Womble Bond Dickinson announced today that Britt Whitesell Biles has joined the firm’s Washington, D.C., office as a partner in the Business Litigation Group and a member of the White Collar and Investigations Team. Biles, a former partner at a global law firm, has more recently served in several high-ranking federal executive branch positions, including General Counsel of the Small Business Administration (SBA), Special Assistant to the President and Associate White House Counsel, and Assistant Chief Litigation Counsel in the Division of Enforcement at the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).
“Britt’s private practice and public service have been consistently of the highest level and caliber,” said Business Litigation Practice Group Leader Chris Jones. “Her experience is unmatched and will be of tremendous value to our clients, particularly as we continue to see pandemic-related capital infusions increasing white-collar and related enforcement activity.”
Most recently, Biles served as the General Counsel of the SBA. She was appointed in 2020 to manage the immense and unprecedented legal needs that arose from the SBA’s role as a lead agency in the federal government’s economic response to COVID-19. She was the SBA’s chief legal officer and third-highest-ranking official during the critical period when the SBA was implementing and administering trillion-dollar loan and grant programs established by the CARES Act, including the Paycheck Protection Program. Biles led the SBA’s legal function, managing 140 lawyers and staff across the country as the Agency navigated complex and evolving legal requirements and faced unparalleled levels of scrutiny from Congress, the media, and the public.
Biles also recently served in senior positions at the SEC and the White House. On the enforcement staff at the SEC, she investigated and litigated a wide array of securities matters as Assistant Chief Litigation Counsel. At the White House, Biles served as Special Assistant to the President and Associate White House Counsel, advising on financial regulation and reform, consumer protection, privacy, and congressional oversight matters.
Outside of government, Biles represented corporate clients and individuals in high-stakes government investigations and litigation. Her white-collar and regulatory defense experience includes matters involving Congress, the Department of Justice, the SEC, the Federal Trade Commission, the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation, and various state attorneys general. In addition, Biles is an experienced trial lawyer who has litigated complex cases in state and federal courts nationwide.
“We have a formidable team of former federal prosecutors and high-ranking government officers in Washington and throughout the firm,” said Elizabeth Lee, Managing Partner of the Washington, D.C., office. “Britt brings experience and insight that is both unique and incredibly timely for the current and evolving needs of our clients.”
At Womble, Biles will represent corporate and individual clients in white-collar, regulatory, compliance, and litigation matters. Her arrival further strengthens Womble’s white collar and investigations practice, following the recent additions of former Department of Homeland Security General Counsel Joe Whitley and former federal prosecutor Luke Cass in Washington.
“My practice is D.C.-centric in that it’s focused on serving clients involved in federal agency regulatory investigations, enforcement proceedings, and related litigation, but my practice also has national and global dimensions because the clients I serve have interests across the country and around the world,” said Biles. “My clients will benefit greatly from Womble’s cross-disciplinary collaboration and full-service, transatlantic platform, and I am excited to join this talented team.”
Biles began her legal career as a law clerk for Judge Julia Smith Gibbons of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit. She earned her law degree from Duke University and her bachelor’s degree from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.
