The international law firm Bryan Cave LLP (www.bryancave.com) announced today that Mary Beth Buchanan has joined the firm as a partner practicing in both the New York and Washington, D.C., offices. She will practice within Bryan Cave’s White Collar Defense and Securities Litigation and Enforcement Client Service Group.
Buchanan served as the United States attorney for the Western District of Pennsylvania from September 2001 to November 2009, having been appointed by President George W. Bush. As the U.S. attorney, Buchanan oversaw the prosecution of more than 5,000 cases, including corporate and securities fraud, bank fraud, foreign corrupt practices, false claims, money laundering, health care fraud, public corruption and a broad range of violent crimes. Prior to that time, Buchanan spent more than 13 years as an assistant U.S. attorney litigating criminal, civil and appellate cases.
Don Lents, chair of the firm, said, “Mary Beth Buchanan will deepen Bryan Cave’s diverse and sophisticated corporate criminal and compliance practices throughout the United States and internationally. We are pleased that Mary Beth has brought her extraordinary knowledge and experience to our growing white collar and compliance practice.”
At Bryan Cave, Buchanan will concentrate her practice on internal investigations, corporate compliance, white collar criminal defense, foreign corrupt practices violations, corporate and accounting fraud, antitrust litigation, health care fraud, SEC enforcement matters, Congressional investigations and complex civil litigation.
“Governance requirements have become increasingly more stringent as the SEC and the DOJ have strengthened their enforcement efforts,” said Therese Pritchard, leader of Bryan Cave’s White Collar Defense and Securities Litigation and Enforcement practice. “Over the past few years we have observed a significant increase in the demand by corporations and boards of directors for assistance in conducting investigations into all types of issues, and Mary Beth’s impressive background with the Department of Justice will be a tremendous asset to our practice and to our team.”
Buchanan joined the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Western District of Pennsylvania in 1988. She spent her first five years as an assistant U.S. attorney in the Civil Division, and the next nine years in the Criminal Division. During her tenure as the U.S. attorney, she also had assignments at the DOJ, including serving as the director of the Executive Office for U.S. Attorneys, acting director of the DOJ’s Office on Violence Against Women and chair of the Attorney General’s Advisory Committee. Buchanan also served on the U.S. Sentencing Commission’s Organizational Guidelines Advisory Committee, which made recommendations to the Commission for amendments to the Sentencing Guidelines for Business Organizations.
“Mary Beth’s considerable experience working with the Department of Justice and her in-depth knowledge of corporate and internal investigations enhance Bryan Cave’s capabilities in this fast-growing and increasingly vital area of the law,” added Vincent Alfieri, managing partner of Bryan Cave’s New York office.
Buchanan joins Bryan Cave from the United Nations, where she served as the ethics and reputational risk officer. Buchanan conducted the United Nations’ first ethics and reputational risk assessment for U.N. Peacekeeping and Special Political Operations. She received a J.D. from the University of Pittsburgh School of Law and a B.S. from California University of Pennsylvania.
