• Daniel Bookin
      Two Embarcadero Center, 28th Floor
      San Francisco, CA, 94111-3823
      Phone: +1-415-984-8786
      Fax: +1-415-984-8701
  • Steve Bunnell
      1625 Eye Street, NW
      Washington, DC, 20006
      Phone: +1-202-383-5321
      Fax: +1-202-383-5414
  • Sharon M. Bunzel
      Two Embarcadero Center, 28th Floor
      San Francisco, CA, 94111-3823
      Phone: +1-415-984-8939
      Fax: +1-415-984-8701
  • David Deaton
      400 South Hope Street
      Los Angeles, CA, 90071
      Phone: +1-213-430-6191
      Fax: +1-213-430-6407
  • Andrew J. Geist
      Times Square Tower
      7 Times Square
      New York, NY, 10036
      Phone: +1-212-326-2207
      Fax: +1-212-326-2061
  • Richard Grime
      1625 Eye Street, NW
      Washington, DC, 20006
      Phone: +1-202-383-5178
      Fax: +1-202-383-5414
  • Howard E. Heiss
      Times Square Tower
      7 Times Square
      New York, NY, 10036
      Phone: +1-212-326-2116
      Fax: +1-212-326-2061
  • Carolyn Kubota
      400 South Hope Street
      Los Angeles, CA, 90071
      Phone: +1-213-430-6353
      Fax: +1-213-430-6407
  • Jeremy Maltby
      1625 Eye Street, NW
      Washington, DC, 20006
      Phone: +1-202-383-5336
      Fax: +1-202-383-5414
  • Steve Olson
      400 South Hope Street
      Los Angeles, CA, 90071
      Phone: +1-213-430-7855
      Fax: +1-213-430-6407
  • Mark Racanelli
      Times Square Tower
      7 Times Square
      New York, NY, 10036
      Phone: +1-212-326-4403
      Fax: +1-212-326-2061
  • Jonathan Rosenberg
      Times Square Tower
      7 Times Square
      New York, NY, 10036
      Phone: +1-212-408-2409
      Fax: +1-212-326-2061
  • Dan Shallman
      400 South Hope Street
      Los Angeles, CA, 90071
      Phone: +1-213-430-6143
      Fax: +1-213-430-6407
  • Michael Tubach
      Two Embarcadero Center, 28th Floor
      San Francisco, CA, 94111-3823
      Phone: +1-415-984-8876
      Fax: +1-415-984-8701
  • Kenneth L. Wainstein
      1625 Eye Street, NW
      Washington, DC, 20006
      Phone: +1-202-383-5118
      Fax: +1-202-383-5414
PROFESSIONALS

White Collar Defense and Corporate Investigations

Critical moments and critical decisions. How we interact with law and regulatory enforcement agencies involves critical decision-making and in those moments, experience counts. With a team of seasoned lawyers, the majority of whom are former federal and state prosecutors, we are capable of handling any crisis situation. Our White Collar practice is led by partners with extraordinary experience both inside and outside the government.

We represent individuals, partnerships, government officials, and Fortune 500 industry leaders in a wide variety of complex criminal investigations and trials, and in parallel administrative and civil proceedings throughout the United States and the world. We get results. We routinely represent corporations, audit committees, individual officers and directors, and others in internal, SEC, DOJ, attorney-general, and self-regulatory investigations. We have tried more than 200 criminal and civil cases to verdict or judgment. Our practice includes representing public companies and their officers and directors in a wide variety of SEC investigations, including investigations involving financial and accounting issues, insider trading, the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA), and internal control issues. We also represent major U.S. broker-dealers, investment advisers, and registered persons in investigations by the SEC, DOJ, NYSE, and FINRA (Financial Industry Regulatory Authority; successor entity to the National Association of Securities Dealers), as well as federal banking regulators. We conduct internal investigations and compliance reviews for public companies, broker-dealers, and investment advisers to assess the adequacy and assist in the development of regulatory policies, procedures, and internal controls for such entities.

Key Facts

  • Throughout their careers, our lawyers have tried more than 200 criminal and civil cases to judgment or verdict in federal and state courts throughout the United States. Our advocacy skills have also led to victories in proceedings before arbitration tribunals and governmental agencies in Europe and Asia.
  • Our team includes former high-ranking members of the US Department of Justice and the US Securities and Exchange Commission, who provide clients with invaluable insight into governmental decision-making processes.
  • Clients seeking to enhance their risk management practices rely on our US Foreign Corrupt Practices Act handbook, first published in 1992 and now in its 6th edition.
  • Securities Law 360 called our White Collar Defense and Corporate Investigations practice a “one-stop-shop for white collar defendants.”
  • O'Melveny's Government Investigations Practice Ranks #1 Among California General Counsel, according to a recent GC California magazine's Preferred Counsel Poll.
  • O'Melveny's White Collar practice and its lawyers are recognized in many rankings directories, including: Chambers USA, Legal 500 USA, Benchmark Litigation: The Definitive Guide to America’s Leading Litigation Firms and Attorneys, Best Lawyers in America, and Super Lawyers.

