a Q&A with Managing Partner Bill Corrigan (and Former Missouri Deputy Attorney General)

Why has Shook created this new government investigations group?

Our growth in this practice area is a direct translation of our strategic focus on enhancing our deep trial bench and our capabilities for the benefit of a wide range of clients. We regularly work with our clients on many of their biggest and most important cases. First-chairing nine and ten-figure litigations is not uncommon for us.

Given that close and collaborative relationship in high-stakes litigation, it was a natural next step to expand our offerings to include a truly robust and market-leading government investigations and white collar practice to handle our clients’ most consequential investigations and white collar-related matters.

To this end, we’ve assembled a highly experienced team from within and through later hiring that knows the ins and outs of government investigations and government enforcement proceedings—lawyers who also have the credibility and reputation to stand up to the government to defend our clients when they need us the most.

Our attorneys also have vast experience handling federal and state government investigations and many once worked for the very enforcers with whom they interface with now. In addition, as one of the leading trial firms in the United States, Shook tries cases all over the country with a proven track record of success. For example, in 2023, our firm tried 23 cases to verdict all across the country, 21 of which as first chair.

2024 is shaping up to be even busier in the courtroom. Our level and depth of trial experience—and trial success—contribute to what makes our practice unique. That same trial readiness manifests itself in the Government Investigations and White Collar Practice.

How does the team’s background complement this new area of growth?

Shook’s Government Investigations and White Collar Practice includes the firm’s most experienced trial lawyers who have direct government experience in a variety of agencies. The group is led by Former Missouri Deputy Attorney General Bill Corrigan, along with Partner Patrick Oot who served in the Securities and Exchange Commission.

In September 2024, Shook made the strategic lateral hiring of Andrew Boutros, a highly-respected and well-known white-collar defence attorney who joins Bill and Patrick as Co-Chair of the Government Investigations and White Collar practice. Andrew’s addition further enhances our focus on domestic and international white-collar mandates, adding expansively to the depth of service we can provide clients in this area. A former federal prosecutor in the Financial Crimes and Special Prosecutions Section of the Chicago U.S. Attorney’s Office, Andrew handled hundreds of matters, briefed and argued appeals to the Seventh Circuit Court of Appeals, and tried or prepped dozens of cases for trial. Many of his cases had an international and cross-border component.

To that end, as a federal prosecutor, Andrew coordinated efforts with international law enforcement authorities in more than 20 countries and charged and prosecuted crimes involving $500 million in losses, proceeds and judgments. In addition, over the course of his public service career, Andrew first-chaired a number of high-profile cases of national and international significance, which the Chicago Sun-Times described in a profile of him as “some of the toughest, most sophisticated cases at the Dirksen Federal Courthouse.”

Andrew is a Fellow of the International Academy of Financial Crime Litigators, which has an invite-only membership of 76 worldwide, and just 17 Fellows in the United States. For what will be 15 consecutive years this winter, Andrew has also been teaching a course at the University of Chicago Law School on corporate criminal prosecutions and investigations—a course that delves into the intricacies of domestic and cross-border investigations, government enforcement matters, and multi-nation government cooperation. Andrew has also authored nearly 150 articles, thought pieces and book chapters. He has published two books on white-collar law: the first on compliance with the American Bar Association and the second with Oxford University Press on global anti-corruption.

Since the early 2000s, Andrew has conducted Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA) investigations in Canada, China, Russia, Europe and the Middle East and advised clients on FCPA corporate compliance matters and programs. Hired twice to serve as a legal expert on the FCPA, Andrew was retained first as an FCPA expert to render a formal legal opinion in a transnational post-acquisition dispute. Later, he was hired by one of the world’s largest public companies to serve as a testifying legal expert on the FCPA in criminal proceedings in the Middle East.

Lieutenant General (retired) Stuart Risch also recently joined our team. As the Judge Advocate General for the U.S. Army, Risch led the activities of the JAG Corps’ nearly 10,000 attorneys, paralegals and support staff worldwide, in addition to acting as the senior military legal advisor to the civilian Secretary of the Army and the Four-Star Chief of Staff of the Army.

In this role, he oversaw the defense of the Army’s interests in thousands of lawsuits, leading the activities of the JAG Corps’ licensed attorneys and certified paralegals in delivering principled counsel and premier legal services. He was also the senior military legal advisor to the civilian Secretary of the Army and the four-star Chief of Staff of the Army in development of policies and programs and on the full range of legal and policy matters for the one-million-person, worldwide Army. In addition, Stuart operated the Department of Defense’s only ABA-accredited law school and established an Office of Diversity, Equity, Inclusion and Accessibility (DEIA) and a holistic wellness program.

Our team also includes attorneys who spent part of their legal careers as government officials, themselves, including with agencies and departments such as:

• State Attorneys General offices;
• U.S. Department of Justice;
• U.S. Federal Trade Commission;
• U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission;
• U.S. Army Judge Advocate General’s Corps; and
• U.S. Air Force Judge Advocate General’s Corps

What is your client philosophy and/or approach?

When investigations happen or enforcement proceedings and litigation are threatened, Shook attorneys work tirelessly and creatively to resolve criminal and regulatory matters at the pre-charge stage, which is frequently the objective of our clients. This goal is particularly important for our international clients and referral firms, who may not be fully aware of U.S. laws and regulations and therefore may need guidance and counselling at the earliest stages of an investigation or regulatory inquiry.

When it becomes unavoidable that a judge or jury must decide legal or factual issues in dispute, Shook’s trial prowess allows it to win in the courtroom, as our extensive trial record amply demonstrates. It is this unique and undisputed strength in the courtroom that allows our lawyers to consistently obtain excellent outcomes for our clients both in the pre-charging stage as well as post-indictment.

In addition, Shook employs a comprehensive cross-disciplinary approach, combining defense expertise with investigative knowhow, as well as effective compliance counseling, a robust discovery strategy, and an advanced public relations plan, to tackle our client’s most pressing government investigations and white-collar matters.

We take this approach because in our experience, when the U.S. Department of Justice and other regulatory agencies initiate investigations or enforcement actions, they often involve other parallel state and federal proceedings, internal investigations, third-party litigation, and highly publicised allegations, if not speculation. To meet these challenges, and to deliver results when our clients need them the most, we assemble trial-ready and battle-tested white-collar enforcement teams, working on the ground to support our clients, and drawing on relevant specialists from throughout our platform.

What makes your platform unique?

Shook lawyers in the Government Investigations and White Collar Practice guide major corporations, their boards and audit committees, senior executives, and others through (i) sensitive internal investigations, (ii) government enforcement investigations and proceedings, (iii) complex litigations and trial, (iv) compliance and other audits, and (v) other inquiries.

Our attorneys are trusted by companies, their top executives, and enforcement officials alike to bring cases to successful resolution—often discreetly, but also through litigation—or even trial—when the circumstances necessitate it. Our distinguished track record of trying cases to verdict, whether before judge or jury, sets us apart from other firms. In addition, our team maintains an international practice and is composed of more than 25 lawyers across nearly all of our 18 U.S. offices, from New York, Chicago and San Francisco, to Miami, Kansas City, and Washington, D.C. Many of our lawyers have served in the federal and state government at different levels at different agencies and departments, as described above. They bring their experiences and insights to counsel and guide clients through some of their most challenging times. They also provide unique in-depth knowledge of subject matters, industries, and agencies.