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Congressional Investigations Webinar: What to Expect from the 119th Congress

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Download the presentation slide deck. Please join Morrison Foerster for a webinar exploring the developments and expectations for...

Download the presentation <a href="https://media2.mofo.com/v3/assets/blt5775cc69c999c255/bltce5478d472be10e4/67917a376a4ee8df19ad76cf/250122-Congressional-Investigations-Webinar-Presentation.pdf" target="_blank">slide deck</a>. Please join Morrison Foerster for a webinar exploring the developments and expectations for the newly elected 119th Congress. Our panelists will provide a deep dive into emerging priorities, legislative focus areas, and the anticipated impact of congressional investigations in the upcoming term. Morrison Foerster Panel<ul><li>Brandon Van Grack, former senior DOJ official, co-chair of MoFo’s Congressional Investigations and National Security practice groups</li><li>James Koukios, former Senior Deputy Chief of DOJ’s Fraud Section, co-chair of MoFo’s Investigations + White Collar Defense practice group</li><li>Joseph Folio, former Chief Counsel for the U.S. Senate’s Homeland Security & Governmental Affairs Committee, former prosecutor for DOJ’s Antitrust Division, co-head of MoFo’s Congressional Investigations practice group</li><li>Megan Gerking, former prosecutor for DOJ’s Antitrust Division, partner in MoFo’s Global Antitrust Law practice group</li></ul><hr>

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Brandon L. Van Grack co-chairs Morrison Foerster’s National Security and Crisis Management groups. His practice focuses on investigations, criminal defense, and compliance matters involving export controls and sanctions, foreign investment, and cyber incidents. Brandon’s arrival to the firm follows more than a decade of service at the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ), where he held multiple senior positions. In those positions, he helped manage the U.S. government’s tools to address perceived national security threats in China and Russia, oversaw every criminal investigation involving sanctions and export controls, and was Chief of DOJ’s Foreign Agents Registration Act (FARA) Unit.Brandon’s leadership and breadth of national security experience offers clients in the financial services, technology, artificial intelligence, defense, media, and communications sectors unmatched insider enforcement perspective across the entire national security landscape, including sanctions, the Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States (CFIUS), export control, cybersecurity matters, and FARA.<h4>Investigations & White Collar Defense </h4>At the DOJ, Brandon led and supervised some of the government’s most significant corporate investigations and resolutions across the national security spectrum. As Counsel to the Assistant Attorney General for National Security, and a Trial Attorney in the Counterintelligence & Export Control Section, he worked on the resolution of almost every significant corporate matter pertaining to export control and sanctions violations in the last decade and is one of the few attorneys to have managed the DOJ’s Voluntary Self‑Disclosure Program for export control and sanctions violations. As Chief of the FARA Unit, he directed scores of investigations of companies for acting as unregistered foreign agents. He also served as Senior Assistant Special Counsel for Special Counsel Robert S. Mueller III’s investigation of the Russian government’s efforts to interfere in the 2016 presidential election, handling some of the office’s most significant matters.Brandon also managed significant corporate investigations and resolutions across the national security spectrum. As Counsel to the Assistant Attorney General for National Security, and a Trial Attorney in the Counterintelligence & Export Control Section, he worked on the resolution of almost every significant corporate matter pertaining to export control and sanctions violations in the last decade and is one of the few attorneys to have managed the DOJ’s Voluntary Self‑Disclosure Program for export control and sanctions violations. As Chief of the FARA Unit, he directed scores of investigations of companies for acting as unregistered foreign agents.<h4>Sanctions, Export Control, & Foreign Investment</h4>As Counsel to the Assistant Attorney General, Brandon oversaw every criminal investigation involving export control and sanctions and led the DOJ’s response to the Obama Administration’s rollback of sanctions targeting Iran—the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA). As a Trial Attorney, he prosecuted more than 30 export control and sanctions cases, including first-ever cases involving North Korea, weapons of mass destruction, and the Atomic Energy Act. In the first Trump Administration, Brandon led DOJ’s review of transactions involving foreign influence before CFIUS and Team Telecom; he also managed the DOJ’s review of transactions before CFIUS during the Obama Administration.