Kirkland & Ellis LLP is pleased to announce that William J. Stuckwisch has joined the Washington, D.C., office as a partner in the Government, Regulatory and Internal Investigations Practice Group. Mr. Stuckwisch joins the Firm from the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ), Criminal Division, where he most recently served as Assistant Chief in the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA) Unit, Fraud Section.
"Bill's extensive experience prosecuting FCPA matters will be especially beneficial to our clients as they face increased scrutiny from governments and enforcement agencies around the world, and as compliance becomes increasingly complex. Bill is a perfect match for our strong existing group, and we enthusiastically welcome him to the Firm," said Jeffrey C. Hammes, Chairman of Kirkland's Global Management Executive Committee.
In his position at the DOJ, Mr. Stuckwisch supervised the investigation and prosecution of approximately half of the department's FCPA matters and assisted in the development and implementation of FCPA enforcement policy, strategy and initiatives.
Mr. Stuckwisch served as the lead prosecutor in numerous FCPA cases, including the largest FCPA matter ever — the investigation and prosecution of five major U.S. and foreign corporations and several individuals for a scheme to bribe Nigerian government officials in connection with the Bonny Island liquefied natural gas plant construction project. As assistant chief, Mr. Stuckwisch also supervised or prosecuted more than a dozen other corporate FCPA cases, which spanned a wide range of industries and countries, brought by the DOJ during the last two years.
From 2009-2010, Mr. Stuckwisch served as senior counsel to the assistant attorney general for the DOJ's Criminal Division, where he advised on corporate fraud, securities fraud, FCPA, and other white collar criminal matters and enforcement initiatives. Earlier, he served as a senior trial attorney in the DOJ's Fraud Section, where he investigated and prosecuted FCPA, securities fraud, public corruption, tax, money laundering and other complex white collar crime cases.
Before joining the DOJ in 2004, Mr. Stuckwisch was a counsel in the white collar criminal defense group of O'Melveny & Myers LLP in Washington, D.C., where he defended clients against allegations of securities and accounting fraud, FCPA and other white collar offenses, conducted internal investigations, and litigated complex civil cases.
"Bill's substantial experience at multiple levels of the Department of Justice, coupled with his prior white collar and litigation experience in private practice, will be of great benefit to our practice and our clients, and we are very pleased to welcome him to the Firm," said Eugene Assaf, a partner in the Washington, D.C., office, and member of Kirkland's Global Management Executive Committee.
Mr. Stuckwisch's move to Kirkland comes shortly after the arrival of Neil Eggleston, a nationally recognized white collar and securities enforcement attorney with substantial government experience, who joined Kirkland's white collar practice on Feb. 1.
"Kirkland showed a commitment to growing its Government, Regulatory and Internal Investigations Practice that was very attractive to me," said Mr. Stuckwisch. "I look forward to returning to private practice at Kirkland, where I will be working alongside some of the finest trial lawyers and most respected names in FCPA enforcement."
Mr. Stuckwisch has been recognized with the Assistant Attorney General's Award for Exceptional Service (2009) and the Assistant Attorney General's Award for Safeguarding and Maintaining Confidence in the American Marketplace (2007), among other commendations.
Mr. Stuckwisch holds a J.D. from the University of Virginia School of Law and a B.A. in international relations from the University of Virginia. From 1995-1996, Mr. Stuckwisch clerked for The Honorable Emmet Ripley Cox of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit.
Kirkland's Government, Regulatory and Internal Investigations Practice Group consists of nationally recognized attorneys in all six U.S. offices and London. The Firm regularly represents corporations and their executives in matters involving FCPA, securities, health care, environmental, tax, public corruption, antitrust and related areas, in addition to having conducted hundreds of comprehensive internal investigations.
Kirkland attorneys have represented clients before nearly every federal and state agency, including the DOJ, the Securities and Exchange Commission, the Environmental Protection Agency, the Food and Drug Administration, the National Association of Securities Dealers, and before numerous administrative agencies, including judicial and congressional review committees, and international governing agencies, including the European Union.
Kirkland & Ellis LLP (www.kirkland.com) is a 1,500-attorney law firm representing global clients in complex litigation and dispute resolution/arbitration, corporate, tax, restructuring and intellectual property and technology matters. The Firm has offices in Washington, D.C., Chicago, Hong Kong, London, Los Angeles, Munich, New York, Palo Alto, San Francisco and Shanghai.
(Press Release by Kirkland & Ellis LLP)
