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- Lanny A. Breuer
Lanny A. Breuer
Lanny A. Breuer, named by the National Law Journal as one of the 100 most influential lawyers in America, is Covington’s Vice Chair and one of the leading trial and white collar defense attorneys in the United States. He specializes in helping clients navigate financial fraud, anti-corruption, money laundering, securities enforcement, congressional, environmental, and other criminal and civil investigations presenting complex regulatory, political, and public relations risks. He has been recognized by numerous national publications as one of the country's premier defense lawyers, including Chambers Global, Chambers USA, Legal 500, and Ethisphere, and he has successfully defended dozens of institutions and individuals in high-stakes criminal and civil cases. Mr. Breuer is a Fellow of the American College of Trial Lawyers.
From 2009-2013, Mr. Breuer served as Assistant Attorney General for the Criminal Division at the U.S. Department of Justice, where he was widely acknowledged as a thought leader in the area of criminal law enforcement. For his work as the longest serving leader of the Criminal Division in recent history, Mr. Breuer received the Edmund J. Randolph Award for outstanding service, as well as numerous other accolades.
Mr. Breuer previously served as Special Counsel to President William Jefferson Clinton (1997-1999), whom he defended in the impeachment proceedings, and Assistant District Attorney in Manhattan (1985-1989).
- Counsel for Mobile Telesystems (“MTS”) in FCPA investigations by the Department of Justice and Securities and Exchange Commission.
- Counsel for Takata in criminal investigation by the Department of Justice involving the manufacture and testing of airbags.
- Counsel for auto manufacturer in fraud investigation.
- Counsel for government contractors in fraud investigations by the Department of Justice, Securities and Exchange Commission, and other agencies.
- Counsel for Hyperdynamics Corporation in FCPA investigations by the Department of Justice and the Securities and Exchange Commission.
- Counsel for global financial institutions in FCPA investigations by the Department of Justice and the Securities and Exchange Commission.
- Counsel for global consumer product company in FCPA investigations by the Department of Justice and the Securities and Exchange Commission.
- Counsel for global pharmaceutical company in FCPA investigation by the Department of Justice and the Securities and Exchange Commission.
- Counsel for numerous corporations and individuals facing sensitive inquiries and investigations by the Department of Justice, Securities and Exchange Commission, World Bank, and other agencies.
- Counsel for pitcher Roger Clemens in a congressional investigation.
- Counsel for former National Security Advisor Samuel Berger in a Department of Justice investigation.
- Counsel for former Russian Minister of Atomic Energy in a Department of Justice investigation alleging theft of tens of millions of dollars of U.S. government funds.
- Counsel for Special Litigation Committee of the Hewlett Packard Board of Directors.
- Counsel for many corporations before Congress.
- Counsel for leading telecommunications investors in a billion-dollar False Claims Act lawsuit.
Pro Bono
- Counsel for University of California in its challenge to the government’s rescission of the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program.
- Counsel to foster mother in one of the longest contested adoption trials.
Memberships and Affiliations
- American College of Trial Lawyers, Fellow
- Council on Foreign Relations, Member
- Anti-Defamation League (ADL), Mid-Atlantic Region, Board Member
- Council for Integrity, Board Member
- Columbia Law School Board of Governors, Member
- The Washington DC Police Foundation, Board Member
- American Law Institute, Member
- Edward Bennett Williams Inn of Court, Master Emeritus
- United States Holocaust Memorial Council, Member (Presidential appointee) (1999-2004), Committee on Conscience, Member (1999-2009)
Previous Experience
Mr. Breuer served from 2009-2013 as Assistant Attorney General for the Criminal Division at the U.S. Department of Justice. As one of the longest-serving Criminal Division chiefs, Mr. Breuer oversaw nearly 600 lawyers at the center of federal criminal prosecution, policy, and legislation in the United States. In his role as Assistant Attorney General, Mr. Breuer was widely recognized as a national leader on a range of federal law enforcement priorities, including financial fraud, money laundering, the U.S. Foreign Corrupt Practices Act, health care fraud, cybercrime, intellectual property theft, human rights, and public corruption.