<h4>FARA & the Lobbying Disclosure Act</h4>As Chief of the FARA Unit in the first Trump Administration, and the first official to supervise all foreign influence matters across the DOJ, Brandon revitalized and transformed the enforcement of FARA. Following the DOJ’s announcement making FARA an enforcement priority, he supervised a team of 40 attorneys and staff that opened a record number of investigations, pursued a record number of enforcement actions, secured a record number of registrations, and obtained the first civil injunction involving FARA in nearly three decades. Brandon also directed the review of Lobbying Disclosure Act (LDA) filings for criminal violations and regulated the exemption under FARA for LDA registrants. He also wrote the book on FARA enforcement for the American Bar Association.<h4>Cybersecurity </h4>As a long-time prosecutor, including as a Special Assistant U.S. Attorney for the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Virginia, Brandon directed complex cyber investigations, including multiple matters involving state-sponsored cyber attacks. He prosecuted the first person convicted as a cyberterrorist and led the investigation of an international hacking group for identity theft, extortion, and dozens of spearphishing attacks against public and private entities. He also collaborated with other government agencies, such as the Securities and Exchange Commission, Federal Bureau of Investigation, and the Department of Homeland Security, to facilitate cooperation from corporate victims and disseminate threat information.During his time at the DOJ, Brandon handled the entire range of national security matters. He led and supervised investigations and prosecutions involving espionage, economic espionage, mishandling of classified information, and theft of trade secrets. He also directed investigations involving treason, mutiny, the Neutrality Act, and the Logan Act.Brandon has been widely recognized for his deep experience in handling national security matters, and keynotes and speaks at industry conferences involving export control and sanctions, CFIUS, FARA, and political law. He has received numerous awards for his work, including the Attorney General’s Award for Distinguished Service (2018), the FBI Director’s Award for Outstanding Cyber Investigation (2017), the Director of National Counterintelligence’s Award for Excellence (2019), the Homeland Security Investigations Executive Associate Director’s Award for Outstanding Counterproliferation Investigation (2014), and five awards from the Assistant Attorney General for National Security.Brandon regularly provides insight on national security issues and DOJ matters with national media. He is a frequent contributor on cable news, including MSNBC’s The Rachel Maddow Show, Deadline: Whitehouse and All In with Chris Hayes, ABC's Good Morning America, NBC's Meet the Press, CNN, BBC News, Sky News and NHK World. He also regularly appears on NPR’s Morning Edition. He has been quoted on a variety of national security topics in the Wall Street Journal, New York Times, and Washington Post, among others,Brandon is also a Contributing Editor to the Lawfare blog and co-host of <a href="https://www.lawfaremedia.org/podcasts-multimedia/podcast/the-regulators-series" target="_blank">The Regulators</a> podcast, where he speaks with key U.S. government regulators in the national security space, including leaders at OFAC, CFIUS, the Bureau of Industry and Security, DOJ, FinCEN, the Office of Information and Communications Technology and Services (ICTS), and FBI.

Brandon L. Van Grack

Partner

James Koukios is co-chair of Morrison Foerster’s Investigations + White Collar Defense Group and also serves as co-head of the FCPA + Global Anti-Corruption Practice. James represents companies and individuals in high-stakes government enforcement actions and complex internal investigations. He has handled matters across a wide range of jurisdictions including Brazil, China, Greece, India, Russia, Venezuela, and Vietnam, among others. James draws on his experience as a federal prosecutor, when he tried over 20 federal jury cases and supervised hundreds of white collar investigations, to obtain the best results for his clients. He is consistently praised for his judgment and advocacy in complex investigations and enforcement actions. Chambers USA notes that he is “super experienced with excellent judgement regarding what the government is looking for and concerned about,“ while Chambers Global describes James as, “a forceful advocate when appearing before the government.”Before joining Morrison Foerster, James spent 10 years at