former U.S. attorneys and other federal prosecutors, enforcement officials and a U.S. deputy attorney general — McGuireWoods’ Government Investigations & White Collar Litigation Department has represented Fortune 100 companies and individuals in some of the most prominent and complicated criminal, regulatory and investigative matters of the past decade.
“Eric’s impressive achievements as a prosecutor in the Southern District of New York and his stellar reputation as a defense lawyer make him a valuable addition to our litigation bench,” said Noreen Kelly, managing partner of McGuireWoods’ New York office.
McGuireWoods ranks among the world’s leading investigations firms in the GIR 100, a guide to top cross-border investigations practices based on independent research by Global Investigations Review. The firm earned a nationwide ranking for corporate crimes and investigations in Chambers USA’s 2022 guide. In addition, Law360 has twice named McGuireWoods a White Collar Practice Group of the Year.
“McGuireWoods has a deep and talented government investigations practice that is recognized nationally for excellence and I have long admired the world-class lawyers on this team,” Snyder said. “I am excited to join the firm and look forward to putting my experience to work for our clients.”