Nancy Kestenbaum

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 ...

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 ...

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.

December 17, 2019, Covington Alert

On Friday, December 13, Principal Deputy Attorney General David Burns of the Justice Department’s (“DOJ’s” or “the Department’s”) National Security Division (“NSD”), announced a new DOJ policy for business organizations that voluntarily disclose potential criminal violations of the U.S. export controls and sanctions laws to NSD’s Counterintelligence and Export ...

September 11, 2019

NEW YORK—Amanda Kramer, former Assistant U.S. Attorney for the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of New York, has joined Covington’s White Collar Defense and Investigations Practice in New York as a partner. Ms. Kramer served for more than 11 years as a federal prosecutor in the Southern District of New York. Most recently, she served as a senior ...

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 ...

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 ...

December 12, 2018

WASHINGTON—Law360 has named four Covington partners as MVPs in their respective practice areas. The awards single out lawyers from across numerous practice areas based on their success in high-stakes litigation, complex global matters, and record-breaking deals. The Covington lawyers recognized as Law360 MVPs are: Shara Aranoff, International Trade. Ms. ...

July 19, 2018, Covington Alert

Last week, in SEC v. Cohen, a federal district court dismissed an SEC enforcement action, in its entirety, on statute-of-limitations grounds. Most notably, citing the Supreme Court’s 2017 Kokesh decision, the court held that the injunction sought by the SEC in the case "would function at least partly to punish Defendants and is therefore a penalty" for purposes ...

July 17, 2018

LONDON—Global Investigations Review has named Covington’s Sarah Crowder to the second edition of “Women in Investigations,” highlighting 100 female practitioners from across the globe. Nancy Kestenbaum and Mythili Raman were selected to the list’s first edition in 2015. The survey highlights a variety of women not previously recognized by the magazine—from ...

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.

February 2, 2018, Law360

Covington was named a 2017 White Collar Practice Group of the Year by Law360. Commenting on the firm's representation of Takata Corp. in its highly sensitive $1 billion deal with the U.S. Department of Justice over air bag inflators, Steven Fagell says, "It was a very sensitive and very complicated matter, and there were other regulators that had taken an ...

January 28, 2018, Law360

Nancy Kestenbaum is quoted in a Law360 article regarding the impact of the #MeToo movement on internal investigations. “The #MeToo movement has empowered more people to come forward and raise these issues at their companies or organizations,” says Kestenbaum. “And that has caused the organizations to examine those specific issues, or issues of harassment and ...

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.

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.

December 17, 2017, The Wall Street Journal

Nancy Kestenbaum is quoted by The Wall Street Journal in an article regarding internal investigations at nonprofits. According to Kestenbaum, when reported incidents occurred decades ago, investigators looked for documents or multiple witnesses to substantiate claims. “You can be left with situations where you believe misconduct took place but you have ...

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 ...

September 30, 2016, Covington Alert

The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) continues to aggressively pursue companies using severance and other employment agreements that could be perceived to discourage employees from reporting possible securities law violations. Three enforcement actions this past summer demonstrate the need for companies to proactively review and give consideration ...

September 20, 2016

WASHINGTON—Global Investigations Review has named the Microsoft warrant access case as the winner of the “Most Important Court Case of the Year.” Covington served as co-counsel to Microsoft and helped secure a landmark win in the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit. GIR also ranked Covington among the top 15 investigations practices in the world in its ...

July 14, 2016

WASHINGTON—The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit has ruled in favor of Covington’s client Microsoft Corporation in its challenge to a U.S. warrant seeking customer emails stored in Ireland.  Microsoft argued that the warrant—issued under the Electronic Communications Privacy Act (ECPA)—could not be used to obtain emails stored abroad because it would ...

November 25, 2015

WASHINGTON, DC, November 25, 2015 - Law360 has named four Covington partners as MVPs in their respective practice areas. The awards single out lawyers from across 31 practice areas based on their success in high-stakes litigation, record-breaking deals, and complex global matters. The Covington lawyers recognized as Law360 MVPs are: Ray Biagini, ...

