Steve Spivack practice is focused on white collar criminal investigation and defense matters, including the conduct of internal investigations. He is a highly experienced white collar attorney having served as a federal prosecutor for many years in the District of Columbia and as a defense lawyer for more than 25 years. He has handled a wide variety of complex white collar cases, including the 2009 dismissal of all charges against a division president of W.R. Grace in a 10-week trial in Montana federal court, in what the EPA had claimed was one of the most important environmental cases ever brought. Steve has represented companies and individuals in a wide variety of white collar criminal, civil and suspension and debarment matters, including those involving such statutes as the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA), False Claims Act, Knowing Endangerment Provisions of the Clean Air Act, Bribery, Government Contractor Fraud, Antitrust Violations, and Health Care Fraud. As a federal prosecutor, he prosecuted some of the most important white collar cases in the office, including two ABSCAM cases, and as a supervisor in the office, he oversaw the work of 21 Assistant U.S. Attorneys, including the Pollard spy case.
Steve handles cases across the country and overseas for corporate and individual clients. He has successfully represented a wide range of diverse clients from Fortune 200 companies and small privately owned companies, labor organizations and officers, CEOs, corporate presidents and other executives, lawyers, accountants, journalists, executive branch officials, and local government officials. He has assisted companies in establishing compliance programs and has conducted company in-house seminars on such topics as FCPA compliance and government contractor ethics. He has conducted internal investigations for his corporate clients, handled suspension and debarment matters for them and is experienced in pursuing insurance coverage claims under fidelity loss policies.
Martindale-Hubbell® AV Preeminent Peer Review Rated, 1985-2021 Listed in Benchmark Litigation, "Local Litigation Star," District of Columbia, 2014-2021 Listed in The Best Lawyers in America®, Criminal Defense: White-Collar, 2007-2022 Listed in Washington D.C. Super Lawyers, Criminal Defense: White Collar, 2009-2021 Environmental Criminal Steve was lead counsel for the President of a W.R. Grace Division in 2009 in what the EPA described as one of the most important, if not, the most important environmental criminal case ever brought. The defendants vigorously contested hundreds of legal issues pre-trial over a 4 year period in the District of Montana with the Court issuing over thirty published opinions and several of his rulings were appealed to the 9th Circuit resulting in two panel decisions and one en banc opinion before the case eventually went to trial. The case involved many novel theories of prosecution and after ten weeks of trial, following many motions in limine that were filed and granted, much of the irrelevant and highly prejudicial evidence was excluded. The government’s case against our client literally collapsed, leaving the government very little choice but to dismiss all charges against him, which they did on April 27, 2009. Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA) Steve has handled a variety of FCPA matters, including an internal investigation relating to possible FCPA violations by a recently acquired company, numerous representations of individuals in grand jury investigations, due diligence review of possible FCPA violations for a U.S. company purchasing a subsidiary with both U.S. and foreign operations, and has advised and counseled companies regarding compliance with the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act. Government Contractor Fraud Over the years Steve has represented numerous government contractors in connection with a multitude of issues including TINA violations, false timekeeping, false statements, false claims, kickbacks, bribery of government officials, and qui tam lawsuits. Almost all of these cases were resolved with no charges being filed or were settled on very favorable terms. Public Corruption Handled a wide variety of public corruption cases on the local and federal level and has represented two high level White House officials in separate investigations by Independent Counsels. All of his clients were able to resolve these investigations without charges being brought or on very favorable terms. Healthcare Fraud Steve has represented numerous individuals in healthcare fraud and kickback cases. All cases were favorably resolved. Antitrust Steve has successfully represented both companies and individuals in grand jury antitrust matters. None of his clients have been prosecuted. Tax Prosecutions Steve has represented individuals under investigation by the IRS and in the only case indicted, his client, a lawyer, resolved the matter with a plea to a lesser offense for which his sentence was probation. USA v. I-Chem Research, et al. 3:90-cr-00630-RHS (N.D. Cal.) Client, I-Chem Research, was a government contractor client. Case settled on favorable terms. USA v. Shafi, et al., 8:88-cr-00330-RAL (M.D. Fla.) Client, a Manager of a Branch of BCCI, had all charges in connection with a bank money laundering case dismissed. USA v. Schouman 4:94-cr-50058-BAF (E.D. Mich.) Tax prosecution of a lawyer whose case settled on favorable terms. USA v. Bullock 1:03-cr-00435-RJL (USDC DC) Client, a union President, pleaded guilty to lesser charges in a multi-million dollar embezzlement scheme. USA v. Bose, et al. 1:97-cr-00256-RMU (USDC DC) Client was a government official whose case was resolved on favorable terms. United States v. W.R. Grace, et al., (D. Mont. 2009) Represented former President of the Construction Products Division of W. R. Grace who, with seven other defendants, was indicted with conspiracy to defraud the United States and violate the Clean Air Act. After we filed our Motion for Judgment of Acquittal, the prosecution concluded that there was insufficient evidence against the client for the case to go to the jury. On the government’s motion, a dismissal of the indictment with prejudice was granted. United States v. Bank of America, et al. The firm represented Ally Financial, Inc, Residential Capital, LLC and GMAC Mortgage in the largest national joint state/federal government settlement in history. The case began with “robo-signing” investigation and then broadened into examination of the mortgage industry. The case involved 49 state attorney generals, 48 state banking departments, the Department of Justice, the Department of Treasury, the Department of Housing and Urban Development, the Consumer Financial Protect Bureau, and the Federal Trade Commission. Foreign Corrupt Practices Act Experience Represented a publicly traded foreign global supplier of equipment and services with operations in over 25 countries supplying machinery to plants and processing facilities before, during and after construction. Bradley performed a thorough due diligence investigation in connection with the purchase of a foreign company to determine if the target company was in full compliance with the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act. Represented a publicly traded US company that provides a wide range of services, including design, engineering, fabrication and environmental services in 27 countries, in connection with a joint DOJ/SEC FCPA investigation of a subsidiary that had been purchased a year earlier. While the former foreign global company, whom we did not represent, was prosecuted for various FCPA violations, our client was not. Moreover, we were able to persuade the former parent company to indemnify our client for the payment of most of our legal fees. Represented a leading global research company providing the full range of clinical development services for the world’s pharma, biotech, and medical devices industries operating in over 40 countries. Working with one of the Big Four accounting firms, we represented the company in connection with an internal investigation to determine whether one of its high level employees in an office in Central Europe had violated Foreign Corrupt Practices or UK Bribery Act. While no violations were uncovered, we, along with the accounting firm, made recommendations as to how the company’s internal controls could be strengthened. Represented a publicly traded company with a presence in 27 countries and is a global producer of fabricated metal products. Along with local Mexican counsel, we advised the company in connection with an internal investigation to determine whether any employees violated the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act. Represented a high level executive of a global oil and gas services company with a presence in every major oil and gas region in the world. While the company was prosecuted for various SEC and FCPA violations, our client was not prosecuted nor was any SEC enforcement action initiated against the client. Represented multiple employees of ABB Ltd in connection with a FCPA investigation of its operations in Mexico. The company pleaded guilty to two FCPA related offenses and paid $19 million in criminal penalties and $39 million in penalties to the SEC. Several individuals were indicted or pleaded guilty but our clients were not prosecuted. Represented multiple clients in connection with providing advice on an as needed basis on various aspects of compliance with the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act. For example, we have reviewed and revised contracts with consultants and foreign sales reps, updated and revised compliance manuals, drafted new FCPA policies and procedures, reviewed and made recommendations for improving internal controls, and conducted in depth FCPA seminars for key personnel of our clients.
