Clients choose Willkie’s Investigations & Enforcement Practice Group for representation in critical, high-stakes matters. We provide comprehensive counsel to global clients involved in cross-border controversies, and practical solutions based on deep experience and leadership in the field. With some of the foremost attorneys industrywide, an established local presence in key jurisdictions and extensive capabilities in offices across the United States and Europe, we offer clients mission-critical guidance and in-depth knowledge of the enforcement landscape. Our integrated team works strategically and cost-efficiently for domestic and international clients to anticipate and swiftly respond to multi-dimensional challenges, from their earliest stages through to resolution. Our team advises on the full range of corporate criminal and enforcement issues, including:
- Anti-bribery/corruption and FCPA Defense
- Anti-money Laundering and Economic Sanctions
- Cartels and Antitrust Investigations
- Compliance and International Business Practices
- Congressional Investigations
- ESG Compliance & Investigations
- False Claims Act Defense
- Financial Fraud Defense
- Higher Education Investigations
- Internal Investigations
- Monitorships & Independent Reviews
- State Attorney General Investigations
- SEC Regulatory and Enforcement
- White-Collar Criminal Investigations
We help navigate these matters whether they remain internal or involve reputation-threatening civil, criminal, or regulatory investigations and disputes. We have offices in several major markets and have handled investigations and provided enforcement advice in over 150 countries. Willkie is widely recognized as one of the best law firms for complex multijurisdictional corporate investigations. Global Investigations Review ranked Willkie among the Top 20 Global Investigations Practices in 2023 and 2022, and in 2020 awarded Willkie Most Impressive Investigations Practice of the Year – GIR’s top honor – and Most Important Court Case of the Year.
Our Group includes preeminent practitioners known for their investigative experience, persuasive advocacy, and practical solutions. We are formidable advocates for our clients and have a strong track record in matters involving investigations initiated by regulators and authorities in the U.S., UK, EU, and other key markets around the world. Our team also possesses substantial experience on Capitol Hill, advising clients who are subject to Congressional scrutiny. We have negotiated effectively to moderate the scope and impact of government investigations and reached favorable settlements when matters call for compromise. We have also litigated aggressively and successfully against government enforcers as the circumstances and our clients’ needs require.
- U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ)
- U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC)
- U.S. Offices of Inspectors General (OIGs)
- U.S. State Attorneys General (AGs)
- Local U.S. prosecutors
- U.S. Department of Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC)
- U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC)
- U.S. Senate
- U.S. House of Representatives
- UK Serious Fraud Office (SFO)
- UK Financial Conduct Authority (FCA)
- HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC)
- UK Office of Financial Services Implementation (OFSI)
- France’s Parquet national financier (PNF)
- EU European Commission
- Germany’s Public Prosecutors’ Office (the Staatsanwaltschaft)
In addition to government-facing investigations, we regularly conduct internal investigations involving our clients’ most sensitive issues and provide clients with a framework of preventive measures, remediation, and effective internal compliance programs. We assess potential legal exposure, craft effective internal and external communications, and anticipate collateral consequences of every core business problem. We strive to transform every crisis scenario into an opportunity for growth, helping our clients to emerge smarter and more prepared to anticipate future challenges. Where a client faces regulatory scrutiny on their compliance infrastructure, we utilize decades’ worth of experience auditing third-party programs to mitigate punitive responses. Several members of our team also played a leading role during their former government service in evaluating compliance programs and drafting guidelines that prosecutors and regulators still use today. This experience enables us to quickly and efficiently handle any investigation thoroughly and discreetly with minimum disruption to the organization. Our team is distinguished by its seasoned judgment, legal acumen, and practical perspective, as evidenced by its recent independent selection to serve as a unique, dual monitor for a global financial institution by both the DOJ and the CFTC.
Our attorneys are on the cutting edge of enforcement and regulatory trends, deploying our deep experience working within the global investigatory and enforcement landscape to achieve successful outcomes – including obtaining declinations – for clients. We are highly flexible, always customizing our strategy to the unique facts of each engagement while maintaining our commitment to excellence, accomplishing our clients’ goals across the full spectrum of investigations and enforcement matters.
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Willkie Compliance Concourse
Willkie Compliance Concourse is a first-of-its-kind web-based application for multinational companies, attorneys and compliance professionals seeking practical guidance on the numerous and diverse regulatory compliance risks that companies face. For clients operating in the US, UK and worldwide, the app is a one-stop destination to stay abreast of the latest legal and enforcement developments, trends and thinking.
The app features:
- Practical guides on bribery and corruption, cybersecurity, data privacy, insider trading, money laundering and sanctions statutes and regulations in the US and UK
- Current news and analysis on the regulatory compliance, investigations and enforcement landscape
- On-demand accredited CLEs
- Hypotheticals exploring sensitive cross-border compliance issues
Instructions to download the app can be found here. To access the app from your desktop, visit https://complianceconcourse.willkie.com.