While at the Justice Department, Mr. Breuer spearheaded the publication of the Resource Guide to the U.S. Foreign Corrupt Practices Act, which stands as the definitive guidance document from the United States government regarding its enforcement of the FCPA. Mr. Breuer also oversaw numerous prosecutions that set new benchmarks across a host of enforcement areas, including anti-corruption, money laundering, health care fraud, and cybercrime.
For his work as Assistant Attorney General, Mr. Breuer received the Edmund J. Randolph Award for outstanding service, the highest award the Attorney General can bestow on a Department employee. He also ranked sixth on Ethisphere’s list of the 100 Most Influential People in Business Ethics internationally and was named by the National Law Journal as one of the 100 Most Influential Lawyers in America.
Prior to his service at the Justice Department, Mr. Breuer co-chaired the firm’s White Collar Defense and Investigations Practice Group.
From 1997-1999, Mr. Breuer served as Special Counsel to President William Jefferson Clinton, representing the White House in investigations by the Independent Counsel, Department of Justice, and Congress, and defending President Clinton in impeachment proceedings.
From 1985-1989, Mr. Breuer served as an Assistant District Attorney in Manhattan.
January 13, 2021, Covington Alert
On January 1, 2021, the United States Congress enacted the Anti-Money Laundering Act of 2020 (the “AMLA”), as part of the National Defense Authorization Act (the “Act”). The AMLA includes extensive and fundamental reforms to anti-money laundering (“AML”) laws in the United States, including the Bank Secrecy Act (“BSA”). We described the principal reforms — ...
Winter 2021, Covington Alert
As we noted in a recent client advisory, we have observed an upward trend in recent years in anti-corruption enforcement activity in Africa, including cross-border cooperation between African law enforcement authorities and their counterparts in the U.S. and UK. Looking ahead to 2021 and beyond, we see no reason to expect this trend to reverse. While 2020 did ...
December 11, 2020, Covington Alert
On December 8, 2020, the House passed the National Defense Authorization Act (the “NDAA” or “Act”), which includes over 200 pages of significant reforms to the Bank Secrecy Act (“BSA”) and other anti-money laundering (“AML”) laws that have been working their way through Congress for several years. Despite some remaining objections from President Trump and ...
September 28, 2020
WASHINGTON—Covington partner Jennifer Saulino has been named a Fellow of the American College of Trial Lawyers, one of the premier legal associations in North America. Ms. Saulino is the eighth Covington lawyer among the current Fellows, joining Lanny Breuer, Robert Haslam, Carolyn Kubota, John Nields, George Pappas, William Phillips, and Robert Sayler. Ms. ...
July 6, 2020, Covington Alert
On July 3, 2020, the U.S. Department of Justice’s (“DOJ” or the “Department”) Criminal Division and the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission’s (“SEC”) Enforcement Division quietly released A Resource Guide to the U.S. Foreign Corrupt Practices Act, Second Edition (the “Second Edition”). The first edition of the Resource Guide (the “First Edition”) was ...
Supreme Court Preserves DACA
June 18, 2020
WASHINGTON—The Supreme Court of the United States, in a 5-4 ruling, struck down the Trump Administration’s attempt to rescind the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program, which provides individuals who were brought to the U.S. as children the opportunity to live and work legally in United States. Covington has represented the University of ...
June 3, 2020, Covington Alert
On June 1, 2020, the U.S. Department of Justice (“DOJ” or the “Department”) Criminal Division released an updated version of its Evaluation of Corporate Compliance Programs document (the “Guidance”), which serves as a reference for prosecutors in assessing corporate compliance programs in the context of DOJ investigations. The Department last revised the ...
Criminal Statutes of Limitations and Speedy Trial Act Considerations During the COVID-19 Pandemic
April 3, 2020, Covington Alert
COVID-19 (hereinafter, “the coronavirus”) is causing significant interruptions to the legal system across the United States, with implications for actual and potential subjects in government investigations and defendants in enforcement actions. This client advisory analyzes the pandemic’s potential effects on the default statute of limitations for federal crimes ...
January 30, 2020, Covington Alert
It has been another strong year in anti-corruption enforcement, with 2019 meeting or beating the high-water mark for enforcement across a number of measurements.
