Elissa N. Baur Partner

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Elissa focuses her practice on white collar criminal defense and litigation, antitrust criminal defense, regulatory enforcement defense, internal investigations, and compliance counseling. She handles a wide range of white collar matters and has defended clients before the Department of Justice (DOJ), United States Office of Special Counsel, Securities & Exchange Commission (SEC), Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN), Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC), Office of the Comptroller of Currency, and Federal Reserve Board, among others.

Elissa is a member of the firm’s Government Investigations & White Collar Litigation Department, which was recognized by Law360 as a Practice Group of the Year. She has particular experience advising corporations, financial institutions, and individuals in anti-corruption, bank fraud, antitrust, and anti-money laundering (AML)/Bank Secrecy Act (BSA) investigations, and regularly counsels clients on compliance with the U.S. Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA) and other anti-corruption laws. Her practice also includes representing clients in connection with regulatory, civil, and criminal enforcement actions arising from U.S. AML laws and regulations. Elissa’s matters often involve multiple government agencies, as well as foreign regulators or enforcement authorities.

Elissa maintains an active pro bono practice, with a particular focus on assisting Afghan women, former members of the Afghan military and intelligence communities, and their families.

Prior to becoming an attorney, Elissa spent three years working on national security, intelligence, and foreign policy matters for the United States federal government.

Experience

Cross-Border Investigations

  • Conducted an extensive anti-corruption internal investigation for a major international oil company in connection with FCPA investigations by the SEC and DOJ.
  • Served as counsel to employees of an international financial institution during an investigation by DOJ’s Money Laundering and Asset Recovery Section (MLARS).

AML/BSA Investigations

  • Counsel to a major U.S. company in DOJ AML/BSA investigation and FinCEN inquiry.
  • Represented a major financial institution in an anti-corruption, AML, and securities investigation before the SEC, DOJ, and banking regulators.
  • Represented a U.S. financial institution in connection with a BSA investigation and settlement negotiations with FinCEN.
  • Advised a cryptocurrency company regarding compliance with U.S. AML and sanctions laws.
  • Updated AML/BSA policies and procedures for financial institution clients.

Government, Antitrust, and Internal Investigations

  • Represented The Boeing Company in investigation related to the 737 MAX resulting in a deferred prosecution agreement with DOJ.
  • Represented a major financial institution in connection with an inquiry from the Office of Special Counsel.
  • Represented an individual in a sanctions-related inquiry before DOJ and OFAC.
  • Representation of individual in DOJ Antitrust investigation into alleged no-poach agreements between U.S. companies.

Compliance

  • In connection with proposed mergers and acquisitions, conducted due diligence reviews to assess AML, antitrust, and anti-bribery/anti-corruption risks for financial institutions and multinational corporations.
  • Conducted antitrust, AML, and anti-corruption audits of multinational company’s locations throughout Latin America.