How to Prepare for the Investigative Agenda in the New Year

During this briefing Gibson Dunn lawyers, joined by Erik Jones, Counsel to the U.S. Senate Committee on Commerce, Science & Transportation (Sen. Rockefeller, Chairman), discuss the unique features of Congressional and other legislative branch investigations and where Congress is likely to focus its investigative and oversight resources in the coming year. Last year was a busy one for congressional investigators. A number of investigations were launched or continued, focusing on a variety of industries, including automobile manufacturers, financial services firms, health insurance companies, communications companies and career colleges, to name a few. A number of these investigations continue In the second session of the 112th Congress, committee chairs and ranking members will be hitting their strides, opening up new areas of inquiry and pushing forward on existing investigations.

Our panelists review how congressional investigations work; who the key players are; and the investigative agenda for the coming year. The panelists from Gibson Dunn also cover what a congressional investigation could mean to your firm.

Michael Bopp — Chairs the firm's Financial Services Crisis Team; member of the firm's White Collar Defense and Investigations and Crisis Management practices. Mr. Bopp is a former Staff Director and Chief Counsel of the Committee of Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs, one of the Senate's largest committees and most expansive in terms of jurisdiction. He has led or played a key role in major investigations in both the Senate and House of Representatives. In these capacities, he developed the strategy and set the agenda for several investigations, conducted more than 100 depositions or witness interviews, managed dozens of subpoenas and massive document discovery efforts, and orchestrated more than 100 committee hearings.

F. Joseph Warin — Co-Chair of the firm's White Collar Defense and Investigations Practice, member of the firm's Whistleblower Team and former Assistant United States Attorney in Washington, D.C. Named by numerous publications as a leading white collar criminal defense, securities compliance and enforcement attorney including Chambers USA: America's Leading Lawyers for Business, Washingtonian magazine and The Best Lawyers in America. Expertise includes white collar crime and securities enforcement — including Foreign Corrupt Practices Act investigations, False Claims Act cases, special committee representations, compliance counseling and complex civil litigation.

Erik Jones — Mr. Jones is Counsel to the U.S. Senate Committee on Commerce, Science & Transportation (Sen. Rockefeller, Chairman), where he manages the Committee's investigations and determines areas of inquiry for the Committee to pursue. Mr. Jones helped establish the Committee's Office of Oversight and Investigations at the beginning of the 111th Congress and has led several successful, high-profile investigations since the office's inception. Prior to serving in his current role, Mr. Jones was Investigative Counsel to the House Committee on Oversight & Government Reform and the House Committee on Energy & Commerce under Chairman Waxman. While working for the House Oversight Committee, he led the investigation that uncovered FEMA had purposely delayed testing the trailers it supplied to victims of Hurricane Katrina for high levels of formaldehyde. Mr. Jones began his career as an associate in the White Collar Criminal Defense Group at DLA Piper.

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