May 10, 2019, Covington Alert
On April 30, 2019, the U.S. Department of Justice (“DOJ”) Criminal Division released an updated version of the Evaluation of Corporate Compliance Programs (the “Guidance”), which serves as a reference for prosecutors in assessing corporate compliance programs in the context of DOJ investigations.
April 3, 2019, Covington Alert
In March 2019, the U.S. Department of Justice introduced several changes to the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (“FCPA”) Corporate Enforcement Policy (“the Policy”). The Policy, originally incorporated into the Justice Manual in November 2017, outlines the Department’s position on mitigation credit that companies may receive for voluntary self-disclosure, full ...
April 3, 2019, Covington Alert
In March 2019, the U.S. Department of Justice introduced several changes to the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (“FCPA”) Corporate Enforcement Policy (“the Policy”). The Policy, originally incorporated into the Justice Manual in November 2017, outlines the Department’s position on mitigation credit that companies may receive for voluntary self-disclosure, full ...
Companies face conflicting expectations when investigating conduct under Israeli jurisdiction
March 26, 2019, Global Investigations Review
Q1 2019, Covington Alert
It was business as usual for FCPA enforcement in 2018. The U.S. Department of Justice (“DOJ”) and the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (“SEC”) collected a total of $1 billion from seventeen corporate defendants, including through their share of two high-value, multi-jurisdictional enforcement actions. DOJ also announced thirteen new FCPA prosecutions ...
Winter 2019, Covington Alert
It was business as usual for FCPA enforcement in 2018. The U.S. Department of Justice (“DOJ”) and the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (“SEC”) collected a total of $1 billion from seventeen corporate defendants, including through their share of two high-value, multi-jurisdictional enforcement actions. DOJ also announced thirteen new FCPA prosecutions ...
Dan Abrams Show
January 31, 2019, SiriusXM
Lanny Breuer appeared on The Dan Abrams show to discuss recent political developments around Special Counsel Robert Mueller’s investigation. He says, “What we know is that this campaign showed a remarkable disregard for distancing itself from those who were trying to sabotage the election.”
January 16, 2019, Covington Alert
On December 26, 2018, the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission ("SEC") settled an enforcement action against Centrais Eléctricas Brasileiras S.A. ("Eletrobras"), an electric utilities holding company majority-owned and controlled by the Brazilian government.
September 28, 2018, Covington Advisory
On August 24, 2018, the Second Circuit issued its much-anticipated decision in U.S. v. Hoskins.Emphasizing on multiple occasions that Congress defined “with surgical precision” who could be liable under the anti-bribery provisions of the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (“FCPA”), the court held that the government may not employ conspiracy or accomplice liability ...
March 7, 2018
WASHINGTON—Global Investigations Review and Who’s Who Legal: Investigations have recognized Covington’s White Collar Defense and Investigations Practice Group in its 2018 report. The publication named Covington partners Tammy Albarrán and Steven Fagell to the inaugural Future Leaders issue, a ranking of “the most eminent lawyers in the field under 45,” and ...
March 5, 2018
LOS ANGELES—Covington partner Carolyn Kubota has been named a Fellow of the American College of Trial Lawyers, one of the premier legal associations in North America. Ms. Kubota is the seventh Covington lawyer among the current Fellows, joining Lanny Breuer, Robert Haslam, John Nields, George Pappas, William Phillips, and Robert Sayler. Ms. Kubota is a ...
February 23, 2018, Covington Alert
On Wednesday, the Supreme Court issued its much-anticipated decision in Digital Realty Trust, Inc. v. Somers. Ruling 9-0, the Court held that the Dodd-Frank Act prohibits retaliation against whistleblowers only if they reported suspected wrongdoing directly to the SEC.
January 25, 2018, Covington Advisory
Our message this year is simple: FCPA enforcement is here to stay. Despite pre-election statements to the contrary, various senior officials in the U.S. Department of Justice (“DOJ”) and U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (“SEC”) have, over the past year, consistently reaffirmed DOJ’s and the SEC’s commitment to FCPA enforcement.
