Amanda Raad is co-head of Ropes & Gray’s award-winning global anti-corruption and international risk practice and a leading lawyer, innovator, and thought leader on global crisis management. With more than 20 years of experience, she guides clients through criminal enforcement actions, regulatory matters, and internal investigations. She also helps clients build best-in-class compliance programs and assess risk. Amanda co-founded R&G Insights Lab, a Financial Times award-winning differentiated offering that blends world-class legal services with data analytics and behavioral insights to address some of the most complex challenges facing businesses today. 

Clients describe Amanda as “technically brilliant, commercially astute and hugely responsive,” in Chambers UK. She is also known as a deft tactician who has deep credibility with regulators. Qualified in the U.S. and as a Solicitor in England & Wales, Amanda represents multinational clients across every major industry sector in sensitive global matters involving allegations of financial fraud, corruption, sanctions and export control violations, money laundering, cybersecurity and data privacy issues, antitrust violations, and sexual misconduct. Amanda also has experience counseling clients on crisis management, including with respect to issues that have the potential for significant reputational harm and that call for fast action. She also regularly works with clients to develop compliance programs that address corruption, trade compliance, money laundering, and ESG risks.

Amanda publishes and speaks frequently on cross-border challenges in the areas of compliance, culture, corporate crime, and investigations. Notably, Amanda co-hosts the firm’s Culture & Compliance Chronicles podcast series, exploring the constantly evolving challenges faced by professionals worldwide in managing risk and compliance. She also serves as co-chair of the Women’s White Collar Defense Association (WWCDA) Annual Meeting and helped launch WWCDA’s Annual Global Enforcement & Compliance Best Practices Series. Recently, Amanda was appointed to serve as co-chair of the New York City Bar Association’s Subcommittee on Behavioral Science in Digital Technologies of the Presidential Task Force on AI and Digital Technologies.

Deeply committed to pro bono work, Amanda co-chairs Ropes & Gray’s pro bono committee and has served on the board of Lawyers Without Borders since 2016.

Experience

Defense of Government Investigations

  • Global counsel for a multinational telecommunications and media company’s global bribery and money laundering investigation involving regulators and counsel in multiple jurisdictions.
  • Go-to anti-corruption and investigations counsel to a global pharmaceutical and medical device manufacturer, assisting the client with investigations around the world, including government-facing investigations involving U.S. authorities, as well as authorities throughout Europe, the Middle East, and Africa.
  • After conducting an internal investigation for a global agricultural commodities merchant into allegations of fraud, counseled the client through reporting the issues to the UK Financial Conduct Authority and represented the client before the regulator.
  • Representing a leading global asset management firm and service provider in connection with an inquiry by the UK Financial Conduct Authority into alleged insider trading and market abuse by an employee.

Internal Investigations

  • Regularly assisting one of the world's largest private equity firms in internal investigations into potential violations by the company's portfolio companies around the world.
  • Assisting a UK-listed investment and risk management company in conducting an internal investigation into potential historical bribery and fraud by company employees and coordinating company response to findings.
  • Represented a Europe-based digital engineering and software development company in an internal investigation related to alleged corruption in the bidding for public tenders, prompted by indictments of the company and several of its employees by Italian authorities.
  • Assisted a leading global financial institution in conducting an extensive internal investigation into allegations of misconduct by a former senior executive, including the exchange of confidential information, conflicts of interest, and improper workplace conduct, as well as advised the client on its reporting obligations to the UK Financial Conduct Authority.
  • Conducted an extensive internal investigation for a multinational company specializing in security products in connection with publicized allegations of corruption associated with a government tender in Africa.
  • Represented a Europe-based global private equity firm in an internal investigation into allegations of fraud, corruption, and misappropriation involving a portfolio company.
  • Conducted an internal investigation for a global ceramics manufacturer into allegations of fraud and bribery in Vietnam, which expanded to additional jurisdictions in Asia, Europe, and North Africa.

