Timothy Heaphy

Prior to joining Willkie in 2023, Tim was Chief Investigative Counsel to the U.S. House of Representatives Select Committee to Investigate The January 6 Attack on the United States Capitol.  As the leader of the committee’s investigative team, he created the plan for comprehensive evaluation of the facts and circumstances surrounding the attack, supervised dozens of lawyers and investigative staff professionals, and personally conducted numerous committee interviews and depositions, and ultimately contributed to the committee’s hearings and final report.

Immediately prior to his service on the Select Committee, Tim served as University Counsel to the University of Virginia.  As chief legal officer to a major public research university, Tim advised the university’s leadership and Board of Directors on a wide array of legal issues across the academic division and health system. From 2009-2014, he served as the Presidentially-appointed U.S. Attorney for the Western District of Virginia, where he led a team of attorneys and staff in a broad range of significant investigations and cases involving national security, financial and health care fraud, public corruption, money laundering, civil rights and other matters. Earlier in his career, Tim served for 12 years as an Assistant U.S. Attorney in both the District of Columbia and the Western District of Virginia. In addition, Tim has several years of experience in private practice.  He was a partner and White Collar Defense and Internal Investigations Practice chair at prominent law firms in Washington, DC and Virginia. He began his legal career as a law clerk to Judge John A. Terry of the District of Columbia Court of Appeals.

Tim is a lecturer at University of Virginia School of Law, where he has taught since 2003. His courses have included Federal Criminal Practice, Trial Advocacy and Law and Riots. He also taught a seminar called “Congress, Oversight, and the Separation of Powers” in the fall of 2023.

In 2016, Tim founded a nonprofit organization, The Fountain Fund, which provides low-interest loans to formerly incarcerated people. He currently serves as founder and chairman of the Board of Directors of that organization. 

Publications

• “Inside the January 6th Committee,” Los Angeles Lawyer, October 2023 
• “What Charlottesville Can Teach Us About January 6 at the Capitol,” The Hill, March 29, 2021. 
• “What Trump Doesn’t Get About Defendants Who Flip,” Politico Magazine, September 14, 2018. 
• “We Have To Care About Gun Violence, Wherever It Happens,” Washington Post, March 30, 2018.

Select Speaking Engagements

• Virginia State Bar Criminal Law Seminar, “What Charlottesville and January 6 Have in Common,” Charlottesville, VA, February 3, 2023.
• “The January 6th Committee:  A Retrospective and the Role of Legal Ethics,” Houston Bar Association, March 7, 2023
• “The Legacy of January 6th,” The Miller Center, Charlottesville, VA, March 20, 2023
• “Ethical Issues Arising from the January 6 Investigation,” Virginia Trial Lawyers Association, The Greenbrier, WV, March 23, 2023
• “Charlottesville and January 6th:  What They Have in Common and What They Say about America,” The Cosmos Club, Washington, DC, April 20, 2023
• “Investigations Playbook:  Rules of the Road in Conducting Sports Investigations,” Sports Lawyers Association, Los Angeles, CA, May 12, 2023
• “Ephemeral Messaging:  Recent Guidance and Best Practices,” Willkie, Farr & Gallagher CLE, Washington, DC, June 26, 2023
• “The Future of Investigations:  Lessons from the January 6 Select Committee,” National Association of College and University Attorneys, Chicago, IL, June 29, 2023
• Virginia Bar Association Annual Meeting, “Before, During and After January 6 , 2021,” Hot Springs, VA, July 23, 2022.
• “Conducting Investigations Under a Microscope:  Lessons from the January 6 Investigation,” American Bar Association, Criminal Justice Section, Washington, DC, September 20, 2023
• “Why the Constitution is Important to Law Enforcement, and Vice Versa,” Constitutional Foundations of Law Enforcement, Center for the Constitution, Montpelier, VA, December 12, 2023
• University of Pennsylvania School of Law, “Open Expression at Public and Private Universities,” (panelist), Philadelphia, PA, January 25, 2019. 
• Mt. St. Mary’s University, “Lessons from Charlottesville: Managing Large Protest Events,” Keynote Speaker, Delaney Dinner and Lecture, Emmitsburg, MD, October 4, 2018. 
  
   
  
  
   

White Collar Defense and Government Investigations

In his previous capacity as a partner at two international law firms, Mr. Heaphy conducted numerous internal investigations, provided compliance counseling, and oversaw numerous white collar defense matters for public and private clients across a wide range of industries and civic sectors. Most notably, he has represented:

• the City of Charlottesville, Virginia, after being retained to conduct an independent review of the City’s preparation for and response to the “Unite the Right” mass demonstration event in August of 2017, which included leading the investigative team that conducted hundreds of interviews, reviewed documents, images and video from the event; produced a fulsome report with detailed findings of fact and multiple recommendations for improved handling of future events; and presented findings to the local community and nationwide audience and managed media strategy throughout engagement;
• an alternative energy company in an internal investigation of impairment announcements regarding offshore wind projects;
• a pharmaceutical manufacturer in a Department of Justice off-label marketing investigation;
• several employees of a communications firm in a Department of Justice investigation of the sale of counterfeit pharmaceuticals;
• a global consulting company and several individuals in securing the favorable resolution of a FARA investigation conducted by Special Counsel, resulting in the Company not being charged after the retroactive FARA filing and one of the individuals being fully prepared when appearing at trial;
• a domestic port logistics company in securing the declination to intervene in a False Claims Act investigation by the US Attorney’s Office involving logistics expenses in international ports;
• a food production company in securing the favorable civil resolution of an environmental crimes investigation involving chemical release at a processing facility;
• a defense contractor in an investigation of a fatal accident caused by a defective airplane part;
• a disaster relief contractor in securing a full acquittal in a federal two-week jury trial alleging bribery of local officials; and
• a luxury travel service operator in securing a full acquittal in a federal three-week jury trial alleging Lacey Act violations for alleged importation of illegally-obtained animal parts.

State Attorneys General Matters

Mr. Heaphy also previously served as Senior Assistant Attorney General of Virginia.  As a member of the Attorney General’s senior staff, Mr. Heaphy worked with the State’s Solicitor General, senior subject matter experts within Virginia’s Office of Attorney General, Virginia State legislators, and State executive branch officials on a wide range of matters. He also represented the Virginia Attorney General and several State agencies while in private practice, including:

• The Attorney General of Virginia and:
  • Virginia Birth-Related Neurological Injury Compensation Fund in a False Claims Act investigation regarding the prioritization of Medicaid claims;
  • Virginia Department of Social Services in a DOJ investigation regarding the faulty reporting of SNAP benefit error rates; and
  • a Virginia public university and several student-athletes in a civil litigation involving hazing allegations.
• a telecommunications company in a multi-state Attorney General investigation into the contractual provision of insurance coverage for cellular customers.

Higher Education Counseling

Mr. Heaphy also previously served as Chief Legal Officer to the University of Virginia. During his tenure as University Counsel and since joining Willkie, Mr. Heaphy has:

• conducted a proactive internal review of the University’s process for admission of student athletes to ensure integrity after the announcement of “Varsity Blues” – the largest college admissions-related investigation pursued by the DOJ to date  – which resulted in internal process improvements despite complete lack of involvement in the DOJ’s criminal investigation;
• reviewed evidence of violation of University policies resulting in August 2017 “Unite the Right” protest, resulting in the issuance of multiple no-trespass orders to involved individuals;
• facilitated self-reports to NCAA compliance officials and supervised investigations of potential violations;
• reviewed and modified rules and processes of the University’s investigations of sexual misconduct pursuant to Title IX in light of U.S. Department of Education guidance;
• provided daily counsel to UVA Health, the University’s academic medical center, which included advising health system leadership on transactions, employment, research and benefits issues, and defending against malpractice claims;
• served as a core member of University leadership team managing operations throughout the global COVID-19 pandemic; and
• advised an athletic conference regarding the proposed withdrawal of a member institution.

Congressional Investigations

As Chief Investigative Counsel to the US House of Representatives’ Select Committee to Investigate the January 6 Attack on the US Capitol, Mr. Heaphy led the day-to-day investigative work of the committee. His role on the Select Committee predicated his prior experience both representing clients in congressional investigations and testifying before Congress himself. His most notable Congressional regulatory experience includes representing the following, among others:

• a social media company executive in a House Judiciary Committee investigation regarding the platform’s restriction of COVID misinformation;
• a global transportation firm in an investigation of security threats posed by Chinese manufacture of critical infrastructure equipment;
• a tenured faculty member at an American university and an executive branch official in an investigation of research grants regarding the online proliferation of disinformation;
• a real estate executive in the impeachment inquiry of President Biden;
• a defense contractor in a US House of Representatives’ investigation into the provision of food services for US troops in Iraq;
• a Member of Congress in an Ethics Committee investigation into the improper use of staff for personal business;
• a Member of Congress in an investigation of political influence into the firing of United States Attorneys; and
• an academic medical center in a US Senate inquiry into cost reimbursement and submission of claims to Medicaid.

Mr. Heaphy also previously testified:

• on behalf of the DOJ in a US Senate Judiciary hearing on the prosecution of federal firearms offenses;
• to the US House of Representatives Judiciary Committee on “overcriminalization”; and
• to the US Senate International Narcotics Control Caucus.

Enforcement Experience

As a Presidentially-appointed US Attorney, Mr. Heaphy supervised numerous criminal investigations and resolved civil complaints brought against the United States. In this former capacity, he:

• negotiated a billion-dollar resolution of a False Claims Act investigation against one of the largest US-based multinational medical device and health care companies involving off-label marketing of an anti-psychotic medication to senior citizens;
• negotiated the million-dollar resolution of an investigation of a major US-based home mortgage loans and services company regarding its failure to distribute mortgage relief funds; and
• served as Counsel to the United States in a 13-month long racketeering trial in which defendants were convicted of multiple homicides and other violent crimes.