Former DOJ Assistant Attorney General, Carlos Felipe Uriarte, to Lead Morrison Foerster's Congressional Investigations Practice

WASHINGTON, June 3, 2025 /PRNewswire/ -- Morrison Foerster, a leading global law firm, is pleased to announce the arrival of Carlos Felipe Uriarte as a partner and co-chair of the Congressional Investigations Group, in the Washington, D.C. office. Uriarte most recently served as the Senate-confirmed Assistant Attorney General for the Office of Legislative Affairs at the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ). He brings nearly two decades of experience conducting and defending against congressional investigations, working at the highest levels of the DOJ and in Congress, and serving in senior in-house compliance and regulatory roles to represent clients facing complex and high-stakes government investigations and enforcement actions.

Uriarte's arrival underscores the continued strategic expansion of MoFo's Washington, D.C.-based crisis management and government investigations teams following the recent addition of National Security practice co-chair David Newman in March, who served as DOJ's second-ranking national security official, as well as the addition of Margot Benedict, former Senior Counselor to the Attorney General, who rejoined as of counsel in April and adds to the firm's deep experience in government-facing national security and crisis management matters.

"At a time when our clients in virtually every industry and sector are seeking sophisticated guidance on how to navigate the changing government enforcement landscape, few lawyers have Carlos' unique combination of congressional investigations experience at the highest levels of the DOJ, coupled with significant prior senior in-house compliance and regulatory roles. His extensive experience in and out of government has given him a deep understanding of how to navigate the complex dynamics and relationships that underpin congressional inquiries, making him a tremendous strategic asset for the firm, for our D.C. office, and for our clients facing bet-the-company government investigations and enforcement matters," said David Newman, co-chair of Morrison Foerster's National Security and Crisis Management Groups.

In his most recent role as DOJ's Assistant Attorney General for the Office of Legislative Affairs, Uriarte served as a key senior advisor to the Attorney General — managing the Department's relationships with congressional leaders of both parties, setting legislative strategy for the Department, regularly advising DOJ leadership on complex legal and policy objectives, and overseeing the Department's responses to the highest-profile oversight and investigative requests from Congress. In this role, Uriarte negotiated high-stakes matters directly with congressional leadership, met regularly with lawmakers on the Intelligence, Financial Services, Banking, and Commerce Committees on both sides of the Capitol, and testified before the House and Senate Judiciary Committees on behalf of the Department. 

Prior to rejoining the DOJ in 2022, Uriarte served as a senior compliance executive at a Fortune 100 financial institution and led the legal regulatory team at an innovative, venture-backed healthcare technology company. In these roles, he built and led internal compliance functions and engaged with government regulators.

Over the span of his nearly two-decade career, Uriarte has played a pivotal role in many of the highest-profile congressional inquiries. His career in the U.S. Congress included serving as Chief Counsel for Investigations on the House Select Subcommittee on the Coronavirus Crisis, as Counsel on the House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform, and as judiciary and oversight counsel to Rep. Judy Chu. Additionally, Uriarte held significant roles in the executive branch where he served as Associate Deputy Attorney General in the Office of the Deputy Attorney General at DOJ, and as Senior Counsel in the Office of the Secretary of the Interior.

"I am eager to leverage my experience defending against high-stakes congressional investigations and advising corporate leaders on managing legal and regulatory risk to advise companies navigating bet-the-company inquiries from Congress and the executive branch," said Uriarte. "I chose Morrison Foerster because of its outstanding government investigations and enforcement practices, coupled with a deep bench of veteran lawyers who advise clients on cutting-edge legal issues. I am excited to join this talented team and contribute to the firm's continued success in delivering sophisticated strategic guidance to our clients."

The Firm's congressional investigations practice features a cross-disciplinary team with extensive experience responding to congressional inquiries and preparing clients to testify before Congress. In addition to Uriarte, Newman, and Benedict, the Firm's Congressional Investigations practice includes Joe Folio, the former Chief Counsel of the Senate's Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee; Brandon Van Grack, a former Counsel to the Assistant Attorney General for National Security; Robert Litt, the former General Counsel to the Director of National Intelligence; and several other experienced practitioners who have handled complex and sophisticated congressional-facing matters in both government and private practice.

SOURCE Morrison Foerster