Patrick Seán Doherty is an associate in Ropes & Gray’s litigation & enforcement practice group, specializing in white collar defense and anti-corruption/international risk.
Patrick has deep experience counseling clients on both sides of the Atlantic in connection with internal and government-facing criminal and regulatory investigations. His practice focuses on financial crimes, including complex fraud, bribery, domestic and international public corruption (including violations of the U.S. Foreign Corrupt Practices Act), money laundering, violations of international sanctions and export control laws, and the False Claims Act. Patrick also regularly helps clients navigate high-risk cross-border transactions, focusing on corruption, money laundering, and international trade control risks. He has represented a wide range of multinational and publicly-traded businesses; private equity firms and their portfolio companies; and life science, health care, and pharmaceutical firms across six continents.
Patrick is based in New York City, having previously spent several years with the firm’s London office. Prior to his legal career, Patrick worked as a business intelligence investigator for a prominent risk advisory firm and as a management consultant supporting transformation efforts at the Pentagon.
Experience
White Collar Defense
- Advised various clients on investigations led by, cooperation with, and voluntary self-disclosures to a wide range of national enforcement authorities, including the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ), U.S. Securities & Exchange Commission (SEC), U.S. Office of Foreign Asset Control (OFAC), UK National Crime Agency (NCA), UK Office of Foreign Sanctions Implementation (OFSI), UK Department for Business and Trade (DBT), France’s Parquet National Financier (PNF), and Portugal’s Ministério Público (MP).
- Advising Latin American financial institution in connection with ongoing federal grand jury investigation into alleged public corruption involving member of U.S. Congress.
- Following high-profile arrest of its co-founder on allegations of orchestrating a complex ring of fraud, money laundering, and tax evasion through company suppliers, advised European telecommunications and media conglomerate on responding to government investigations in Portugal, France, and the United States and conducting a wide-ranging internal investigation across numerous jurisdictions in Europe, the Caribbean, the Middle East, and North Africa.
- Advising U.S. non-profit healthcare network in connection with ongoing federal grand jury investigation into alleged public corruption in New York.
- Advised U.S. venture capital firm in connection with federal grand jury investigation and parallel SEC investigation into highly-publicized fraud allegations against startup portfolio company.
Internal Investigations
- Advised multinational environmental consulting firm on wide-ranging internal investigation into potential violations of financial and trade sanctions targeting Russia at client subsidiaries in the United Kingdom, United States, European Union, Australia, and China.
- Conducted numerous internal and government-facing investigations for Dow Index life sciences company in multiple jurisdictions across Europe (including France, Switzerland, the Netherlands, Austria, and Belarus) related to allegations of corruption, fraud, and violations of company policy.
- Advised European national telecommunications service provider on internal investigation related to allegations of improper payments to a government official.
- Advised British-American private equity firm on identifying and reporting to relevant financial intelligence authorities suspected money laundering by Hezbollah-linked criminal organization operating in Central Africa.
- Advised European pharmaceutical company on internal investigation related to allegations of fraud and violations of current good manufacturing practice (cGMP) requirements at Indian subsidiary manufacturer.
- Advised S&P 100 pharmaceutical company on internal investigation related to COVID-19 vaccine research and development in South America.
- Part of the independent investigation commissioned by the United States Olympic Committee into abuse of elite and Olympic gymnasts by Larry Nassar.
Anti-Corruption & International Risk Advisory
- Part of the Ropes & Gray team supporting the FCPA Independent Compliance Monitor appointed by the U.S. Department of Justice to monitor and assess the anti-bribery and anti-corruption compliance controls at Glencore, a multinational commodity trading and mining company.
- Regularly advise private equity firms, investment banks, and pension funds regarding anti-bribery and corruption (ABC), anti-money laundering (AML), economic sanctions, and export control due diligence in connection with mergers, acquisitions, credit agreements, joint ventures, and other key transactions and business relationships around the world.
- In partnership with the International Lawyers Project, developed and delivered trainings on anti-corruption, sanctions, and asset forfeiture to Gambian government officials and civil society organizations.*
- In partnership with Lawyers Without Borders, delivered on-site trainings in Dar Es Salaam to Tanzanian prosecutors and investigating officers on child trafficking investigations and prosecutions.*
- In partnership with the International Lawyers Project, advised European national government on repatriation of seized embezzled funds to Central African country.*
- Served as the New York City Bar Association’s representative observer at pre-trial proceedings in United States v. Khalid Sheikh Mohammed, et al. (the “9/11 Trial”) before the U.S. Military Commission at Camp Justice, Naval Station Guantanamo Bay, Cuba.*
Civil Enforcement & Other Government-Facing Litigation
- Represented S&P 500 healthcare provider facing multi-billion dollar False Claims Act qui tam action brought in Florida federal court, leading to grant of summary judgment in client’s favor.
- Texas v. United States (S.D. Tex. / 5th Cir.): Part of the Ropes & Gray team currently defending the legality of the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program on behalf of numerous DACA beneficiaries in federal district court and before the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit.*
- C.P.X. v. Garcia (f/k/a C.P.X. v. Foxhoven) (S.D. Iowa / 8th Cir.): Part of the Ropes & Gray team that represented a class of adolescents confined at the Iowa Boys State Training School and suffering from mental illness who were subjected to excessive and punitive use of solitary confinement and fixed mechanical restraints. Ropes & Gray, along with co-counsel Children’s Rights and Disability Rights Iowa, litigated the case against the Iowa Attorney General’s Office through a two-week trial, securing sweeping injunctive relief under the Fourteenth Amendment and the appointment of a monitor. Team was awarded firm-wide 2020 Pro Bono Team Award. Successfully briefed post-trial issues before the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit.*
- Successfully briefed and presented oral argument in defensive proceedings before the Houston (TX) Immigration Court, winning grant of asylum for former Central American anti-gang detective and his son.*
- Jackson v. District of Columbia Dep’t of Emp’t Servs. (D.C.): Successfully represented client appealing the D.C. Compensation Review Board’s affirmation of a disputed worker’s compensation settlement agreement, resulting in unanimous decision from the D.C. Court of Appeals in client's favor.*
*pro bono