Kenneth L. Wainstein

Partner

Ken Wainstein is a partner in O’Melveny’s Washington, DC office, and a member of the White Collar Defense and Corporate Investigations Practice. He focuses his practice on handling corporate internal investigations and civil and criminal proceedings.

Ken spent 19 years in the Department of Justice. From 1989 to 2001, he served as an Assistant U.S. Attorney in both the Southern District of New York and the District of Columbia, where he handled numerous prosecutions, trying 25 jury trials, and arguing over a dozen appellate arguments.

In 2001, Ken was appointed Director of the Executive office for U.S. Attorneys, where he provided oversight and support to the 94 U.S. Attorneys’ offices. The next year, Ken joined the Federal Bureau of Investigation to serve first as General Counsel and then as Chief of Staff to Director Robert S. Mueller. At the FBI, Ken was involved in a myriad of sensitive national security and criminal enforcement matters, as well as a variety of civil litigation, managerial, and Congressional oversight issues. In 2004, he was appointed, and later confirmed as, U.S. Attorney in Washington, DC, where he oversaw the investigation and prosecution of high-profile white-collar and public corruption cases, including the case against Riggs Bank for Bank Secrecy Act violations and the prosecution of the MZM Chief Executive Officer for paying bribes to former Congressman Randall “Duke” Cunningham.

Ken was confirmed by the Senate again in 2006, after being nominated as the first Assistant Attorney General for National Security at the Justice Department. He established and led the new National Security Division, which consolidated DOJ’s law enforcement and intelligence activities on counterterrorism and counterintelligence matters, and he oversaw the Department’s role in regulatory mechanisms such as the Committee on Foreign Investment in the U.S. (CFIUS). He also led several national security initiatives, including the launch of the national, inter-agency Export Control Enforcement Initiative targeting illegal exports of sensitive technology and weapons components.

In 2008, Ken was named President Bush’s Homeland Security Advisor, with a portfolio covering the coordination of the nation’s counterterrorism, homeland security, infrastructure protection, and disaster response and recovery efforts. In that position, Ken advised the President, convened and chaired meetings of the Cabinet Officers on the Homeland Security Council, and oversaw the inter-agency coordination process for our homeland security and counterterrorism programs.

Among the matters Ken has handled in private practice are:

• Representation of an Assistant United States Attorney in connection with allegations of contempt of court and obstruction of justice arising out of the Justice Department’s prosecution of Senator Ted Stevens
• Counsel for an individual in connection with a Department of Justice criminal investigation into the alleged violation of federal campaign finance laws
• Representation of a major government contractor in a Department of Justice antitrust bid-rigging investigation
• Counsel overseeing internal investigations for two large corporations regarding their compliance with municipal, state, and federal laws and regulations governing campaign finance restrictions, lobbying registration requirements, and pay-to-play limitations
• Representation of a senior executive in a civil case and a federal criminal investigation involving his company’s alleged theft of trade secrets
• Representation of an executive in an SEC investigation into insider trading
• Representation of a professional basketball player charged with firearms offenses
• Representation of a dealer in law enforcement equipment who was indicted for violations of the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA)
• Representation of a senior executive in a construction company in an FCPA investigation by the SEC and the Department of Justice

Ken was recently recognized as one of Washington's "Top Lawyers" in the national security field by Washingtonian magazine.

Professional Activities

Law Clerk, Honorable Thomas Penfield Jackson, U.S. District Court, District of Columbia
Adjunct Professor, Georgetown University Law Center, National Security Investigations and Litigation (2009, 2010)
Awards, Edmund J. Randolph Award for Outstanding Service to the Department of Justice (2008); Department of Justice Director’s Award for Superior Performance (1997, 2000); Lawyer of the Year Award from the Bar Association of the District of Columbia (2005)
Co-Chair, Committee on National Security Law, Policy & Practice, The Bar Association of the District of Columbia
Member, Steering Committee of the George Washington University Homeland Security Policy Institute