William C. Pericak, Former Director of Justice Department's Deepwater Horizon Task Force, Joins Jenner & Block LLP as DC Partner

WASHINGTON, Dec. 1, 2014 /PRNewswire/ -- Jenner & Block LLP is pleased to announce that William C. Pericak, former director of the Justice Department's Deepwater Horizon Task Force and a two-decade federal prosecutor, has joined the firm as a partner in our Washington, D.C. office.  Mr. Pericak will be a member of the White Collar Defense and Investigations Practice, which is involved in some of the most high-profile investigations anywhere.  With 25 years of experience in various roles with Justice, Mr. Pericak will focus on helping clients navigate matters in which their activities draw the scrutiny of government investigators.

"The firm has one of the premier white collar defense and investigations practices in the nation," said Jenner & Block Managing Partner Terrence J. Truax.  "We are excited to have Bill join the team and build on the firm's storied tradition of handling complex criminal prosecutions and internal investigations.  Also, his experience as a trial lawyer further complements our deep bench of first-rate litigators."

From 2011 to 2014, Mr. Pericak directed the multi-agency Deepwater Horizon Task Force, overseeing the prosecution of criminal violations tied to the oil spill of 2010 as well as the selection and oversight of ethics and process safety monitors under the BP plea agreement.  Beyond his work on that task force, Mr. Pericak conducted investigations involving Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA) violations, health care fraud and securities violations.  He helped manage the Department's Fraud Section, including formulating policies and procedures.  During this time, he also supervised the  Brooklyn Health Care Fraud Strike Force with the U.S. Attorney's Office for the Eastern District of New York.   In that district, he tried a multimillion-dollar health care fraud case to verdict.

"The firm regularly handles some of the highest-profile white-collar matters anywhere," said Jessie K. Liu, a White Collar Defense and Investigations co-chair who is based in Washington, D.C.  "Bill's deep experience investigating and litigating significant cases related to FCPA, health care fraud and securities violations augments our top-flight white collar practice, and his presence in D.C. gives us added depth in the Washington market."

Before joining Justice's Fraud Section, Mr. Pericak served as an assistant United States attorney, like eight other Jenner & Block partners.  As an assistant U.S. attorney for the Northern District of New York from 1989 to 2011, Mr. Pericak supervised criminal investigations of white collar, narcotics and violent crimes.  He led hundreds of grand jury and uncover investigations of bribery, kickbacks, health care and corporate fraud; tax, narcotics and immigration offenses; money laundering; and asset forfeiture.  He has tried 20 cases to verdict and briefed and argued 45 appeals.

"Jenner & Block has a stellar white collar defense and investigations team and a deep bench of tested trial lawyers," Mr. Pericak said. "They handle each matter with the utmost integrity. I look forward to working with them on behalf of our clients."

Mr. Pericak received his J.D. from the Boston University School of Law and his B.A. from the State University of New York-Buffalo.

ABOUT JENNER & BLOCK'S WHITE COLLAR DEFENSE AND INVESTIGATIONS PRACTICE

For more than 60 years, Jenner & Block's attorneys have represented individuals and corporations in complex criminal prosecutions and internal investigations and is recognized for having one of the country's premiere white collar practices.  The firm offers both depth and breadth having tried hundreds of jury and bench trials to verdict and conducted countless investigations of potential wrongdoing. Whether an investigation is prompted by a whistleblower complaint, a hotline inquiry, a government inquiry, a proactive compliance audit, or other means, we apply decades of experience to ensure that the investigation navigates the minefields of government disclosure issues, labor laws, privacy laws, stockholder considerations, and the potential for civil or criminal liability.  Our body of work includes the largest internal investigation in the history of the United States, as we represented the court-appointed examiner in the Lehman Brothers Holdings bankruptcy matter.

ABOUT JENNER & BLOCK

Jenner & Block (www.jenner.com) is a national law firm with approximately 450 attorneys and offices in Chicago, Los Angeles, New York and Washington, D.C.  Celebrating its 100th anniversary in 2014, the firm is known for its prominent and successful litigation practice and experience handling sophisticated and high-profile corporate transactions.  Firm clients include Fortune 100 companies, large privately held corporations, financial services institutions, emerging companies and venture capital and private equity investors.  In 2014, The American Lawyer magazine named Jenner & Block as the number one Pro Bono Law Firm for the fifth time in seven years. 

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