Jenner & Block announced today that Andrew Weissmann is rejoining the firm, effective July 1, where he was a partner for five years from 2006-2011. Mr. Weissmann is the former Chief of the Fraud Section in the US Department of Justice (DOJ) Criminal Division, the former General Counsel of the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) as well as a former lead prosecutor in the Special Counsel investigation, the Director of the Enron Task Force, and the Chief of the Criminal Division in the United States Attorney’s Office in the Eastern District of New York (EDNY).
Mr. Weissmann will co-chair the firm’s Investigations, Compliance and Defense Practice, with a focus on counseling companies at the highest levels in both domestic and global investigations and litigation. He is a leading trial lawyer and investigator with deep experience in Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA) issues and compliance matters. As the head of the Fraud Section from 2013-2017, he oversaw more than 125 white-collar prosecutors in three units: Foreign Corrupt Practices Act, Securities and Financial Fraud, and Health Care Fraud.
Mr. Weissmann also devised and implemented a series of major corporate policies that remain in place today. He crafted and launched the FCPA Pilot Program, now known as the FCPA Corporate Enforcement Policy, which defines and gives credit for corporate cooperation, voluntary disclosure of wrongdoing and effective corporate compliance programs. The policy is also the basis for the National Security Division’s policy for corporate sanctions cases and for how the Antitrust Division evaluates compliance programs. He also devised a series of other measures that the DOJ’s Fraud Section applies to companies, including compliance metrics for evaluating corporate programs; a monitor training program to ensure effective oversight of both companies and monitors to reduce the problem of mission creep by corporate monitors; a policy to avoid duplicative corporate fines by promulgating guidelines to reduce the “piling on” problem of overlapping regulators; and the creation of the Health Care corporate unit to focus on large-scale institutional fraudulent practices. While heading the Fraud Section, Mr. Weissmann also worked closely with numerous international law enforcement partners in overseeing DOJ’s largest fraud matters, including the LIBOR, FX, Oderbrecht and Volkswagen investigations.
“I am thrilled to welcome back my friend and colleague,” said Katya Jestin, Jenner & Block’s co-managing partner, who previously worked closely with Mr. Weissmann at Jenner & Block and at the US Attorney’s Office in the EDNY. “I know of no more skilled trial lawyer or tenacious investigator. His creative thinking and unparalleled experience in corporate compliance and in FCPA investigations will prove invaluable to our clients.”
“Andrew did ground-breaking work in the field of corporate compliance, both here and while leading the Fraud Section. His experience will help our clients mitigate the risks associated with government investigations. Andrew is also a top-flight trial lawyer, who notched many civil litigation victories during his prior tenure at Jenner & Block. Our corporate clients are delighted that he is returning to private practice,” added Randy Mehrberg, Jenner & Block’s co-managing partner with Ms. Jestin.
Mr. Weissmann has had an illustrious career that has included serving as a lead prosecutor in Robert S. Mueller’s Special Counsel’s Office, as special counsel to then-FBI Director Mueller, as general counsel for the FBI, and as a federal prosecutor for more than two decades. From 2002 to 2005, he was deputy and then director of the Enron Task Force in Washington, DC, where he supervised the prosecution of more than 30 individuals in connection with the company’s collapse. Before that, he was the chief of the Criminal Division in the EDNY, supervising all of the office’s criminal matters and prosecuting numerous members of the Colombo, Gambino and Genovese families, including the bosses of the Colombo and Genovese families.
Mr. Weissmann has tried more than 25 cases to juries, judges and arbitrators – both as a federal prosecutor and defense counsel. During his previous tenure at Jenner & Block, he represented domestic and international corporations and executives in connection with criminal and civil investigations and compliance matters, including representations before the DOJ, the Securities and Exchange Commission, and state authorities. He won several civil fraud arbitrations, one of which was at the time the largest Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA) arbitration award in history-approximately $430 million.
“When I first joined Jenner & Block, I was drawn to the firm’s combination of dedication to excellence, commitment to pro bono service by every firm lawyer, and the teamwork and collegiality demanded of its lawyers – from first-year associates to senior partners. I could not ask for a better environment in which to practice law,” said Mr. Weissmann. “I am excited to come back home and look forward to helping clients and mentoring the next generation of Jenner & Block leaders.”
Mr. Weissmann joins a long tradition of Jenner & Block lawyers who have moved between public service and private practice, including firm Chair Thomas P. Perrelli (former Associate Attorney General of the United States), Thomas P. Sullivan (former US Attorney), Anton R. Valukas (former US Attorney), Ian Heath Gershengorn (former Acting US Solicitor General), Neil M. Barofsky (former Special Inspector General of the Troubled Asset Recovery Program), David Bitkower (former Principal Deputy Assistant Attorney General for the DOJ’s Criminal Division), Emily M. Loeb (former Associate Counsel in the Office of White House Counsel), Kali Bracey (former Deputy Assistant Attorney General for the Torts Branch of the DOJ’s Civil Division), Suedeen G. Kelly (former Commissioner with the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission) and former federal prosecutors Reid J. Schar (Northern District of Illinois), Gayle E. Littleton (Northern District of Illinois and Northern District of Florida), Anthony S. Barkow (Southern District of New York, District of Columbia and Main Justice) and many others.
Mr. Weissmann teaches criminal procedure and national security law at New York University School of Law. He holds a JD from Columbia Law School and a BA from Princeton University and attended the University of Geneva on a Fulbright Fellowship.