the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ), beginning as an Assistant United States Attorney in Miami and finishing as Senior Deputy Chief of the Criminal Division’s Fraud Section in Washington, D.C., where he supervised investigations, prosecutions, and resolutions in the Fraud Section’s FCPA, Health Care Fraud, and Market Integrity and Major Fraud Units. While at DOJ, James investigated and prosecuted health care fraud, procurement fraud, domestic and foreign corruption, money laundering, and export control offenses, working closely with state, federal, and foreign law enforcement officials, as well as the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), the U.S. Departments of Defense, State, and Commerce, and intelligence agencies.While at DOJ, James assisted in drafting the widely acclaimed DOJ and SEC joint publication A Resource Guide to the U.S. Foreign Corrupt Practices Act, which followed a series of consultations with business and compliance leaders. He was also a lead examiner for the Phase 2 examination of Russia’s compliance with the Anti-Bribery Convention of the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD).From 2010 to 2011, James served as Special Counsel to then-FBI Director Robert S. Mueller, III, advising the Director and other FBI executives on criminal policy issues, preparing FBI Executive Management for congressional testimony, representing the FBI at interagency meetings, and acting as a liaison between FBI and other DOJ components.James has been recognized as: a leading lawyer in FCPA (Nationwide and Global) by Chambers USA and Chambers Global; a recommended lawyer for corporate investigations and white collar defense by Legal 500; an “Expert” and a “Thought Leader” in investigations by Who’s Who Legal; and an “Attorney Who Matters” by the Ethisphere Institute for making an impact in the area of ethics and compliance. He also received the Assistant Attorney General’s Distinguished Service Award in recognition for his work on two landmark FCPA-related trials: United States v. Esquenazi and United States v. Duperval. James also served as a lead prosecutor in United States v. AEY Inc., a defense procurement fraud and export licensing case that served as the basis for the 2016 film War Dogs.James is a recognized thought leader on the latest legal trends and industry developments. Chambers Global notes that, “James has a keen ability to distill trends and enforcement down to their core. He is a crisp thinker and discerning with regards to the market.” He is the lead editor of our award-winning monthly newsletter, Top 10 International Anti-Corruption Developments, which succinctly summarizes important case and policy developments for busy in-house counsel, compliance professionals, and anti-corruption lawyers. James also served as an adjunct professor of trial advocacy at the Georgetown University Law Center for over 10 years and regularly guest lectures at leading law and business schools on investigations, white collar enforcement, and anti-corruption issues.<h4>Selected Significant Representations</h4><h5>FCPA and Global Anti-Corruption</h5><ul><li>Successful resolution of a transnational bribery investigation of a multinational pharmaceutical company, securing cooperation credit, avoiding the imposition of a corporate compliance monitor, and negotiating a deferred prosecution agreement with DOJ and an administrative resolution with the SEC.</li><li>Successful representation of a multinational medical device company in conducting an internal investigation into allegations of bribery in Vietnam that led to a deferred prosecution agreement with DOJ.</li><li>Representation of an international consulting firm in extensive, government-facing international corruption and money laundering investigations involving China, India, and other jurisdictions.</li><li>Representation of a multinational automotive company in an internal investigation into allegations of bribery in its Latin America operations and antitrust violations and whistleblower retaliation in its U.S. operations.</li><li>Representation of a consumer retail company in an internal investigation into allegations of bribery in its Indonesian operations.</li><li>Representation of business executives in government-facing FCPA investigations involving Brazil, China, Venezuela, and other jurisdictions.</li><li>FCPA legal advice, anti-corruption counseling, transactional due diligence, and post-acquisition integration advice to multinational corporations in several industries, including defense, extractive, financial services, food, gaming, health care, and technology.</li><li>Review of a multinational company’s compliance management system in connection with the spin-off of a subsidiary and investigations by multiple enforcement agencies.