Morgan Lewis announced today that Ryan McConnell, a former assistant U.S. attorney, will join the firm as a partner in its Litigation practice, resident in the firm’s Houston office. His arrival continues the firm’s recent growth of its White Collar practice, following the arrival of George Terwilliger, Daniel Levin, Matthew Miner, and Robert J. Bittman in Washington, D.C.
“As we see the government’s continued emphasis on enforcement, Ryan’s experience as a former federal prosecutor and in burgeoning industries and markets will benefit our clients,” said Jami McKeon, leader of Morgan Lewis’s Litigation Practice. “His novel approaches to compliance and experience in leading investigations will complement our practice.”
Mr. McConnell focuses his practice on corporate compliance issues and white collar criminal defense. He has been involved in lengthy U.S. Department of Justice investigations and has assisted companies with compliance matters, including program design, tracking, and assessment. Mr. McConnell advises clients on how to use technology to leverage internal resources and adopt a risk-based approach to their compliance programs, including risk-based due diligence on business partners, agents, and acquisition targets.
After leaving the Department of Justice, Mr. McConnell led an empirical study in 2011 that analyzed the codes of conduct of Fortune 500 companies, and in 2012 he partnered with the Ethisphere Institute to create a searchable database of publicly available provisions from those codes. In 2011, he assisted Ethisphere in creating a database of deferred and non-prosecution agreements. His research in this area has been cited by Congress in examining the need for legislation on deferred and non-prosecution agreements, as well as corporate monitors.
“Our already deep bench of litigators in Houston will only benefit from Ryan’s arrival,” noted Brady Edwards, Managing Partner of the firm’s Houston office. “We are excited to welcome him to our team.”
Mr. McConnell also teaches international corporate compliance and criminal procedure at the University of Houston Law Center. In 2011, he was named “Faculty Member of the Year” by the UH Advocates. He is a frequent speaker on criminal charging and compliance developments, and he regularly writes articles discussing empirical data gathered from Justice Department criminal prosecutions and addressing Justice Department corporate charging trends, charging principles and corporate monitors. His research is often cited by leading media outlets.
As part of 600+ litigators at Morgan Lewis, Ryan joins a White Collar Litigation and Government Investigations practice that handles the full breadth of matters that can arise from a white collar investigation-from federal grand jury and civil proceedings to third-party payor class actions to qui tam, antitrust, FCPA, state attorneys general and consumer protection investigations and litigation to crisis management and compliance assessment.
