Former Assistant U.S. Attorney Christopher Lui Joins Crowell & Moring's White Collar & Regulatory Enforcement Group, Boosts L.A. Trial Team

WASHINGTON, May 3, 2011 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- Crowell & Moring LLP is pleased to announce the addition of partner Christopher K. Lui to the firm's Los Angeles office. Most recently an Assistant U.S. Attorney for the Central District of California (USAO), Criminal Division, and the former Coordinator of the Medicare Fraud Strike Force in the Major Frauds Section for that office, Lui joins the firm's internationally-recognized White Collar & Regulatory Enforcement Group.

At Crowell & Moring, Lui will focus on representing companies and individuals in connection with white collar criminal defense matters, government investigations, enforcement actions, corporate internal investigations and complex civil litigation, with a special emphasis on issues relating to the health care industry. His work also will include assisting clients on matters related to False Claims Act issues and qui tam cases, as well as representing clients in parallel civil proceedings arising from government investigations.

"The United States Attorney's office in Los Angeles is one of the largest offices in the country, with a major emphasis on health care fraud and False Claims Act investigations and prosecutions. Chris' top-level trial experience is the perfect complement to our team and will be a tremendous asset to our clients," said Janet Levine, Los Angeles-based chair of the firm's White Collar & Regulatory Enforcement Group.

During more than five years at the USAO, Lui tried seven cases before juries and handled numerous appeals before the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit, including two oral arguments. His prosecutorial experience includes cases involving a broad range of federal criminal violations, including health care fraud, violations of the anti-kickback statute, money laundering, and bank, wire, and mail fraud. As Coordinator of the Medicare Fraud Strike Force, Lui investigated and prosecuted a number of criminal cases, and advised and coordinated the activities of several federal prosecutors and agents from state and federal law enforcement agencies whose primary task was investigating health care fraud involving Medicare providers. Lui also served previously in the USAO's Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Force Section, where he investigated large scale drug trafficking organizations with techniques including court-authorized wiretaps and electronic surveillance.

"As a result of last year's federal health reform law, the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act ('PPACA'), the health care industry is now facing tougher scrutiny. Legislation has provided the government with tools that facilitate the prosecution of health care fraud and anti-kickback statute violations. I am honored to join this elite team of sophisticated litigators that will allow me to advise clients on these and other complex matters," said Lui.

Previously in private practice, Lui worked on complex commercial litigation, private securities fraud litigation, electronic discovery, and class action defense matters in state and federal courts. His trial experience includes acting as lead counsel in the bench trial of a home equity fraud case, and as a trial team member on two commercial litigation trials, each of which involved more than $100 million in dispute.

He received his B.A. from the University of California, Berkeley and his J.D., cum laude, from Loyola Law School Los Angeles. After graduation from law school, Lui served as a law clerk to the Honorable Dickran Tevrizian for the U.S. District Court for the Central District of California.

The White Collar & Regulatory Enforcement Group has grown significantly since 2008, beginning with the addition of New York partner Daniel L. Zelenko, a former Branch Chief of the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission's Division of Enforcement. The group later added the white collar lawyers from Los Angeles-based Lightfoot Vandevelde Sadowsky Crouchley Rutherford & Levine LLP, as well as New York-based partner Kelly T. Currie, the former Deputy Chief of the Criminal Division of the U.S. Attorney's Office for the Eastern District of New York. In London, the group has several attorneys - including Gerallt Owen, a former Eversheds partner.

Crowell & Moring LLP is an international law firm with nearly 500 lawyers representing clients in litigation and arbitration, regulatory, and transactional matters. The firm is internationally recognized for its representation of Fortune 500 companies in high-stakes litigation, as well as its ongoing commitment to pro bono service and diversity. The firm has offices in Washington, D.C., New York, Los Angeles, San Francisco, Orange County, Anchorage, London, and Brussels. Visit Crowell & Moring online at www.crowell.com.

Contact: Jessica O'Neil
(202) 508-8750
[email protected]

SOURCE Crowell & Moring LLP