Covington Secures Injunction of DACA Rescission
January 9, 2018
SAN FRANCISCO—Covington secured a victory on behalf of its clients the University of California and UC President Janet Napolitano when Northern District of California Judge William Alsup issued a nationwide injunction blocking the federal government’s effort to shut down the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program (DACA). On September 5, 2017, the ...
The Regulator Whisperers: Covington & Burling, Finalist for White Collar/Regulatory Litigation Department of the Year
January 2018, The American Lawyer
The American Lawyer named Covington a finalist for White Collar/Regulatory Litigation Department of the Year and highlights Eric Holder, Steven Fagell, Lanny Breuer, Nancy Kestenbaum, and Mythili Raman in its profile.
Fighting Trump’s Policies is Personal for This Lawyer
September 13, 2017, Bloomberg Law
Bloomberg Law featured Lanny Breuer in a Q&A regarding his and the firm's involvement as co-counsel at the University of California against the Department of Homeland Security regarding the decision to end the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program. Commenting on the firm's decision to join the lawsuit, Breuer says, "We feel very strongly that the ...
June 7, 2017, Covington Alert
On Monday, in Kokesh v. SEC, the Supreme Court handed a major loss to the Securities and Exchange Commission, unanimously holding that SEC claims for disgorgement of ill-gotten gains are subject to a five-year statute of limitations. The Kokesh decision also calls into question the proper measure of disgorgement (e.g., gross versus net profits) and even whether ...
June 7, 2017, Covington Alert
On Monday, in Kokesh v. SEC,1 the Supreme Court handed a major loss to the Securities and Exchange Commission, unanimously holding that SEC claims for disgorgement of ill-gotten gains are subject to a five-year statute of limitations. For decades, the SEC had taken the position that its disgorgement claims could reach back indefinitely, and recently obtained a ...
Former DHS Assistant Secretary Joins Covington
May 31, 2017
WASHINGTON—Alan Bersin, former Assistant Secretary for International Affairs at the U.S. Department of Homeland Security, has joined Covington as a Policy Consultant in the firm’s Public Policy and Government Affairs practice. Mr. Bersin has led a highly regarded career of government service, having held a number of senior level positions within the Department ...
Ex-DOJ Criminal Chief Sees Red Flags In FCPA Pilot
October 26, 2016, Law360
Lanny Breuer participated at the FCPA Blog Conference and is quoted in a Law360 article regarding concerns raised by a requirement under a pilot Foreign Corrupt Practices Act disclosure program forcing companies to step back from conducting their own investigations. According to Breuer, the FCPA pilot program makes “an extraordinary request” by mandating that ...
Lanny Breuer Has Doubts About FCPA Pilot Program
October 26, 2016, The Wall Street Journal
Lanny Breuer participated at the FCPA Blog Conference and is quoted in a Wall Street Journal article regarding the FCPA pilot program that will provide discounts to foreign-bribery offenders that disclose and tackle those transgressions and cooperate with the authorities. Breuer said that while it’s too soon to tell if the pilot has had its intended effect, he ...
Covington secures DOJ declination for AB InBev
August 30, 2016, Global Investigations Review
Global Investigations Review highlights Covington’s role in helping AB InBev secure a declination notice from the U.S. Department of Justice in an FCPA investigation regarding the company’s business partners in India. The Covington team was led by Steven Fagell, who worked with Lanny Breuer, Jason Criss, and Benjamin Haley on the matter.
August 22, 2016
WASHINGTON—Global Investigations Review has named Covington’s FCPA practice among Washington’s “elite,” the highest tier in its “Washington DC’s FCPA Bar” survey. In its profile, GIR notes Covington’s “deep bench of high-level former prosecutors,” including former U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder; the last two former heads of the Criminal Division at the ...
August 8, 2016
NEW YORK—Arlo Devlin-Brown, most recently the Chief of the Public Corruption Unit in the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of New York and one of its top securities fraud prosecutors, has joined Covington as a partner in its white collar defense and investigations practice resident in the firm’s New York office. Mr. Devlin-Brown has served in the ...
