Firm Named White Collar Practice Group of the Year
Law360 has recognized Latham & Watkins as a White Collar Practice Group of the Year for 2017. Latham’s White Collar Defense & Investigations Practice has recently played a leading role on a string of high-profile white collar matters ranging from influential False Claims Act (FCA) suits to multibillion-dollar investigations involving complex financial products under FIRREA.
In its profile story Law360 highlighted Latham’s representation of The Dow Chemical Company in a multibillion-dollar case that hinged on a novel and expansive interpretation of the so-called “reverse” provision of the FCA. Latham prevailed in both securing a motion to transfer the case to the District of Columbia, and then securing the court’s dismissal of the case. Partner Anne Robinson explained to Law360, “‘Had the court determined that this type of complaint stated a viable False Claims Act claim, it would have opened a flood gate of new False Claims Act lawsuits under any statute that provided for potential penalties.’”
Law360 also featured the firm’s work on prominent investigations. For example, the firm recently demonstrated its “deal-making prowess” when representing Deutsche Bank as part of the Department of Justice’s (the DOJ’s) sprawling investigation of the subprime crisis. According to Law360, “The DOJ had demanded that Germany’s largest bank pay $14 billion to resolve claims under the Financial Institutions Reform, Recovery and Enforcement Act.” However, Latham successfully negotiated a settlement for Deutsche Bank that was much more favorable than the DOJ’s initial civil cash penalty demands.
Concurrently, Latham’s White Collar Defense & Investigations Practice has “increas[ed] its firepower” by adding a number of former senior government officials and expanding its bench of leading trial lawyers. Whether representing high net worth individuals, Fortune 500 companies in the financial and healthcare industries, or government representatives — Latham dramatically reduces clients’ financial exposure, prevents or negotiates through potentially debilitating litigation, and deftly manages potentially brand-destroying public discourse.