Erik Swabb is a partner in the Defense, National Security and Government Contracts Practice at WilmerHale. His practice focuses on high-stakes investigations, litigation and strategic counseling related to national security and government contracting. He regularly conducts internal investigations and has successfully resolved inquiries by federal inspectors general, the Department of Justice, the Department of Defense, Congress and other government entities. He also represents clients in government contract litigation and advises on regulatory, legislative and policy matters related to national security.

Mr. Swabb leverages over 15 years of national security experience in legal, policy and operational roles. He previously served as General Counsel of the Senate Armed Services Committee and Special Adviser to the Legal Adviser of the Department of State. Before his legal career, he was a Marine infantry officer and served in combat in Iraq and in the UN peacekeeping mission in Liberia.

Mr. Swabb has represented clients in government and internal investigations involving allegations of:

• Procurement fraud, including False Claims Act and Anti-Kickback Act violations;
• Non-compliance with regulatory and government contract requirements;
• Foreign corruption, including Foreign Corrupt Practices Act violations;
• Government ethics violations;
• Failures in military and security-related operations, equipment and training;
• Sanctions violations; and
• Anti-money laundering violations.

Mr. Swabb has led investigative teams in some of the most challenging political and security environments in the world.

Prior Experience

From 2017 to 2018, Mr. Swabb served as General Counsel of the Senate Armed Services Committee under Chairman John McCain. Mr. Swabb vetted and advised on all nominations referred to the committee, facilitating bipartisan support for over 40 civilian nominations and over 20,000 military nominations confirmed by the Senate. In addition, he counseled the committee on the passage of the National Defense Authorization Act, the annual defense policy bill that authorizes funding and provides authorities for the Department of Defense. He also advised on oversight and legislative matters, as well as ethics compliance for committee staff.

As Special Adviser to the Legal Adviser of the Department of State from 2018 to 2019, Mr. Swabb counseled the Department’s top lawyer on a range of sensitive issues involving congressional oversight, foreign assistance, international claims and international law.

In 2015, Mr. Swabb left WilmerHale and served as a policy advisor for former Florida Governor Jeb Bush’s presidential campaign.

Prior to his legal career, Mr. Swabb served as an infantry officer in the Marine Corps from 2002 to 2006. He led a light armored reconnaissance platoon on combat operations in Iraq and supervised unit training as the second-in-command of a company. After law school, he returned to active duty from 2009 to 2010 to serve in the UN Mission in Liberia. He directed multinational operations for information collection in a remote border region and managed the drawdown of the UN peacekeeping force.

Professional Activities

Mr. Swabb has written extensively on national security, political-military affairs and government contract investigations. His articles have appeared in The Wall Street Journal, The Boston Globe, Defense One, Law360, Bloomberg Law, The National Review, The Christian Science Monitor, The Baltimore Sun and other publications.

Mr. Swabb maintains an active pro bono practice representing military veterans seeking benefits that they earned. He serves on the Board of Directors of the National Veterans Legal Services Program.