</li></ul><h5>Consumer Protection and Product Safety</h5><ul><li>Successful representation of a multinational consumer electronics company in the first-ever corporate criminal resolution of an alleged Consumer Product Safety Act (CPSA) violation, securing cooperation credit, avoiding the imposition of a corporate compliance monitor, and negotiating a deferred prosecution agreement for the parent company with DOJ.</li><li>Representation of a multinational vehicle manufacturer in a criminal CPSA investigation being led by DOJ’s Consumer Protection Branch.</li><li>Representation of the CEO of a consumer electronics company in a criminal CPSA investigation being led by DOJ’s Consumer Protection Branch.</li><li>Representation of the Supervisory Board of a car manufacturer in an investigation by DOJ, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, the California Air Resources Board, SEC, various state Attorneys General, German Prosecutors and the German vehicle admissions agency into potential violations of environmental, capital markets, consumer protection, antitrust and criminal laws.</li></ul><h5>Other White Collar and Civil Fraud Defense Matters</h5><ul><li>Representation of a multinational technology company in responding to a subpoena issued by the U.S. House of Representatives’ Judiciary Committee related to an investigation into alleged suppression or restriction of conservative opinions through “content moderation” policies on social media platforms.</li><li>Successful representation of a multinational defense contractor in conducting an internal investigation that led to a declination from the State Department for potential International Trafficking in Arms Regulation (ITAR) violations without referral to DOJ.</li><li>Representation of a consumer retail company in a DOJ insider trading investigation.</li><li>Representation of a company and several of its employees in connection with the Special Counsel investigation into Russian interference in the 2016 Presidential election.</li><li>Representation of Anthony Ornato, a former senior career civil servant who served as White House Deputy Chief of Staff of Operations, in the January 6 Select Committee investigation and related government investigations.</li><li>Representation of two former high-level executives of a public company in internal and external investigations concerning allegations of fraud, misuse of company funds, record violations, and disclosure violations and in a derivative lawsuit in the Delaware Chancery Court regarding alleged violations of fiduciary duty, corporate waste, and unjust enrichment.</li><li>Representation of business executives in anti-money-laundering, criminal securities fraud, whistleblower retaliation, government procurement fraud, and other DOJ investigations.</li><li>Defended independent directors against breach-of-fiduciary-duty claims in federal bankruptcy court, successfully moving to dismiss all claims against the directors with prejudice.</li></ul>

James Koukios é co-líder do grupo de Contencioso de Valores Mobiliários e Defesa de Colarinho Branco e atua como co-líder global do grupo FCPA (Foreign Corrupt Practices Act) + Anticorrupção. James representa empresas e indivíduos em ações governamentais de alto risco e investigações internas complexas.James, um experiente advogado de litígios e ex-promotor federal, litigou mais de 20 casos federais de júri, inclusive sendo o principal promotor em dois julgamentos históricos relacionados à FCPA: Estados Unidos v. Esquenazi e Estados Unidos v. Duperval. James também atuou como promotor-chefe nocaso Estados Unidos v. AEY Inc., um caso de fraude de aquisição de defesa e licenciamento de exportação que serviu de base para o filme de 2016 chamado "Cães de Guerra".<h4>Casos Representativos</h4><ul><li>Representou empresas multinacionais de dispositivos médicos e farmacêuticos em investigações da FCPA perante o governo.</li><li>Representou empresas e organizações multinacionais em vários setores a conduzir investigações internas sobre possíveis violações de FCPA, ITAR, sobre informações privilegiadas, entre outras violações.</li><li>Representou uma empresa e vários de seus funcionários em investigações do Conselho Especial.</li><li>Representou uma empresa de produtos de consumo em uma investigação criminal de segurança de produtos perante o governo.</li><li>Forneceu consultoria jurídica sobre FCPA, consultoria anticorrupção, due diligence transacional e consultoria de integração pós-aquisição a empresas multinacionais em vários setores, incluindo defesa, extração, serviços financeiros, alimentos, assistência médica e tecnologia.</li><li>Representou indivíduos em casos de investigações anti-corrupção, lavagem de dinheiro, fraude criminal em valores mobiliários, retaliação de denunciantes, fraude de compras do governo, dentre outras.</li><li>Defendeu conselheiros independentes contra reclamações por quebra de obrigações fiduciárias no tribunal federal de falências.