Moving on up in the Big Apple
June 13, 2016, CDR News
Timothy Hester, Lanny Breuer, and Arlo Devlin-Brown are quoted in a CDR article regarding Devlin-Brown’s arrival. Devlin-Brown says he is “very pleased” to join the firm’s multinational white collar practice, praising its “extraordinary depth.” According to Hester, “Arlo’s deep experience in white-collar matters, particularly in the financial services sector, ...
Longtime U.S. Prosecutor to Join Covington & Burling
June 7, 2016, The New York Times
Lanny Breuer is quoted in a New York Times article regarding the upcoming arrival of Arlo Devlin-Brown to the firm’s white collar defense and investigations practice. According to Breuer, “[Devlin-Brown] has this exceptional level of experience, having done securities cases and corruption cases.” He continues, “He’ll very quickly become a central figure of the ...
October 6, 2015
NEW YORK, October 6, 2015 - Covington partner C. William Phillips has been named a Fellow of the American College of Trial Lawyers, one of the premier legal associations in North America. Mr. Phillips is the seventh Covington lawyer among the current Fellows, joining Lanny Breuer, Robert Haslam, James McKay, John Nields, George Pappas, and Robert Sayler. Mr. ...
May 26, 2015
WASHINGTON, DC, May 26, 2015 — Covington represented Hyperdynamics Corporation in an investigation conducted by the U.S. Department of Justice into potential violations of the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act related to its business activities in the Republic of Guinea. The Justice Department has completed its investigation without bringing any charges against the ...
Former Federal Prosecutors Daniel Shallman, Aaron Lewis Join Covington’s New Los Angeles Office
March 6, 2015
LOS ANGELES, March 6, 2015 — Former federal prosecutor and leading white collar defense lawyer Dan Shallman will join Covington as a partner in the firm’s new Los Angeles office on March 9. Mr. Shallman will head the firm’s Southern California white collar and investigations team while also playing a leading role in the growth of Covington’s LA office. Aaron ...
Your International Compliance Playbook
January 2015, Corporate Counsel
Covington's Lanny Breuer and Peter Lichtenbaum have authored this article on corporate compliance: The phone rings, and the CEO tells you she’s planning an acquisition of a target that has operations in Europe and Asia. She’s focused on the potential to develop technology 24-7 and get closer to the global customers. Of course, your job is to get regulatory ...
November 8, 2014, The Washington Post
Covington's Lanny Breuer is quoted regarding President Obama nominating Loretta E. Lynch "Former Assistant Attorney General of the Criminal Division Lanny Breuer worked closely with Lynch on the 2011 Mafia takedown of more than 120 members — the largest of its kind in U.S. history — and the record $1.9 billion settlement with HSBC, the global bank that ...
Strategies for navigating joint antitrust division and criminal division investigations
October 9, 2014, Global Competition Review
Thomas Barnett, Lanny Breuer, Deborah Garza, Mythili Raman and Phillip Warren have written this article on what potential subjects should keep in mind as they attempt to navigate joint investigations by DOJ’s Criminal and Antitrust Divisions: "In recent years, the US Department of Justice’s antitrust and criminal divisions have announced massive, joint ...
Q3: 2014, Ethisphere Executive Briefing, Volume 1
August 18, 2014
WASHINGTON, DC, August 18, 2014 — Best Lawyers named Covington & Burling’s Stuart Eizenstat and Gregg Levy each a 2015 “Lawyer of the Year” in international trade and sports law, respectively, citing their “abilities, professionalism and integrity.” Overall, Covington lawyers received 217 individual mentions in 58 areas of law in the newly released annual survey ...
August 7, 2014, Covington E-Alert
August 5, 2014
WASHINGTON, DC, August 5, 2014 — Covington & Burling’s Lanny Breuer, a partner and vice chairman of the firm, has been named to the National Law Journal’s inaugural list of 50 Governance Risk & Compliance Trailblazers & Pioneers. The list recognizes people who have “moved the needle” in the changing ways that law firms conduct business towards governance, risk ...
November 21, 2013
WASHINGTON, DC, November 21, 2013 — Washingtonian magazine has named 34 Covington & Burling attorneys as “Best Lawyers” in its December issue. The biennial list, compiled by the magazine’s editorial staff, identifies leading lawyers in the Washington area. Of the hundreds of “Best Lawyers” identified in the issue, Washingtonian spotlights 14 leading Washington ...