Representative Experience

  • Representing major U.S. corporations in internal investigations concerning accounting, financial disclosure, internal control, and insider trading issues.
  • Representing major U.S. corporations or their officers and directors in investigations by the SEC, the DOJ, and other federal and state agencies and authorities.
  • Representing mutual funds in late trading and market timing investigations.
  • Representing broker-dealer firms in connection with SEC and FINRA investigations relating to revenue sharing arrangements, mutual fund sales practices, sales of variable annuities, and supervisory practices.
  • Representing hedge funds in trading practices investigations.
  • Representing public companies in delisting hearings before the NASDAQ and the American Stock Exchange.
  • Representing a multinational financial institution contemplating the acquisition of a bank and credit card company in Latin America in due diligence focusing on potential FCPA, anti-money laundering, and OFAC issues.
  • Designing and assisting with FCPA compliance programs for financial institutions, trained compliance executives and conducted internal investigations.

Practice Strengths

  • Criminal Antitrust Litigation
    • With increasing regularity, antitrust authorities in various countries conduct coordinated international investigations. O’Melveny’s antitrust lawyers have experience in criminal matters and in dealing with competition regulators worldwide. Our team secured a favorable plea agreement on behalf of a semiconductor supplier, which had become ensnared in an industry-wide criminal antitrust investigation conducted by the US Department of Justice for alleged price-fixing violations. We simultaneously prepared for trial while developing and pursuing a strategy for settlement negotiations with the government.
  • Criminal Environmental Litigation
    • Our team has considerable experience counseling clients accused of violating laws regarding hazardous waste disposal, the US Clean Air Act, and the US Clean Water Act, among others. We have achieved successful settlements with the US Environmental Protection Agency through voluntary disclosures and have convinced the US Department of Justice to close criminal inquiries without bringing charges. For example, we scored a significant victory for client Jack Wolter in the largest-ever federal criminal prosecution of alleged violations of the Clean Air Act when a federal court jury acquitted him of conspiracy to obstruct the Environmental Protection Agency and to endanger the community of Libby, Montana.
  • Foreign Corrupt Practices Act
    • We regularly counsel clients on the US Foreign Corrupt Practices Act. Much of our work involves conducting internal investigations and pre-acquisition due diligence, structuring and revising compliance programs, and providing training. We also provide advice on how to comply with the Act’s anti-bribery provisions as well as its recordkeeping requirements. For example, we assist the Independent Compliance Consultant engaged by Schnitzer Steel Industries, Inc. (SSI) in connection with FCPA compliance issues.
  • Health Care Enforcement
    • Our lawyers regularly represent hospitals, pharmaceutical and biological manufacturers, medical supply and device manufacturers, doctors and other health care providers in governmental investigations into alleged violations of the health care fraud and abuse laws and understand the enforcement climate well. For example, we represented a major hospital chain in a False Claims Act lawsuit that involved an alleged improper billing for use of x-ray equipment. We obtained a dismissal with prejudice.
  • Internal Investigations
    • Internal investigations are essential in uncovering possible wrongdoing and restoring corporate integrity. Directors who fail to act bring risk to themselves and the companies they serve. We have conducted thorough investigations and suggested remedial actions for audit committees, special board committees, and independent directors. We are representing the audit committee of a multi-billion-dollar computer networking company in an investigation regarding revenue recognition issues in its Asia Pacific operations. Also, a retail company hired us to investigate allegations of irregular accounting practices relating to the company’s tracking and reporting of inventory and accounting for vendor allowances.
  • Multi-Front Litigation
    • We have helped numerous clients defend against highly publicized multi-front litigation onslaughts from criminal, regulatory, and administrative agencies, civil litigants, and US congressional committees. To succeed, we coordinate across our worldwide offices and work with media relations professionals on proper messaging for the press. For example, we represented a San Diego-based bookseller on multiple fronts after the company announced that it would restate five years of financial statements due to accounting issues, including a federal securities class action, federal and state derivative actions, and investigations by the DOJ and the SEC.
  • Stock-Option Backdating
    • With the publication of “The Perfect Payday” in The Wall Street Journal in March 2006, options backdating became front-page news and a new wave of lawsuits arose against public corporations, their executives, boards, and advisors. We have been deeply involved in representing numerous major companies, officers, and directors in these options investigations and lawsuits. With our representation of Mercury Interactive beginning in June 2005—one of the seminal stock option backdating cases—we have been at the forefront of this unmapped territory. We since represented numerous special committees, audit committees, companies and executives in connection with stock option related internal investigations, governmental investigations and shareholder and derivative actions.
  • Trade Secrets
    • We represent public companies and individuals, particularly those in the high-tech industry, in parallel criminal and civil investigations and prosecutions by government enforcement agencies. On behalf of numerous clients, we have conducted large-scale internal investigations of trade-secret misappropriations and computer hacking, and negotiated with government officials who have declined to prosecute clients on the basis of their proactive efforts.
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