</li></ul>Antes de ingressar na Morrison Foerster, James trabalhou  por 10 anos no Departamento de Justiça dos Estados Unidos, começando sua carreira como Advogado Assistente dos Estados Unidos em Miami e encerrando seu mandato no Departamento de Justiça como Chefe Adjunto de Seção de Fraude da Divisão Criminal em Washington, DC, onde supervisionou investigações, processos e resoluções na Seção de Fraude em FCPA, Fraude em Assistência Médica, e em Valores Mobiliários e na Unidade de Fraude Financeira. Enquanto estava no Departamento de Justiça, James investigou e processou fraudes na área da saúde, fraude de compras, corrupção doméstica e estrangeira, lavagem de dinheiro e infrações de controle de exportação, trabalhando em estreita colaboração com autoridades estaduais, federais e estrangeiras, bem como a Comissão de Valores Mobiliários dos Estados Unidos (SEC); Departamentos de Defesa, Estado e Comércio dos Estados Unidos; e agências de inteligência. Ele ajudou na redação da amplamente divulgada publicação conjunta da SEC e do Departamento de Justiça, “Guia de Recursos da Lei de Práticas de Corrupção no Exterior dos Estados Unidos (“A Resource Guide to the U.S. Foreign Corrupt Practices Act”), que seguiu uma série de consultas com os líderes de negócios e conformidade. Ele também foi examinador principal da Fase 2 da avaliação de conformidade da da Rússia com a Convenção Anti-suborno da Organização para Cooperação e Desenvolvimento Econômico (OCDE).De 2010 a 2011, James atuou como consultor especial do então diretor do FBI Robert S. Mueller, III, assessorando o diretor e outros executivos do FBI em questões de política criminal, preparando a Diretoria Executiva do FBI para testemunhar perante o Congresso, representando o FBI em reuniões entre agências e atuando como uma ligação entre o FBI e outros componentes do Departamento de Justiça.James foi reconhecido como um dos principais advogados da FCPA, nacional e globalmente, pela Chambers USA e pela Chambers Global, "recomendado" para investigações corporativas e advocacia de colarinho branco pelo Legal 500, um "especialista" e um "líder de pensamento" nas investigações do Who is Who Legal e um "advogado que importa" pelo Instituto Ethisphere por ter um impacto na área de ética e conformidade. Ele também recebeu o Prêmio de Serviço Distinto do Procurador Geral em reconhecimento ao seu trabalho nos julgamentos de Esquenazi e Duperval durante seu período no Departamento de Justiça.James é professor adjunto de defesa de julgamento no Centro de Direito da Universidade de Georgetown e é regularmente convidado para palestras nas principais faculdades de administração e direito sobre investigações, fiscalização de colarinho branco e questões anticorrupção.

James Koukios es copresidente del grupo de Litigios de Valores, Aplicación de la Ley y Defensa de Cuello Blanco de la firma y se desempeña como codirector global del grupo de FCPA (Foreign Corrupt Practices Act) + Anticorrupción de la firma. James representa a empresas e individuos en acciones gubernamentales de alto riesgo e investigaciones internas complejas.James, un abogado con experiencia litigando y ex fiscal federal, ha litigado más de 20 casos de jurado federal, incluyendo ser el fiscal principal en dos juicios históricos relacionados con la FCPA: Estados Unidos v. Esquenazi y Estados Unidos v. Duperval. James también se desempeñó como fiscal principal en Estados Unidos v. AEY Inc., un caso de fraude de adquisición de defensa y licencias de exportación que sirvió de base para la película de 2016 llamada “War Dogs”.<h4>Experiencia Representativa</h4><ul><li>Representó a compañías multinacionales de dispositivos médicos y farmacéuticos en investigaciones de la FCPA ante el gobierno.</li><li>Asistió a compañías y organizaciones multinacionales en varios sectores llevando a cabo investigaciones internas sobre posibles FCPA, ITAR, abuso de información privilegiada y otras violaciones.</li><li>Representó a una empresa y a varios de sus empleados en relación con las investigaciones sobre delitos de investigación del Consejo Especial.</li><li>Representó a una compañía de productos de consumo en una investigación criminal de seguridad de productos del gobierno.</li><li>Brindó asesoramiento legal de FCPA, asesoramiento anticorrupción, diligencia debida transaccional y asesoramiento de integración posterior a la adquisición a corporaciones multinacionales en varias industrias, incluyendo defensa, extracción, servicios financieros, alimentos, atención médica y tecnología.</li><li>Representó a personas en anticorrupción, anti-lavado de dinero, fraude de valores criminales, represalias de denunciantes, fraude de compras gubernamentales y otras investigaciones.</li><li>Defendió a directores independientes contra demandas por incumplimiento de obligaciones fiduciarias en un tribunal federal de quiebras.