Global law firm White & Case LLP has strengthened its Global White Collar Practice with the addition of Virginia Chavez Romano as a partner in its New York office. Romano joins the Firm from the US Department of Justice (DOJ), where she was an Associate Deputy Attorney General and Executive Director of the Financial Fraud Enforcement Task Force (FFETF).
“Government agencies are increasingly investigating and taking enforcement actions against corporations and their employees and agents involving corruption, fraud, money laundering and related matters,” said Scott Hershman, White & Case’s Regional Section Head, Americas Disputes. “Virginia brings significant expertise to the Firm’s Global White Collar Practice, allowing us to provide clients with deep knowledge and understanding of the issues relevant to them.”
During her tenure at the DOJ, Romano managed the FFETF and the DOJ’s initiatives relating to civil and criminal financial fraud, including the September 2015 policy guidance on individual accountability in matters of corporate wrongdoing. Romano restructured the FFETF’s operations, establishing a committee to identify emerging fraud threats and to fund significant financial fraud matters across the Department.
President Obama established the FFETF in November 2009. It comprises more than 20 federal agencies, 93 US Attorneys’ Offices, and state and local partners.
“Virginia’s time with the DOJ gave her an opportunity to work with numerous law enforcement organizations, enabling her to develop a strong understanding of the government’s approach to and policies concerning tackling financial fraud, among other enforcement priorities,” said Darryl Lew, head of White & Case’s Global White Collar Practice. “Virginia’s experience and knowledge make her a great addition to our already strong and growing team of white collar lawyers around the world.”
Romano joined the DOJ in 2014 from the New York State Office of the Attorney General (NYSOAG), where she served as a Deputy Attorney General in the Economic Justice Division. She represented the NYSOAG in connection with the FFETF’s Residential Mortgage-Backed Securities (RMBS) Working Group. Romano supervised teams of attorneys at the NYSOAG in their RMBS investigations.
Prior to her tenure at the NYSOAG, Romano worked as an Assistant US Attorney in the Criminal Division of the US Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of New York, where her duties culminated in an assignment to the Securities and Commodities Fraud Task Force. She was a lead prosecutor in dozens of investigations and prosecutions for offenses ranging from narcotics trafficking to complex financial crimes.
Romano is the latest addition to White & Case’s Global White Collar Practice. Her arrival follows the hiring of partners Andrew Tomback in New York and Michael Kendall, Kevin Bolan, Lauren Papenhausen and Matthew Turnell in the Firm’s Boston office, which opened in April of this year.
White & Case’s Global White Collar Practice advises large corporations, banks and other financial institutions, and individuals dealing with national and cross-border government investigations and enforcement actions, and related compliance and regulatory matters.
Source: www.whitecase.com
