Philip Urofsky is a former federal prosecutor with extensive experience investigating and prosecuting criminal and civil violations of the FCPA, the money laundering and mail and wire fraud statutes, and economic sanctions laws and regulations. He advises clients on conducting internal investigations, designing and implementing compliance programs, as well as conducting due diligence in mergers & acquisitions, joint ventures, securities offerings, and concerning retention of third parties.

Additionally, Mr. Urofsky has extensive experience responding to and defending against federal, state, and international criminal, civil, and administrative investigations, prosecutions, and trials on behalf of both business entities and individuals.

Prior to joining the firm, Mr. Urofsky served as a law clerk to the Honorable James M. Sprouse of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit and in a number of trial and supervisory positions within the U.S. Department of Justice’s Criminal Division where he handled all aspects of criminal prosecutions, including investigations, trials, and appeals. While at the DOJ, Mr. Urofsky served as Assistant Chief of the Fraud Section, with responsibility for supervising or participating in virtually every FCPA investigation and prosecution.

Mr. Urofsky was also a member of the United States’ delegation to the OECD Working Group on Corruption and was designated by the US as an expert in anti-corruption law and compliance for the Group’s peer review process. As a DOJ attorney, Mr. Urofsky was the primary drafter of the Department’s Principles of Federal Prosecution of Corporations and lectured widely on corporate compliance issues.

• Represented UniCredit S.p.A. and UniCredit Group overall in connection with sanctions compliance investigations by the U.S. Department of Justice, the District Attorney of New York City, the Federal Reserve, the Office of Foreign Assets Control, and the New York State Department of Financial Services, resulting in settlements with each agency
• Representation of Canada-based international mining company in internal investigations and compliance advice
• Representation of company operating in digital currency industry in connection with multiple investigations, including responding to inquiries from federal and state agencies
• Representation of special committee of the Board of Sociedad Quimica y Minera de Chile (SQM) in connection with investigation concerning payments by its former CEO and interaction with U.S. and Chilean authorities, resulting in settlements with the U.S. Department of Justice and the U.S. Securities & Exchange Commission
• Representation of special committee of U.S.-based technology company in connection with investigations by the U.S. Department of Justice and the U.S. Department of Commerce’s Bureau of Industrial Security concerning alleged export controls violations
• Representation of international oil company in connection with whistleblower investigation concerning allegations of corruption and interaction with the U.S. Securities & Exchange Commission
• Representation of multiple Swiss banks in connection with the U.S. Department of Justice’s Tax Division’s Swiss Bank Program, resulting in deferred and non-prosecution agreements
• Representation of Israeli construction company in connection with compliance audits by the World Bank’s Integrity Vice Presidency
• Representation of Norsk Hydro in connection with US and Norwegian investigations concerning its former oil & gas business and advising concerning ABAC compliance with respect to mining operations
• Representation of U.S., European, and Chinese mining, airline, pharmaceutical, oil & gas, automobile, and telecommunications companies in connection with internal investigations and voluntary disclosures to the Department of Justice, the Securities & Exchange Commission, Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC), and the Bureau of Industrial Security (BIS)
• Advising U.S., European, and Chinese mining, manufacturing, pharmaceutical, and financial companies concerning due diligence in securities offerings, acquisitions, and joint ventures in China, Russia, Latin America, the Middle East, and Africa
• Advising U.S. and European mining, financial, pharmaceutical, mining & manufacturing, and telecommunications companies on design, implementation, and monitoring of Foreign Corrupt Practices Act and anti-corruption compliance programs and economic sanctions compliance programs
• Representation of German engineer in connection with investigations in the U.S. and Germany related to emissions controls
• Representation of Chinese company’s Audit Committee to conduct an internal investigation in connection with securities fraud allegations
• Representation of Europe-based transportation company in connection with a voluntary disclosure and internal investigation involving economic sanctions and corruption issues
• Representation of senior executive of European telecommunications company in connection with FCPA and securities law investigation
• Representation of Chairman of Chinese oil & gas company in connection with FCPA and securities law investigation
• Representation of Europe-based in-house lawyer in connection with FCPA and economic sanctions investigation
• Representation of employees of pharmaceutical company in connection with FCPA investigation
• Representation of Europe-based senior manager of software company in connection with FCPA and tax investigation
• Representation of former general counsel of software programming company in connection with criminal prosecution alleging accounting and securities fraud and money laundering
• Representation of former chief executive officer of insurance company in connection with criminal prosecution alleging accounting and securities fraud
• Representation of audit committee of automotive manufacturing company in connection with government investigations
• Representation of restaurant chain in enforcement of non-competition clause against former employee
• Assisted independent monitors retained in connection with a deferred prosecution agreements with the Department of Justice and the Securities & Enforcement Commission for companies in the software, manufacturing & construction, and oil & gas sectors
• As a federal prosecutor, responsible for investigating, prosecuting, and arguing the appeals in cases involving violations of the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act, including U.S. v. Saybolt Inc., U.S. v. David Mead, U.S. v. Cantor, U.S. v. Metcalf & Eddy, U.S. v. Syncor Taiwan, U.S. v. Robert Richard King (and related cases), U.S. v. David Kay & Douglas Murphy, U.S. v. ABB Vetco Gray Inc., et al., U.S. v. Monsanto Corporation, U.S. v. Titan Corporation, and other significant matters