</li></ul>Antes de unirse a Morrison Foerster, James trabajó 10 años en el Departamento de Justicia de los Estados Unidos, comenzando su carrera como Asistente del Fiscal de los Estados Unidos en Miami y terminando su mandato en el Departamento de Justicia como Subjefe Principal de la Sección de Fraude de la División Criminal en Washington, D.C., donde supervisó investigaciones, enjuiciamientos y resoluciones en la FCPA de la Sección de Fraude, Fraude de Atención Médica y Unidades de Valores y Fraude Financiero. Mientras estuvo en el Departamento de Justicia, James investigó y procesó el fraude a la atención médica, el fraude de adquisiciones, la corrupción nacional y extranjera, el lavado de dinero y los delitos de control de exportaciones, trabajando en estrecha colaboración con los funcionarios estatales, federales y extranjeros encargados de hacer cumplir la ley, así como con la Comisión de Bolsa y Valores de EE. UU. (SEC); Departamentos de Defensa, Estado y Comercio de los Estados Unidos; y agencias de inteligencia. Asistió en la redacción de la publicación conjunta del Departamento de Justicia y la SEC, ampliamente aclamada, “Guía de recursos de la Ley de prácticas corruptas en el extranjero de EE. UU.” (“A Resource Guide to the U.S. Foreign Corrupt Practices Act”), que siguió a una serie de consultas con líderes empresariales y de cumplimiento. También fue un examinador principal para el examen de Fase 2 del cumplimiento de Rusia con la Convención Antisoborno de la Organización para la Cooperación y el Desarrollo Económico (OCDE).De 2010 a 2011, James se desempeñó como Asesor Especial del entonces Director del FBI Robert S. Mueller, III, asesorando al Director y a otros ejecutivos del FBI sobre cuestiones de política criminal, preparando a la Dirección Ejecutiva del FBI para el testimonio ante el Congreso, representando al FBI en las reuniones interinstitucionales, y actuando como enlace entre el FBI y otros componentes del Departamento de Justicia.James ha sido reconocido como abogado líder en FCPA tanto nacionalmente como globalmente por Chambers USA y Chambers Global, "recomendado" para investigaciones corporativas y defensa de cuello blanco por Legal 500, un "experto" y un "líder de pensamiento" en investigaciones de Who's Who Legal, y un "Abogado que importa" por Ethisphere Institute por tener un impacto en el área de ética y cumplimiento. También recibió el Premio al Servicio Distinguido del Fiscal General Adjunto en reconocimiento por su trabajo en los juicios de Esquenazi y Duperval durante su tiempo en el Departamento de Justicia.James es profesor adjunto de defensa de juicios en el Centro de Leyes de la Universidad de Georgetown y regularmente es invitado a conferencias en las principales escuelas de derecho y de negocios sobre investigaciones, aplicación de cuello blanco y temas anticorrupción.

James M. Koukios

Joseph Folio is a trial lawyer and partner in Morrison Foerster’s Global Antitrust Law, Crisis Management, and Privacy + Data Security Groups, with more than a dozen years of experience leading complex government investigations and high-profile litigation.Joe has extensive experience in cartel investigations, congressional investigations, and complex civil litigation. Having served in all three branches of the federal government, and with his experience in both criminal and civil litigation, Joe is able to leverage his insider knowledge across a variety of enforcement perspectives to guide clients through difficult cases. He is also a member of our global ESG + Sustainability steering committee.As a prosecutor in the Antitrust Division of the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ), he investigated companies and individuals involved in domestic and international antitrust cartels. Among them, he oversaw all aspects of the investigation into generic pharmaceuticals as the case’s chief of staff, including the handling of the parallel multidistrict litigation case brought by several state attorneys general and private plaintiffs. He also prosecuted and investigated cases in the international freight forwarding industry and cases involving bid rigging in state infrastructure projects.Prior to joining Morrison Foerster, Joe served as Chief Counsel for the Committee on Homeland Security & Governmental Affairs, the chief oversight committee of the U.S. Senate. In this position, he oversaw a variety of investigations, including the coordination of investigations with other Senate and House committees with overlapping jurisdictions. He also advised the committee on all policy issues falling within its broad jurisdiction, including cybersecurity, border security, domestic terrorism, election security, supply chain security (including 5G policy), and reforming the National Emergencies Act. Joe advised committee members on oversight of the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA) within the Department of Homeland Security, legislation