National Law Journal Names Covington Best White Collar Practice
June 24, 2013
WASHINGTON, DC, June 24, 2013 — The National Law Journal named Covington & Burling today as the winner of its Washington Litigation Department of the Year contest in the white collar defense practice category.
“We are honored that the National Law Journal has recognized the many strengths of Covington’s white collar and investigations practice,” said Timothy Hester, chair of the firm’s management committee. “We have an exceptional team that has delivered tremendous results for many years across a very wide range of the most complex, high-stakes investigations and white collar matters.”
In awarding Covington the top honor in the white collar defense category, the publication wrote that Washington’s “best white-collar defense lawyers pride themselves on staying out of the spotlight — of making the client's problems quietly go away.”
“The litigators in our white collar practice pride themselves on digging into the facts and going to the mat to win the best outcome for our clients rather than just going in to settle a case,” Bruce Baird, co-chair of the firm’s white collar practice.
Covington’s white collar practice, while rooted in Washington, spans the globe, the NLJ wrote. “As the Justice Department and other federal agencies have beefed up investigations and enforcement actions related to the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act, the firm has upped its FCPA muscle to meet the demand. Covington now has lawyers doing global FCPA work in Washington, New York, San Francisco, London and Beijing.”
Looking ahead, the publication wrote that Covington will benefit from the strategic insights of Lanny Breuer, who recently returned to the firm after four years serving as assistant attorney general for the Criminal Division where he oversaw “teams of prosecutors in high-profile fights ranging from mortgage and health-care fraud to international money laundering.”
Among the matters cited by the NLJ was the firm’s success in gutting the Securities and Exchange Commission’s case against IndyMac Bancorp chief executive officer Michael Perry and achieving a favorable settlement for him in the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation’s case.
“Our strategy was to take nothing for granted,” said D. Jean Veta, the lead partner on the case. “We fought every step of the way in every case and in the end we were successful.”
And the publication cited the firm’s success in representing Deere & Co. in an FCPA investigation. In January, Deere announced that the SEC had informed the company that it wouldn't bring charges.
“We combine an outstanding team of former prosecutors and experienced white collar lawyers with tremendous depth in the industry and legal issues at stake in the matters under investigation,” said John Hall, chair of the firm’s litigation practice. “As the record shows, this integrated approach helps us achieve the best possible results for our clients.”
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