Compliance Advice

  • Designed and implemented pre-acquisition international risk diligence protocols for multiple private equity firms and assisted with post-acquisition implementation of enhanced compliance controls. In connection with this work, Ropes & Gray was recently named the most innovative private capital law firm at the Financial Times Innovative Lawyers Awards Europe 2024 for its groundbreaking risk and compliance offering for private fund clients in partnership with the firm’s R&G Insights Lab. Additionally, Amanda and an American multinational private equity firm, the Carlyle Group, received the “Best Client-Law Firm Team” at the American Lawyer’s Annual Industry Awards which honors the very best client-law firm partnership in the United States.
  • Advising a global pharmaceutical and medical device manufacturer on a host of trade compliance issues, including conducting a risk assessment of the enterprise’s global trade compliance program and helping to develop and implement fulsome compliance guidance and programmatic enhancements as the client updates and modernizes its trade compliance program.
  • Completed a comprehensive monitoring exercise, risk assessment, and sell-side due diligence process in respect of a portfolio company operating in the travel and leisure industry.
  • After leading extensive pre-acquisition compliance due diligence on behalf of a multinational private equity firm in advance of its multi-billion-dollar investment in an oil and gas company, conducted a comprehensive headquarters-level and country-level financial control assessment of the acquired company aimed at assessing and mitigating corruption risk.
  • Following an extensive internal investigation into allegations of corruption in Africa and the Middle East, assisted a multinational company specializing in security solutions with designing its compliance program, targeting international risk areas including anti-bribery/corruption, anti-money laundering, tax evasion, sanctions, export control, antitrust, and data privacy; as well as designing and implementing relevant trainings for the company’s employees.
  • Advised an India-headquartered medical device company on a wide range of anti-corruption and sanctions compliance matters, including assisting the client in building out its anti-corruption and sanctions compliance program and acting as its compliance counsel in connection with the company’s planned initial public offering.

Transactional Counseling

  • Serving as global compliance counsel for five of the world’s largest alternative asset management firms, and representing 30 additional private equity and global asset management firms, providing compliance and risk assessment advice and conducting internal investigations related global risk.
  • Routinely advising firms on diligence, monitoring and compliance best practices across risk areas, including the world’s largest private equity and asset management firms on pre-acquisition anti-corruption, anti-money laundering, and trade compliance due diligence with respect to prospective portfolio companies, as well as assisting clients with the ongoing monitoring of their existing portfolios.

Individual Representations

  • Representing a former banker charged in the U.S. with conspiracy to commit wire fraud, conspiracy to commit securities fraud, conspiracy to violate the FCPA, and conspiracy to commit money laundering in connection with an alleged fraud against the government of Mozambique.
  • Advised a global financial institution and numerous individuals in investigations by the DOJ, SEC, and the CFTC, as well as the U.K. Financial Conduct Authority and Serious Fraud Office, concerning the alleged manipulation of certain benchmark rates, including the London Interbank Offered Rate, foreign exchange rates, and ISDAFIX.

Sexual Misconduct/Workplace Harassment Investigations

  • Conducted an independent investigation in relation to alleged workplace bullying and harassment for a leading financial institution operating in Northern Europe and the UK.
  • Conducted an independent investigation in relation to whistleblowing allegations of sexual misconduct by a senior manager of a UK organization and provided related advice to the organization’s key investors.

Pro Bono

  • Led a team in partnership with APPEAL to clear the name of a man wrongly accused of rape after spending more than 17 years in prison.
  • Partnering with BlueCheck Ukraine to identify and vet frontline organizations/NGOs that are potential recipients of donor funds.
  • Participated in Lawyers Without Borders Kenya training of magistrates, prosecutors, and investigating officers on how to better investigate and prosecute wildlife crime.
  • Partnered with Lawyers Without Borders to evaluate potential supply chain training opportunities to identify and mitigate human trafficking.
  • Led a team representing inmates in New York City jails in a class action against the City of New York for guard brutality.
  • Served as lead counsel in a political asylum case, presenting on behalf of the National Immigrant Justice Center, and securing a positive outcome for the victim.

Areas of Practice

    Disclaimer

    Ropes & Gray International LLP is a limited liability partnership registered in Delaware, United States of America and is a recognised body regulated by the Solicitors Regulation Authority (with registered number 521000).