providing CISA with administrative subpoena authority, the creation of the National Cyber Director, and oversight of government and private efforts to protect against and respond to cyber breaches and ransomware attacks.While at the Federal Programs Branch of the DOJ’s Civil Division, Joe handled complex, high-profile litigation, focusing largely on national security matters, and his clients included the FBI; the Departments of Defense, Homeland Security, and State; and several members of the U.S. Intelligence Community. He also represented the Export-Import Bank against multiple administrative and constitutional challenges. Due to the cutting-edge nature of this litigation, he has experience navigating the inter-agency process when cases raise novel legal or policy issues that must be resolved at the highest levels.Joe received his B.A., magna cum laude, in philosophy and government from Georgetown University; M.A. with honors in national security studies from Georgetown University; and J.D., cum laude, from the George Mason University School of Law. After graduating from law school, Joe clerked for the Honorable Richard L. Voorhees in the U.S. District Court for the Western District of North Carolina.<h4>Representative Matters</h4>Antitrust<ul><li>Representing a major U.S. healthcare company in a criminal antitrust investigation of alleged “no-poach” conduct.</li><li>Representing a senior executive of an international company in a U.S. criminal cartel investigation.</li><li>Representing Nexstar Media Group in a putative class action alleging that certain media companies conspired to fix the prices of local television advertising.</li></ul>Congressional Investigations<ul><li>Representing Andy Karsner, a member of ExxonMobil’s board of directors, in response to a high-profile House Oversight and Reform Committee investigation regarding the role of the fossil fuel industry in addressing climate change, including preparing him to testify before the committee.</li><li>Representing a former government official who testified before the House Select Committee to Investigate the January 6th Attack on the U.S. Capitol.</li><li>Representing a Fortune 100 company responding to inquiries from committees and members regarding its policies and practices.</li></ul>

Joseph Folio III

Megan Gerking is a partner in Morrison Foerster’s Global Antitrust Law practice, specializing in government-facing antitrust matters. Megan represents companies in criminal and civil conduct investigations before the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) Antitrust Division, Federal Trade Commission (FTC), and state enforcers and in all phases of the merger review process before U.S. and foreign competition authorities.Megan, a former trial attorney with the DOJ’s Antitrust Division, is an experienced antitrust attorney focused on complex antitrust law matters, including government investigations, strategic transactions, and civil litigation. She regularly counsels clients on antitrust issues arising from industry consortiums, trade association activities, and other collaborations. While serving in the Antitrust Division, Megan investigated and prosecuted federal antitrust violations and international cartel cases. She leverages her DOJ experience when reviewing, developing, and implementing clients’ antitrust compliance programs and routinely delivers antitrust compliance training for employees.As part of Megan’s merger practice, she regularly helps clients in all aspects of merger review, including developing strategy for structuring transactions, assessing and complying with obligations under the Hart-Scott-Rodino Antitrust Improvements Act (“HSR Act”), and securing clearance from antitrust enforcers in the United States and abroad. Megan has represented third parties in agency reviews of deals, including at trial.Megan has experience representing clients across a broad range of industries, including media, telecom, technology and software, financial services, consumer products, aviation, higher education, manufacturing, agriculture, and life sciences. While in the Antitrust Division, Megan prosecuted the first individual extradited to the United States on an antitrust charge. For her work investigating and prosecuting international price fixing, bid rigging, and market-allocation conspiracies by automotive parts suppliers, Megan earned the Assistant Attorney General’s Award for Distinguished Service. Megan was also awarded the DOJ’s Outstanding Mentor Award by the Attorney General. Further, she was recognized this past year in Bloomberg Law’s 40 Under 40 and as a finalist for The American Lawyer’s 2022 Young Lawyer of the Year. Additionally, Megan has served as a Non-Governmental Advisor to the International Competition Network (ICN) and spoke at the ICN Cartel Workshop in Lisbon, Portugal, in November 2022. Megan is also a member of our