Government Investigations & White Collar Litigation

About Our Team

Our team of more than 80 professionals reaches from coast to coast, composed of a deep bench of lawyers with decades of experience handling investigations and litigation at the intersection of business, politics and law. Our mission is clear: to provide responsive, effective representation of clients through focused, intense advocacy from the moment an investigation or inquiry commences.

Among our ranks are a former deputy attorney general of the United States, former U.S. attorneys, more than a dozen federal prosecutors, an associate counsel to the president of the United States and other former senior enforcement officials.

Strategically positioned in Washington, D.C., New York, Chicago, Atlanta, Richmond, Charlotte, Los Angeles, London and other locations, members of McGuireWoods’ Government Investigations & White Collar Department had storied careers as elected officials, political appointees or within government agencies prior to joining the firm. Our team includes:

• Former deputy attorney general and acting attorney general of the United States
• Former associate deputy attorney general
• Former associate counsel to the president of the United States
• Former U.S. attorneys and more than a dozen federal prosecutors
• Former assistant attorney general for the DOJ’s National Security Division
• Former attorney general of Virginia
• Former high-level government enforcement officials at the SEC and DOJ
• Deputy independent counsel under Ken Starr during the Whitewater investigation
• Former chief counsel to a presidential campaign

We also advise on matters before the DoD, FINRA, FERC and other government agencies, congressional committees, and state attorneys general and inspectors general. Many of our partners previously served in significant enforcement positions at these organizations while in government service.

How We Help

Clients turn to McGuireWoods to handle sophisticated and sensitive matters for a simple reason: We know the ins and outs of civil and criminal investigations and enforcement matters at the federal and state level. We represent clients at every stage of government investigations — from informal inquiries through disciplinary proceedings and appeals — and we advise on matters involving federal agencies and other investigative bodies.

Building on a highly skilled group of experienced former federal prosecutors and seasoned defense counsel, McGuireWoods has handled civil and criminal matters before the DOJ, ranging from Civil Division investigations under the False Claims Act to grand jury, public integrity, and other criminal investigations and proceedings conducted by DOJ’s Criminal Division. Our Government Investigations & White Collar Litigation Department represents clients’ interests to ensure their focus can remain on business while we press for a fair and just outcome, and our team has a breadth of experience in all manner of white collar matters.

Areas of Focus

• Anti-bribery and anti-corruption (FCPA)
• Anti-money laundering/trade embargo compliance
• Bank defense and counseling
• CFIUS
• Compliance and ethics program investigations and counseling
• Congressional investigations
• Educational institution investigations and enforcement
• Energy enforcement
• Environmental investigations and enforcement
• Export control and sanctions enforcement
• False Claims Act investigations, litigation, and enforcement
• FEC and campaign finance investigations and enforcement
• Government contract investigations and enforcement
• Healthcare enforcement
• Inspector general investigations
• Immigration and worksite enforcement
• Law enforcement investigations
• Political investigations litigation and enforcement
• Securities enforcement and litigation
• State attorney general investigations
• Strategic risk and crisis management
• White collar defense

Recent Representative Matters

• Represented a former sales executive of an engine manufacturing company in a criminal with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission and U.S. Attorney's Office for securities fraud, wire fraud, and mail fraud.
• Won a hard-fought government procurement protest against our client filed by SpaceX who challenged the LSA awards and an “other transaction agreement” (OTA) award — totaling about $2.4 billion.
• McGuireWoods has served as Special Counsel for Opioid Litigation for Purdue Pharma, the maker of OxyContin, helping lead the company through litigation and government investigations related to the opioid crisis.
• Representation of a pain specialist currently under investigation by the U.S. Attorney’s Office in the Eastern District of Virginia (Richmond) for violating the Anti-Kickback Statute for receiving speaker fees from fentanyl manufacturer, INSYS, and for violating rules governing prescribing of opioids.
• Defended a national bank in multiyear enforcement actions by the DOJ, SEC, OCC and multistate attorneys general into issues involving allegations of securities fraud and falsification of records.
• Represented national bank and litigation target in $1 billion Ponzi scheme fraud in Southern District of Florida in federal investigation and related investor litigation.
• Represented City Power Marketing in FERC enforcement litigation in federal district court alleging manipulation of the PJM markets. The case settled with no admission of liability and a substantially reduced penalty and a payment plan that took into account the financial circumstances of the company. This case mattered to the industry because it was one of several cases testing the limits of what FERC views as market manipulation and, it tested the unique procedural step of seeking “de novo review” of the Commission’s determination in federal court.
• Represented PSEG Energy Resources & Trade LLC in the resolution of what could have been a $100 million-plus enforcement matter relating to PSEG’s electricity offers into the mid-Atlantic-based PJM energy market. The settlement resolved all issues for PSEG, with no admission of violations, for a total payment of $39.4 million.
• Represented an American telecommunications company in a multi-year False Claims Act investigation and litigation.
• Represented a nonprofit organization in a congressional investigation after they were issued a subpoena by the Senate Finance Committee for compelling production of documents related to the committee’s investigation of organ procurement organizations (OPOs), and potential false claims
• Represented a significant physician practice that had a relationship with a local health system that was alleged to have been in violation of the Anti-Kickback Statute and the False Claims Act.
• Assisted a global Fortune 500 consumer products company with development of a comprehensive anti-corruption compliance program in connection with its expansion into non-U.S. business activities, most notably in Latin America and China.
• Conducted an internal investigation for a publicly-traded specialty chemicals company to address whistleblower allegations of corrupt payments being made by company personnel to government officials in China, including a risk analysis and review of the company’s entire global ABAC compliance program.

Download a PDF copy of our practice team brochure.