Government Enforcement / White Collar Criminal Defense

Consistently recognized as a leading enforcement defense practice, Ropes & Gray has a long and successful track record of representing clients on the full spectrum of internal investigations and government enforcement matters.

We have represented clients on matters relating to:

• The federal Food, Drug and Cosmetic Act (FDCA)
• The federal Anti-Kickback Statute(AKS) and the Stark Law
• Medicare and Medicaid fraud and abuse and pricing issues 
• The False Claims Act (FCA) and whistleblower or qui tam litigation
• Consumer protection issues
• The Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA) and the UK Bribery Act
• Securities law enforcement
• Financial crimes
• Antitrust enforcement issues
• Economic sanctions and export control issues
• Anti-money laundering issues (AML)
• Privacy and data security issues
• Intellectual property crime 
• Public corruption and campaign finance enforcement issues
• Diversity, Equity & Inclusion (DEI) issues

Clients rely on us to be their trusted partner both before and after the commencement of enforcement activity, and also look to us to conduct sensitive internal investigations and to provide counseling on risk assessment, prevention and compliance. If the best course of action is trial, we assemble accomplished trial teams that achieve outstanding results for clients.

Leaders in the Field

Our team of enforcement defense lawyers—including partners who excelled as federal prosecutors and enforcement attorneys at U.S. Attorney’s offices, the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ), and the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC)— understands the complexities of the global regulatory and enforcement environment and of working with the government.

In addition, some of the nation’s leading corporate and regulatory lawyers, including those in Ropes & Gray’s investment management, private equity, life sciences and health care practice groups, work hand-in-hand with our enforcement attorneys. Clients understand that our ready access to these lawyers means efficient, cutting-edge advocacy when they are facing government investigation and enforcement proceedings.

Comprehensive Capabilities

Our enforcement lawyers aggressively stay at the cutting edge of emerging enforcement and regulatory developments that impact our clients and the risks they face. We also have an in-depth understanding of our clients’ business needs. Clients regularly look to us for guidance with respect to:

• Criminal, civil and administrative investigations and enforcement actions conducted by federal and state law enforcement
• Handling complex parallel proceedings involving simultaneous civil and criminal actions
• Internal investigations
• Establishment and implementation of compliance programs
• Analysis of risk involved in corporate transactions