global Environmental, Social, and Governance (ESG) steering committee.Megan is currently an editor of ABA magazine The Antitrust Source. Megan received her J.D., cum laude, from Georgetown University Law Center, where she served on the editorial board of The Tax Lawyer. She received her B.A. in economics and political science from the University of Michigan.Before attending law school, Megan worked in the DOJ’s Office of Public Affairs, assisting the Assistant Attorney General of the Antitrust Division in all media matters and serving as a spokesperson for national media. She also worked as a paralegal for the Antitrust Division, supporting trial attorneys investigating and prosecuting corporations and individuals for violations of criminal antitrust laws.<h4>Representative Experience</h4><h5>Criminal and Civil Antitrust Investigations</h5><ul><li>Obtained non-prosecution protection for two healthcare companies she represented in separate DOJ Antitrust Division criminal investigations.</li><li>Represented an energy company in a criminal investigation.</li><li>Obtained a non-prosecution agreement for a senior executive in a criminal investigation into market allocation and bid rigging of generic drugs by the DOJ.</li><li>Regularly advises senior executives on DOJ antitrust criminal investigations involving allegations of price fixing, market and customer allocation, and bid rigging and obtained non-prosecution protection for several individuals.</li><li>Assisted a technology company in an FTC monopolization investigation.</li><li>Represented a private equity fund in a state AG investigation.</li><li>Counseled a senior executive in an international criminal cartel investigation.</li><li>Obtained a non-prosecution agreement for a senior executive in a criminal investigation into conduct related to the hiring of employees.</li></ul><h5>Antitrust Merger Review</h5><ul><li>ShowingTime. Navigated ShowingTime Inc., a leading real estate showing management and market stats technology provider, through an extended review by the Federal Trade Commission of its $500 million vertical acquisition by Zillow Group. </li><li>Unity Technologies Corp. Obtained merger clearances for Unity in connection with an asset carve-out acquisition from Weta Digital for certain assets, including its audiovisual effects development and management software tools, for a purchase price of $1.625 billion. </li><li>Grant Thornton. Advised and obtained merger clearances for Grant Thornton LLP in connection with the sale of its Public Sector Advisory practice to Guidehouse.</li><li>Divvy. Represented Divvy, a leader in spend management, in its $2.5 billion stock and cash sale to Bill.com.</li><li>NTT LTD. Represented NTT, a leading IT infrastructure and services company, in its $330 million cash sale of WhiteHat Security to Synopsys, Inc.</li><li>Palo Alto Networks. Advised Palo Alto Networks on its agreement to acquire Cider Security, a pioneer in application security and software supply chain security.</li><li>Continental Building Products. Represented Continental Building Products, a North American leader in wallboard and joint compound materials, in negotiations to secure antitrust approvals for its sale to Saint-Gobain. The transaction cleared without a “second request” investigation.</li><li>The Walt Disney Company. Assisted The Walt Disney Co. in its $71 billion acquisition of certain businesses from 21st Century Fox.</li><li>Bombardier. Represented Canadian aircraft manufacturer Bombardier in connection with the worldwide antitrust clearance of its sale of a controlling interest in the “C Series” line of commercial passenger jets to Airbus. The transaction cleared without any second-phase reviews.</li><li>Advised third parties on civil investigative demand (CID) responses, including Nouryon, a global specialty chemical leader, as a third-party witness in an FTC litigation challenge of a transaction between Evonik and PeroxyChem.</li><li>Counseled corporate clients on antitrust issues in complex transactions, including collaborations, joint ventures, acquisitions, and mergers.</li></ul><h5>Antitrust Litigation</h5><ul><li>Glenmark Pharmaceuticals, Inc. Representing Glenmark in a federal antitrust multidistrict litigation alleging price fixing and market allocation of generic drugs by manufacturers of generic drugs.</li><li>Nexstar Media Group. Representing Nexstar, America’s largest local television and media company, in federal antitrust litigation alleging price fixing in television advertising.</li><li>Represented a leading international financial institution in multiple, sprawling class action lawsuits alleging a global conspiracy by some of the world’s largest banks to manipulate the interbank offer rate (IBOR) benchmark for multiple currencies.</li></ul>

Congressional Investigations Webinar: What to Expect from the 119th Congress

22 Jan 2025