WilmerHale has placed among the top five firms in Global Investigations Review’s (GIR) annual announcement of the world’s 30 leaders for investigations. GIR is a news source focused on the law and practice of international investigations.
The firm ranked in fourth place in GIR’s 2020 ranking, making it the sixth consecutive year the firm has been ranked at the top of GIR’s list of the world’s most accomplished investigations practices.
In a write-up of the firm, GIR discussed WilmerHale’s sustained strength in the investigations area, stating: “WilmerHale's investigations practice has racked up a number of major cases that few competitors can match. The firm remains a front-runner for its work in Foreign Corrupt Practices Act cases, securing a major monitorship in 2019. But recently the firm has also been stockpiling top lawyers with significant investigations and national security experience.”
According to GIR, WilmerHale has been listed as having advised on more FCPA settlements than any other firm since late 2008, highlighting the firm’s role in guiding UK bank Barclays through a US$6.3 million FCPA settlement with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).
The GIR profile notes how WilmerHale places a high value in government experience. The firm currently fields more than 70 former government officials, including those from the SEC, the Department of Justice (DOJ), and numerous US attorney offices, in its investigations practice. The publication also observed the additions of the former special counsel team, who returned to the firm after overseeing the investigation of Russian government efforts to interfere in the 2016 presidential election and related matters, Robert Mueller, James Quarles, Aaron Zebley, and former DOJ principal associate deputy attorney general Edward O’Callaghan.