Jones Day issued the following announcement on June 28.
Karen Hewitt, Partner-in-Charge of Jones Day's California Region, has been selected for "The Top FCPA Practitioners," an exclusive list of the most outstanding lawyers and forensic advisers who work on legal matters related to the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA).
The inaugural list is published by Global Investigations Review (GIR), a worldwide publication that covers the law and practice of international investigations. The list highlights 30 professionals who work at law firms and accounting firms across the United States.
"These practitioners all stand out in their own way," according to GIR. "Building on our years of experience covering the FCPA market, we interviewed 130 industry insiders, including practice heads, in-house lawyers and former government officials to find out who they think are the best they've worked with in the U.S. on foreign bribery matters."
Ms. Hewitt is a former U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of California and an experienced trial lawyer who has successfully litigated hundreds of cases in federal court. She is a partner in Jones Day's Business & Tort Litigation Practice, based in the Firm's San Diego Office, and currently represents companies nationwide in civil and criminal investigations, as well as complex business litigation. Ms. Hewitt focuses on defending matters involving possible violations of federal law, including the FCPA, the Anti-Kickback Statute, the Taft-Hartley Act, and the False Claims Act. Jones Day's California Region, of which she is Partner-in-Charge, encompasses five offices and approximately 300 lawyers.
Ms. Hewitt led the defense of an international retailer in a complex FCPA investigation conducted by the DOJ and SEC in four countries. She also has represented major public and private companies in internal investigations on highly sensitive topics, crisis management, compliance, contested proceedings before regulatory agencies, and "bet-the-company" litigation. In the matters Ms. Hewitt leads, she routinely reports to senior management, the board of directors, the audit committee or a special committee, and develops the comprehensive strategy for the company to protect and defend itself from a range of legal and regulatory risks. GIR also cited the work of Jones Day partners Henry Klehm, for his particular experience with SEC matters, and Hank Walther, a former federal prosecutor who led large, complex criminal fraud and corruption cases at the Department of Justice.
Earlier this month, Ms. Hewitt was elected president of the National Association of Former United States Attorneys, a non-partisan alumni organization of more than 300 former U.S. Attorneys who served in both Republican and Democratic presidential administrations. She is a Master in the Enright Inn of Court and a member of the Board of Visitors of the University of San Diego School of Law.
In developing the list, GIR editors considered the known FCPA matters individuals worked on, such as the number of settlements, declinations, and monitorships, taking note when industry observers thought a public case was particularly well handled. The editors also considered comments about who produced "the highest quality work, a lawyer's relationship with the government, their personability, the experience of their team, and their willingness to understand industry quirks."
Original source can be found here.