March 28, 2013
WASHINGTON, DC, March 28, 2013 — Lanny A. Breuer, most recently the Assistant Attorney General for the Criminal Division at the U.S. Department of Justice, is returning to Covington & Burling as Vice Chair of the firm. Mr. Breuer’s practice will encompass a wide range of civil and criminal litigation matters, as well as governmental and internal investigations. ...
September 29, 2008
WASHINGTON, DC, September 29, 2008 — Covington & Burling LLP received 124 individual mentions in 40 areas of law in the 2009 edition of The Best Lawyers in America. This annual compilation of top US lawyers is based on peer-review surveys and is used as a referral guide in the legal profession. The Covington lawyers recognized are as follows: Administrative: ...
June 16, 2008
WASHINGTON, DC, June 16, 2008 — Covington & Burling LLP received 81 individual mentions and 45 practice mentions in the newly released 2008 Chambers USA. The guidebook, which ranks lawyers by state and national practice area, is designed to identify the most skilled legal practitioners based on the qualities most valued by clients. Here are the Covington ...
11/30/2007
WASHINGTON, DC, November 30, 2007 — Nineteen Covington & Burling LLP attorneys are recognized as “Top Lawyers” in the December 2007 issue of Washingtonian magazine. The list, compiled by the magazine’s editorial staff based on peer recommendations, identifies leading lawyers in the Greater Washington area. Of the “Top Lawyers,” Washingtonian identified 30 as the ...
September 6, 2007
WASHINGTON, DC, September 6, 2007 — Covington & Burling LLP received 115 individual mentions in 38 areas of law in the 2008 edition of The Best Lawyers in America. This annual compilation of top US lawyers is based on peer-review surveys and is used as a referral guide in the legal profession. The recipients are as follows: Administrative: E. Edward Bruce and ...
June 18, 2007
WASHINGTON, DC, June 18, 2007 — Covington & Burling LLP received 44 practice mentions and 74 individual mentions in the newly released 2007 Chambers USA guidebook. The 2007 edition of Chambers USA attempts to identify the most skilled legal practitioners throughout the country based on the qualities most valued by clients. Covington attorneys have been ...
- In March 2020, Mr. Breuer was identified as a John Jay Award recipient, which is an honor bestowed on members of the Columbia College community for distinguished public achievement.
- Named to the National Law Journal’s inaugural list of 50 Governance Risk & Compliance Trailblazers & Pioneers (2014)
- Ethisphere Magazine, Attorneys Who Matter (2014-2016)
- Washington D.C. Super Lawyers, Criminal Defense: White Collar (2014-2020); Named to "Top 100 Washington D.C. Area Super Lawyers" (2016-2019)
- Benchmark Litigation, White Collar Crime Local Litigation Star - DC and US (2015)
- Chambers USA, FCPA and White-Collar Crime & Government Investigations (2014-2020) and Litigation (2006-2008)
- Chambers Global, FCPA and Corporate Investigations (2015-2020)
- Chambers Latin America, Corporate Crime & Investigations (2017-2020)
- Legal 500 US, White Collar Criminal Defense (2007-2008, 2014-2017), Litigation: Securities - Shareholder Information (2015), and Antitrust - Cartel (2017)
- Who's Who Legal - Named a "Thought Leader" in WWL: Investigations, an in-depth report by Who’s Who Legal and Global Investigations Review (2018)
- Who’s Who Legal, Investigations (2016-2017)
- National Law Journal, 100 Most Influential Lawyers (2013)
- Washingtonian, Criminal Defense "Top Lawyer" (2018, 2017, 2015, and 2013)
- Sixth on Ethisphere’s 100 Most Influential People in Business Ethics internationally (2012)
- National Law Journal, named a "Visionary" in the Washington, DC legal community (2010)
- Washingtonian, named one of thirty “Big Guns,” the top lawyers in Washington (2007)
- American Lawyer, Top 45 private lawyers under the age of 45 in the United States (2003)