Mary Patrice Brown

Of Counsel

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Mary Patrice Brown honed her litigation skills during 23 years with the US Attorney’s Office for the District of Columbia and the Department of Justice.

Before joining O’Melveny, Mary Pat was a Deputy Assistant Attorney General for the Criminal Division at the US Department of Justice. She also has held many other senior leadership positions within the Department of Justice and the US Attorney’s Office in Washington DC, including Chief of the Criminal Division at the US Attorney’s Office and head of the Justice Department’s Office of Professional Responsibility. Over the course of her distinguished career as a federal prosecutor, she has represented the United States government in more than 100 criminal appeals and jury and bench trials. Mary Pat currently serves as Special Master of the US Victims of State Sponsored Terrorism Fund (USVSST Fund) at the US Department of Justice.

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Government Experience

  • Special Master of the US Victims of State Sponsored Terrorism Fund (USVSST Fund), US Department of Justice
  • Deputy Assistant Attorney General and a top advisor, to the Assistant Attorney General for the Criminal Division, US Department of Justice
  • Chief of the Criminal Division, US Attorney’s Office, District of Columbia
  • Head of the Office of Professional Responsibility, Department of Justice

Languages

  • French

Honors & Awards

  • Special Edition Judicial Award by Martindale-Hubbell® (2016)
  • Recognized by Chambers USA as a leading lawyer for Litigation: White Collar Crime & Government Investigations
  • Recognized by The Legal 500 US for White-Collar Criminal Defense (2014, 2020-2021)
  • Diversity Journal’s Women Worth Watching (2014)
  • Awarded Doctor of Humane Letters degree from Georgian Court University (2013)
  • Inclusion in the 2016 edition of Martindale-Hubbell® Register of Preeminent Lawyers and 2013 edition of the Martindale-Hubbell® Bar Register of Preeminent Women Lawyers
  • Executive Office of US Attorneys Director’s Award for Superior Performance in a Managerial or Supervisory Role
  • US Attorney for the District of Columbia “STAR” Award
  • US Attorney’s Office for the District of Columbia, recipient of multiple Special Achievement Awards for Superior Performance

Admissions

Bar Admissions

  • District of Columbia

Court Admissions

  • US Supreme Court
  • US Court of Appeals, Fourth and District of Columbia Circuits
  • US District Court, District of Columbia

Education

  • Georgetown University, J.D.: member, American Criminal Law Review 
  • Georgetown University, B.S., Foreign Service

Professional Activities

Speaker

  • National Association of Former US Attorneys (NAFUSA) Annual Conference, Ethics and Internal Investigations (2014)
  • National Association of Former US Attorneys (NAFUSA) Annual Conference, Criminal Litigation Ethics (2013)
  • Association of American Law Schools and ABA Criminal Justice Section for Legal Educators, Judges, Practitioners, and Prosecutors, Culpability and White Collar Crime (2013)
  • American Bar Association’s Criminal Justice Section’s Spring Conference, Superior Direct and Cross-Examination: Demonstrations from White Collar Trial Masters of the ABA Criminal Justice Section and Florida Bar Associations (2013)
  • Drug Information Association’s 49th Annual Meeting on Advancing Therapeutic Innovation and Regulatory Science, The Science of Compliance (2013)
  • American Conference Institute’s Fifth Russia and CIS Summit on Anti-Corruption, FCPA Year in Review: an Examination of Recent US DOJ and SEC Investigations and What They Reveal About Emerging Risks Companies Face in Russia and the CIS (Moscow 2013)
  • American Bar Association’s 27th Annual National Institute on White Collar Crime, Plenary Panel, Complying with Brady and Strategies for Defense Counsel (2013)
  • Department of Justice, Women at the Department of Justice Leadership Table (2012)
  • Sixth Circuit Judicial Conference, Department of Justice Policies and Priorities (2012)
  • American Bar Association’s 26th Annual National Institute on White Collar Crime, Plenary Session, Prosecution of Attorneys in Connection with Providing Legal Advice (2012)
  • Testified before the House Judiciary Committee’s Subcommittee on Crime, Terrorism and Homeland Security on H.R. 2572, the “Clean-Up Government Act of 2011” (2011)
  • Lead United States Delegate, First International Legal Forum, sponsored by the Russian Ministry of Justice (2011) 

Co-Author

  • "Negotiating Justice: Prosecutorial Perspectives on Federal Plea Bargaining in the District of Columbia," 43 American Criminal Law Review 1063 (2006)

Member

  • US District Court for the District of Columbia, Special Committee on Criminal Disclosure Obligations
  • American Law Institute
  • The American Bar Association
  • Fellows of the American Bar Foundation
  • District of Columbia Bar Nominating Committee (2010)
  • US Court of Appeals of the District of Columbia Circuit Committee on Admissions and Grievances (2001-2006)
  • The Barristers, Washington, DC
  • Edward Bennett Williams Inn of Court, Washington, DC

Private Practice

  • Represent former corporate executive for Brazilian company in connection with US DOJ grand jury investigation into FCPA violations regarding alleged bribes to state-owned enterprise
  • Represent public and private corporations and individuals in criminal fraud, foreign corruption, arms export controls, False Claims Act, and health care fraud investigations
  • Represent individuals in Congressional investigations
  • Conduct criminal internal investigations for defense contractors
  • Represent individuals in ethical and professional responsibility investigations 
  • Served as trial counsel for ERISA class action complaint 
  • Provide advice and counsel to clients on Foreign Corrupt Practices Act. See Foreign Corrupt Practices Act: An O’Melveny Handbook, Seventh Edition. 

US Department of Justice

  • Served as a top advisor to the Assistant Attorney General of the Criminal Division on a range of high-profile and sensitive issues, including a recent trial of a former US Senator, the revision of electronic surveillance policies, the investigation of a foreign official for laundering money in US financial institutions, and a variety of international law enforcement policy issues 
  • Headed the Office of Professional Responsibility, which conducts internal investigations of allegations of professional misconduct by Department attorneys 
  • As chief of the Criminal Division at the US Attorney’s Office for the District of Columbia, oversaw and directed all aspects of the prosecution of criminal cases in the US District Court for the District of Columbia, including mortgage fraud, bank fraud, export control violations, Foreign Corrupt Practices Act violations, securities fraud, asset forfeiture, and public corruption 
  • Handled the negotiation of a plea agreement with a major American corporation for providing material support to a foreign terrorist organization 
  • Oversaw the deferred prosecution agreement of ABN/AMRO and the prosecution of the former Riggs Bank for Bank Secrecy Act violations
  • Prosecuted government employees and union officials for embezzlement, fraud, and corruption