Overview

Corvane Ryle's White Collar Defense & Investigations practice helps companies, boards and individuals respond to government investigations and to conduct that raises legal or reputational risk. Our lawyers include former federal prosecutors and enforcement attorneys, and they bring a working knowledge of how agencies decide what to pursue.

We represent clients before the Department of Justice, the SEC, the CFTC, state attorneys general and their counterparts overseas, including the UK Serious Fraud Office and the Financial Conduct Authority. Our work covers securities and accounting matters, healthcare fraud and False Claims Act cases, trade and sanctions compliance, and cases under the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act and the UK Bribery Act.

Enforcement priorities have shifted. Corporate enforcement policies now reward voluntary self-disclosure and cooperation more explicitly, and agencies are focused on areas such as sanctions evasion, export controls, procurement fraud and misuse of data. We advise clients on when to disclose, how to preserve privilege, and how to resolve a matter without lasting damage to the business.

Internal investigations are a core strength. We conduct them for audit committees and boards, often across several jurisdictions at once, and we use technology and data analytics to move quickly through large volumes of material. We also build compliance programs, advise on whistleblower reports and prepare clients for the questions regulators will ask.

Julian Okonkwo-Hart leads the practice from Washington, D.C., with colleagues in New York, London, Brussels and Singapore. We work closely with our Litigation & Trial and Privacy & Cyber lawyers when an investigation raises civil exposure or a data incident.

Key lawyers

Our white collar team combines former prosecutors with experienced trial lawyers.

• Julian Okonkwo-Hart, Partner, Washington, D.C.
• Owen Castellanos, Partner, New York

Representative experience

• Represented a multinational retailer in a DOJ and SEC inquiry and obtained a declination.
• Conducted an audit committee investigation into revenue recognition at a NYSE-listed technology company.
• Advised a consumer products group on a voluntary self-disclosure of potential sanctions violations.
• Defended an executive in a securities fraud investigation that closed without charges.
• Represented a pharmaceutical company in a False Claims Act matter and negotiated a resolution.
• Advised a logistics company on a cross-border anti-corruption review covering six countries.
• Counseled a board on remediation and compliance reforms following an internal investigation.