News

07.07.2006

David F. Geneson has joined the Washington, D.C. office of Sheppard, Mullin, Richter & Hampton LLP as a partner in the White Collar and Civil Fraud Defense practice group. Geneson most recently practiced with Hunton & Williams in Washington, D.C.

Geneson's practice focuses on white-collar criminal defense and civil enforcement litigation. His areas of experience include: numerous significant federal and state criminal and civil trials; domestic and international internal investigations; SEC investigations and enforcement proceedings; criminal and civil environmental enforcement; Medicare and Medicaid fraud; litigation of monetary transactions, including tax and securities transactions; customs inquiries; civil and criminal forfeiture proceedings; Independent Counsel and Congressional inquires; and proceedings before international tribunals.

Prior to private practice, Geneson practiced law publicly for 15 years as a federal prosecutor in the following positions Assistant United States Attorney, District of Columbia 1984-1990; Senior Trial Attorney, Fraud Section, Criminal Division of the U.S. Department of Justice, 1978-1984; Assistant United States Attorney, Southern District of Florida, 1975-1977.

"David is a perfect fit for Sheppard Mullin," said Guy Halgren, chairman of the firm. "His impressive skills and experience complement our strong national White Collar group. We anticipate continued growth in this key practice area."

Bob Rose, chair of the practice group, added, "David is a veteran prosecutor with extensive federal court trial experience who knows the inner workings of government. He brings additional strength to our practice and extends our ability to deliver representation connected to federal criminal matters."

"I look forward to growing the firm's White Collar practice in the D.C. office,” Geneson said. “Sheppard Mullin is a growing national firm with an excellent reputation and I am thrilled to be working with the great lawyers here."

"I am excited to have David join us," said Edward Schiff, managing partner of the firm's Washington, D.C. office. "His specialization is an excellent fit for us, given the litigation matters which we handle and the strong regulatory focus the office has built in the government contracts, antitrust, corporate compliance, communications, and food and drug practice areas."

Geneson has conducted numerous internal investigations in the U.S. and abroad, both to identify and deal with financial fraud and abuse, and to defend against regulatory and criminal investigations. He has represented corporations and corporate officials in Medicare, Medicaid and qui tam matters including obtaining the acquittal of a senior corporate officer of the largest hospital holding company in the U.S. after a multi-month trial relating to alleged Medicare fraud and abuse. Geneson has represented companies in environmental investigations, including obtaining uniquely successful results in a federal grand jury investigation and subsequent DOJ enforcement action against the largest oil pipeline in the country.

Geneson has represented corporations and corporate officials in grand jury proceedings and enforcement matters, including successfully representing the largest chemical company in the world in parallel multidistrict enforcement cases alleging billions of dollars in potential penalties. He has represented one of the largest electronics companies in the world in international investigations and numerous proceedings, including a uniquely successful defense of a multi-million dollar federal trial named as one of the “Top Twenty Defense Wins” by the National Law Journal. Geneson has represented both a senior political official and a foreign government in proceedings before the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia.

Additionally, Geneson has represented various political officials and others during Independent Counsel and Congressional investigations. As a federal prosecutor, he prosecuted Israeli spies Jonathan and Anne Pollard; prosecuted Chilean Army Major Armando Fernandez Larios in connection with the assassination of ambassador Orlando Letelier; prosecuted Deputy Mayor of Washington, D.C., Ivanhoe Donaldson for fraud and corruption; prosecuted the Director and Deputy Director of INTELSAT and others for a multi-million dollar fraud scheme; prosecuted the largest tax shelter cases brought by the Tax Division of the Department of Justice; and received numerous awards from the Department of Justice and various federal law enforcement agencies.

Geneson earned his law degree from University of Miami School of Law in 1974 and graduated from Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, with a B.S. in 1969. For over twenty years, he has taught trial practice throughout the United States for the National Institute for Trial Advocacy (NITA) and at numerous law schools.

About Sheppard, Mullin, Richter & Hampton LLP

Sheppard, Mullin, Richter & Hampton LLP is a full service AmLaw 100 firm with more than 480 attorneys in nine offices located throughout California and in New York and Washington, D.C. The firm's California offices are located in Los Angeles, San Francisco, Santa Barbara, Century City, Orange County, Del Mar Heights and San Diego. Sheppard Mullin provides legal expertise and counsel to U.S. and international clients in a wide range of practice areas, including Antitrust, Corporate and Securities; Entertainment, Media and Communications; Finance and Bankruptcy; Government Contracts; Intellectual Property; Labor and Employment; Litigation; Real Estate/Land Use; Tax/Employee Benefits/Trusts & Estates; and White Collar Defense. The firm was founded in 1927.