Soumya Dayananda

Prior to joining Willkie in 2023, Soumya was an Assistant U.S. Attorney in the Eastern District of New York for more than a decade, where she held leadership positions in the International Narcotics and Money Laundering Section, overseeing complex cartel, gang and money laundering investigations and prosecutions. During her career, she served as lead trial counsel on dozens of trials, including numerous high-profile RICO cases. She began her career at the Manhattan District Attorney’s Office where, during her eight-year career, she prosecuted street crimes ranging from assaults, robberies, and sex crimes, to homicides.

She also previously served as a Senior Investigative Counsel for the U.S. House of Representatives Select Committee to Investigate The Attack on the United States Capitol, where she led a team of attorneys investigating the law enforcement and military response on January 6; and also served as a Senior Investigative Counsel at the U.S. Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee (HSGAC), the Senate’s top oversight Committee, for Chairman Gary Peters (MI-D), where she led high-profile bipartisan investigations. 

Soumya is an Adjunct Professor in the Integrated Trial Advocacy Program at the Temple University Beasley School of Law and has taught a Persuasion and Advocacy course at Seton Hall University. She has also served as a guest lecturer at clinical programs at NYU School of Law, Brooklyn Law School and City University of New York. She is also a member of the EBW Inn of Court and the Women’s White Collar Defense Association and serves on the board of directors of Reproductive Freedom for All.

In 2015, Soumya received the U.S. Department of Justice Director’s Award for Superior Performance by a Litigation Group and the Federal Law Enforcement Foundation’s Federal Prosecutor of the Year award, and in 2018, the Society of Asian Federal Officers Prosecutor of the Year award. She is a three-time recipient of the True American Hero Award from the Federal Drug Agents’ Foundation. 

• Representing CareDx, Inc., a diagnostic solutions company for transplant patients, in government investigations regarding Medicaid reimbursement practices at the company.
• Served as co-lead trial counsel defending Cargill, Inc. in a bench trial before Southern District of New York Judge Jed Rakoff. After three days of plaintiffs’ case, secured a highly favorable settlement to resolve claims before the start of the defense case.  
• Representing a witness in a DOJ U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Northern District of California investigation into the CEO of a technology firm alleged to have led a $60 million fraud scheme. 
• Represented a witness in a high-profile RICO and sex trafficking trial, led by the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of New York. 
• Representing a non-profit organization facing an investigation from the Attorney Generals’ Office.
• Representing an individual in a criminal investigation conducted by the DOJ. U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of New York and Eastern District of New York into a former New York City government official.
• Represented witnesses in a DOJ U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Central District of California investigation into violations of the Resource Conservation and Recovery Act.
• Counsel for global financial institution in a DOJ fraud investigation and bankruptcy inquiry.
• Represented an individual in connection with an FCPA investigation conducted by the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of New York.
• Represented numerous individuals and companies in investigations conducted by the House Judiciary Committee.