Publications

• “Managing Financial Crime Risks in Challenging Circumstances,” Navigating Systemic Rick: Saving Firms from Avoidable Losses (publication upcoming) (with Mathew Orr)
• “A step too far? The IRS proposes non-deductibility of disgorgement,” Bloomberg Law (July 2020) (with Richard Gagnon)
• “Beware! Whistleblowers, Wolves, and Lambs – Navigating Ethical Landmines in Global Investigations,” Rocky Mountain Mineral Law Foundation (July 2020) (with Paula Anderson)
• “Are Royals Foreign Officials under the FCPA?,” Anti-Corruption Report (June 2020) (with Oyinkan Muraina)
• “Civil Litigation in the Aftermath of FCPA and U.K. Bribery Act Investigations,” Anti-Corruption Report (May 2020) (with Jesse Van Genugten, Jonathan Swil, and Mathew Orr)
• “The Firtash Case May Present Jeff Sessions’ Department of Justice with Its First Real Test on FCPA Enforcement,” Bloomberg BNA’s Criminal Law Reporter (March 1, 2017) (with Zach Torres-Fowler)
• “A Bribe Is a Bribe: FCPA’s Influence on International Arbitration,” New York Law Journal (February 2015) (with Henry Weisburg and Zach Torres-Fowler)
• “Compliance Tips From FCPA Enforcement Trends,” Law360 Expert Analysis (March 5, 2014) (with Hee Won (Marina) Moon and Zach Torres-Fowler)
• “A Resource Guide to the US Foreign Corrupt Practices Act: the US Government’s Perspective on Enforcing the FCPA,” The OECD Convention on Bribery: A Commentary, 2014 (with Hee Won (Marina) Moon)
• “Key Trends in International White Collar Crime Enforcement,” Inside the Minds: International White Collar Enforcement, 2014
• “Effective Corporate Compliance and the Irrelevant ‘Foreign Official’ Debate,” White Collar Crime Report (BNA) (January 3, 2013) (with Jessica Bartlett)
• “How Should We Measure the Effectiveness of the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act? Don’t Break What Isn’t Broken – The Fallacies of Reform,” 73 Ohio State Law Journal 1145 (2012) (with Hee Won (Marina) Moon and Jennifer Rimm)
• “Gifts and Entertainment:Ten Strategies for Paying for Government Clients to Attend the Olympics or Other Sporting Events without Violating the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act,” The FCPA Report (June, 6, 2012)
• “The UK Bribery Act 2010,” The Review of Securities & Commodities Regulation, (August 17, 2011) (with Stephen Fishbein and Richard Kelly)
• “U.S. Internal Investigations and Foreign Data Protections Laws,” Bloomberg Law Reports, Risk & Compliance (September 2009) (with Grace Harbour)