Profile
We represent public and private corporations, and their top executives, officers, and employees; high-ranking government officials, including White House and Cabinet officials; and other individuals, in a wide range of matters relating to alleged criminal law violations, civil fraud proceedings, administrative enforcement actions, Independent Counsel investigations, and related congressional inquiries.
Our attorneys also develop and implement corporate compliance programs, conduct internal investigations when called upon by our corporate clients (including the investigation and prosecution of Insurance Coverage claims under fidelity insurance policies), and advise clients regarding whether and/or how to disclose suspected criminal activities and to which governmental agency or department.
Commitment
Our attorneys know that companies, as well as their executives and employees, are subject to myriad new, complex, and ill-defined laws and regulations. We recognize that compliance with the new laws and keeping pace with prosecutors' creative, aggressive interpretations of the old laws can be a challenge to even the most experienced corporate officer. We offer our clients what they need in the security of experienced counsel, because the number of prosecutions for breaches is rising, because Sentencing Guidelines now impose harsher fines on corporations and stiffer prison sentences for individuals, and because the collateral consequences of conviction, or even the public disclosure of an investigation, can be more costly than ever before.
For many of our clients, a quiet win without publicity is an achievable and preferred outcome. In such cases, our goal is to resolve the investigation discreetly by engaging the prosecuting authority in a continuing dialogue through written and informal presentations challenging the legal and factual support for the government's theory of prosecution. If criminal charges are filed, however, our attorneys have the depth and breadth of white-collar trial experience to combat the government's case effectively in court.
Experience
Hollingsworth LLP's white-collar defense representations are diverse and widely successful. They include:
Government Contracts investigations alleging false claims, false cost reports, mis-charging of labor hours, product substitution, TINA violations, conflicts of interest and kickbacks, and representations in qui tam actions, suspension and debarment proceedings, development and implementation of compliance programs, and OIG audits;
Economic Sanctions enforcement and compliance investigations involving the U.S. Treasury Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) and representation of clients in sanctions enforcement and investigations as well as developing and implementing corporate internal policies and procedures to meet OFAC compliance obligations;
Health care fraud investigations alleging Medicare/Medicaid violations, physician kickbacks, false reports, false claims, and HCFA violations;
Public corruption investigations by Department of Justice and Independent Counsel of local, state and federal officials alleging kickbacks, bribes, gratuities, conflicts of interest, and violations of the Hobbs Act;
Defense investigative services inquiries including alleged disclosure of classified information;
Labor union investigations of unions and high-ranking officers for violations of the Labor Management Reporting Act and ERISA laws and kickbacks, and representation of clients in developing and implementing programs to ensure compliance with all labor reporting laws;
Securities fraud investigations conducted by grand juries and the SEC alleging violations of the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act and securities laws;
Environmental investigations alleging violations of Clean Water Act and Clean Air Act laws and regulations at manufacturing facilities and HAZMAT laws and regulations, and representation of clients in developing and implementing corporate environmental compliance programs and compliance training;
Criminal and Civil Antitrust Act investigations alleging price fixing, bid rigging, territorial and customer allocations, and illegal exchanges of price information;
Financial Institutions investigations alleging currency and money laundering violations;
Tax law investigations alleging tax evasion and filing of false tax returns;
Constitutional tort actions against government employees; and
Wiretap investigations drawing on our attorneys' extensive experience in the prosecution of civil claims for violations of the Federal Wiretap Act.