Former SF USAO Securities Fraud Chief Joins Covington

Former SF USAO Securities Fraud Chief Joins Covington

January 20, 2015

SAN FRANCISCO, January 20, 2015 — Douglas Sprague, former chief of the San Francisco U.S. Attorney’s Office Economic Crimes and Securities Fraud section, has joined Covington & Burling’s litigation group as a partner, further strengthening the firm’s highly regarded white collar practice. He will be resident in Covington’s San Francisco office.

Mr. Sprague has more than a dozen years of experience as a federal prosecutor. As chief of the Economic Crimes and Securities Fraud section, Mr. Sprague supervised more than 10 prosecutors responsible for investigating and prosecuting a wide range of white collar crimes, including securities fraud, health care fraud, and violations of the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA). He previously served as chief of the office’s White Collar Crime section and chief of the U.S. Attorney’s Office in Oakland.

In addition to his supervisory duties, Mr. Sprague maintained a full caseload of white collar prosecutions and investigations. He has tried numerous felony jury cases, including several multi-week complex white collar cases.

“Doug will be a strong addition to our San Francisco office and Covington’s white collar defense and investigations practice, particularly with respect to the financial services and health care sectors,” said Timothy Hester, chair of the firm’s management committee.

Ethan Posner, co-chair of Covington’s white collar practice, said that Mr. Sprague will complement the firm’s strong West Coast white collar team, which includes Phillip Warren, former chief of the San Francisco office of the U.S. Department of Justice’s Antitrust Division; David Bayless, former head of the Securities and Exchange Commission’s San Francisco office; and Tammy Albarrán, who leads the firm’s anti-corruption Latin America practice.

“Doug’s experience supervising health care fraud, securities fraud and other white collar matters dovetails perfectly with the firm’s white collar needs,” Mr. Posner said. Ms. Albarrán added that Mr. Sprague’s expertise with the FCPA will be particularly valuable to firm clients.

Prior to joining the U.S. Attorney’s Office, Mr. Sprague worked at law firms in Chicago and San Francisco, focusing on white collar criminal defense, commercial litigation, and intellectual property litigation. Mr. Sprague said he was drawn to Covington by its reputation and the breadth of its trial, white collar, and other litigation work.

Mr. Sprague received a bachelor’s degree from the University of Michigan and a law degree from Northwestern University School of Law.