October 19, 2015, The Wall Street Journal

Covington’s role in helping Hyperdynamics navigate an FCPA investigation is highlighted in this Wall Street Journal “Risk & Compliance Journal” story. Nancy Kestenbaum said, “It was essential for the company’s survival that it resolve the investigations as quickly as possible.” She also commented on the company’s cooperation throughout. “Recognizing that a ...

2006-2015, PLI Conference

September 11, 2015, Covington Alert

June 18, 2015

NEW YORK, June 18, 2015 - A federal appeals court ruled yesterday that former top U.S. officials can potentially be held liable for the abuse of detainees held at a center in New York City following the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2011. The plaintiffs in the case, Turkmen v. Ashcroft, are represented by the Center for Constitutional Rights, Covington & ...

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 ...

April 1, 2015, GIR

Covington's Nancy Kestenbaum and Mythili Raman are featured in GIR's "Women in Investigations" special.

Winter 2015, Covington Advisory

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 ...

January 2014, Covington Advisory

9/18/2013

NEW YORK, September 18, 2013 — New York Super Lawyers selected 36 Covington & Burling lawyers for its 2013 list of top legal talent. Super Lawyers selects no more than five percent of the total lawyers in the state based on peer review and the publication’s independent research. Twenty-three Covington lawyers were named New York Super Lawyers: • Martin ...

July 29, 2013, Covington Advisory

February 2013, Covington Advisory

November 2012, Covington Advisory

September 24, 2012

NEW YORK, September 24, 2012 — New York Super Lawyers selected 27 Covington & Burling lawyers for its 2012 list of top legal talent. Super Lawyers selects only five percent of the total lawyers in the state based upon peer review and the publication’s independent research. Nineteen Covington lawyers were named New York Super Lawyers: Jack Bodner, Mergers & ...

August 27, 2012

WASHINGTON, DC, August 27, 2012 — Covington & Burling LLP lawyers received 196 individual mentions in 57 areas of law in the 2013 edition of The Best Lawyers in America. This annual compilation of top U.S. lawyers is based on peer-review surveys and is used as a referral guide in the legal profession. The Covington lawyers recognized are as ...

August 22, 2012, Covington E-Alert

July 12, 2012, Covington Advisory

July 2012, Covington E-Alert

February 2012, Covington E-Alert

January 20, 2012

WASHINGTON, DC, January 20, 2012 — Law360 named Covington & Burling’s white collar defense and investigations practice as of one of the top five “White Collar Practice Groups of the Year.” In a profile about the firm’s practice published on Jan. 19th, Law360 noted the breadth of Covington’s clients and matters in the white collar practice area as a key reason ...

September 27, 2011

NEW YORK, September 27, 2011 — Twenty Covington & Burling LLP lawyers are recognized in the 2011 edition of New York Super Lawyers. The annual list by Super Lawyers selects only five percent of the total lawyers in the state based upon peer review and the publication’s independent research. Sixteen Covington lawyers were named New York Super Lawyers: Jack ...

June 23, 2011, Covington & Burling Webinar

June 6, 2011, West LegalEd Center

June 2, 2011, Covington Advisory

May 20, 2011, Covington Advisory

January/February 2011, The Corporate Governance Advisor

November 8, 2010, Covington Advisory

September 23, 2010, Covington E-Alert

September 2010, Ethics & Compliance Officer Association Annual Conference

July 29, 2010, Covington Advisory

January 14, 2010, Covington E-Alert

April 2009, 2010, New York City Bar Association

March 2007, ABA National Institute on White Collar Crime

May 2007, May 2008, PLI Conference

August 2006, PLI Conference

June 2006, PLI Conference

May 26, 2006, Covington Advisory

April 2006, PLI Conference, New York