Squire Patton Boggs continued the expansion of its global Government Investigations & White Collar practice with the addition of partner Kathleen McGovern, who joins from Ernst & Young LLP where she served as a Forensic & Integrity Services Partner and Forensics Healthcare Practice leader.
Before joining EY, Ms. McGovern was the Senior Deputy Chief in the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ), Criminal Division, Fraud Section. Her arrival marks another prominent addition to the firm’s practice as it services a continued surge in compliance and investigative work.
“Growing our global team in order to meet the expanding needs of clients who are facing increased scrutiny has been a strategic priority for the firm,” said Kevin McCart, head of the firm’s global Government Investigations & White Collar Practice. “Kathleen brings significant experience in the courtroom and advising clients across a range of disciplines that are important to our clients. Her FCPA and healthcare expertise, as well as her significant experience in other highly regulated industries including telecom, life sciences, and securities, will strengthen the group’s existing capabilities and complement the efforts of others.”
Squire has announced several additions into its global GIWC practice over the past year. Earlier this month DOJ’s Chief of Litigation for the Criminal Fraud Section Jerrob Duffy joined the firm in Washington DC. The firm also made four senior hires across London and Paris, including its new European practice head Hannah Laming. In the US, former Acting U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of Ohio Vipal Patel joined the firm in May, Guidehouse, Inc. Senior Director Adam Klauder joined in August and Ally Rich joined in January from Flannery Georgalis, LLC.
Commenting on her move, Ms. McGovern said, “The scale of Squire’s global practice and its commitment to building a diverse team of professionals with a deep understanding of prosecutorial and regulatory priorities, policies, and procedures made joining the firm a compelling proposition. I am excited to be part of the team and work with my new colleagues across the platform.”
Ms. McGovern is a former federal and state prosecutor with over 25 years of investigative, litigation, and trial experience. She rose rapidly up the ranks at DOJ to become Senior Deputy Chief of DOJ’s Fraud Section, where she supervised over 150 attorneys in investigating and prosecuting complex international and domestic white collar crime cases against entities and individuals across various industries, sectors and economies.
She personally prosecuted numerous multi-jurisdictional investigations involving the use of data analytics to identify, investigate and prosecute sophisticated fraud schemes. She also oversaw DOJ’s involvement in the National Center for Disaster Fraud, led investigations of disaster relief fraud following Hurricane Katrina and the Deepwater Horizon Oil Spill, and investigated multiple financial frauds related to the Troubled Asset Relief Program. Kathleen established the Healthcare Fraud Corporate Strike Force and led investigations of corporate healthcare fraud matters across various healthcare segments, including hospital systems and pharmaceuticals; oversaw prosecutions of several high-level healthcare executives; and developed and launched the Healthcare Fraud Data Analytics Team.
Ms. McGovern served as DOJ’s representative to the U.S. delegation for the Organization for Economic Co-Operation and Development’s (OECD’s) Working Group on Bribery and Corruption, where she was responsible for representing the United States’ views in enforcing the OECD’s Anti-Bribery Convention. She was responsible for hiring DOJ’s first Compliance Counsel, and for developing and implementing DOJ’s Corporate Enforcement Policy. Prior to the DOJ, she was a state prosecutor in New York for 11 years, holding various senior prosecutor positions.
Ms. McGovern has received numerous awards and recognitions including DOJ’s Director’s Award for Superior Performance, the Assistant Attorney General’s (AAG) Award for Distinguished Service, the AAG’s Award for the Safeguarding and Maintenance of Confidence in the American Marketplace, and the St. John’s University Distinguished Alumni Award.
Source: www.squirepattonboggs.com
