Laurence A. Urgenson
Professional Profile
Laurence Urgenson is a partner in the Washington, D.C. office, where he is a member of the Firm's white collar criminal defense and securities enforcement practice. Larry is the former Acting Deputy Assistant Attorney General and Chief of the Fraud Section for the Criminal Division of the U.S. Department of Justice. He is also a former Chief Assistant U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of New York. His practice currently focuses on the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act, environmental crimes, the False Claims Act, internal investigations and related federal and state proceedings.
It was announced on October 28, 2011, that Larry has been selected for The Best Lawyers in America 2012. For his work at the Justice Department he received the Attorney General's Award for Distinguished Service and The Edmund J. Randolph Award for Outstanding Service. He is currently the Chairman of the board of editors of the Business Crimes Bulletin.
Larry received a J.D., cum laude, from Brooklyn Law School, where he was a member of the National Moot Court Team and Senior Editor of the Brooklyn Law Review, and a B.B.A. from City University of New York, City College.
Memberships & Affiliations
Chairman, Board of Editors of the Business Crimes Bulletin (present)
Vice Chairman, American Bar Association, Committee on White Collar Crime (1992-93)
Editorial Board, Business Crimes Bulletin: Compliance and Litigation (1993-Present)
Vice Chairman, Chief Judge’s Committee on Criminal Litigation, Eastern District of New York (1985-1988)
Association of the Bar of the City of New York, Member, Criminal Advocacy and Criminal Operations Committees (1982-1984)
Federal Bar Council, Member, Planning Committee (1984-1985)
Adjunct Professor of Law, Trial Advocacy, Brooklyn Law School (1986-1989)
Faculty, Practising Law Institute Trial Advocacy Program (1985-1986)
Other Distinctions
Recognized nationally as one of 9 FCPA Masters at the first annual Main Justice Best FCPA Lawyers Client Service Awards (2013)
Named one of the country's top lawyers in the The Best Lawyers in America (2012)
Ranked in Chambers USA, America's Leading Lawyers for Business (2012); Larry was praised for his "great judgment" and "incredible substantive knowledge of the FCPA arena."
Recognized as a leading lawyer in Who's Who Legal for Business Crime Defense (2012)
The Edmund J. Randolph Award for Outstanding Service (1993)
Attorney General's Award for Distinguished Service (1992)
Publications
L. Urgenson, W. Stuckwisch and B. Cannon, FCPA Anti-Bribery Liability for a Subsidiary's Conduct: Recent Developments Suggest Apparent Split Between DOJ and SEC, Business Crimes Bulletin, Vol. 20, No. 5, January, 2013.
L. Urgenson, Robert S. Ryland, H. Boyd Greene and M. Thuesen, Side-Swiped by the False Claims Act, The Indirect, Implied, Reverse 'False Claim', Business Crimes Bulletin, Vol 19, No. 6, February 2012.
L. Urgenson, A. Harris and S. Williamson, And at the Whistle, They're Off, Business Crimes Bulletin, Vol. 18, No. 4, December 2010.
L. Urgenson, S. Williamson and A. Harris, Feds to Corporate America: 'The Cops Are Coming,' Business Crimes Bulletin, Vol. 17, No. 7, March 2010.
L. Urgenson, C. Colbridge, A. Harris and S. Williamson, New Bumps and Tolls Along the Road to FCPA Settlements, Business Crimes Bulletin, Vol. 17, No. 3, November 2009.
L. Urgenson and J. Hernandez, The KPMG Tax Shelter Case and the Right Against Self-Incrimination, Business Crimes Bulletin, Vol. 16, No. 2, October 2008.
L. Urgenson and P. Farrell, Prosecution of Subprime-Mortgage Fraud, Business Crimes Bulletin, Vol. 16, No. 1, September 2008.
L. Urgenson and A. Harris, Foreign Companies Prosecuted in the U.S. for Bribes Overseas, Business Crimes Bulletin, Vol. 15, No. 2, October 2007.
L. Urgenson, B. Bondi and C. Chiou, When Is Discretion the Better Part of Valor?, Business Crimes Bulletin, Vol. 14, No. 5, January 2007.
L. Urgenson and A. Harris, Is the White-Collar Defense Attorney Headed for Extinction?, Business Crimes Bulletin, Vol. 13, No. 9, May 2006.
L. Urgenson and M. Davis, The Rebirth of Advocacy, Business Crimes Bulletin, Vol. 13, No. 1, September 2005.
Seminars
American Conference Institute, "Navigating Divergent Client Interest during an FCPA Government Investigation - Expert Strategies on How to Handle Matters of Privilege, Communications and Conflicts," November 15, 2012.
American Conference Institute, "How to Manage and Respond to an FCPA Crisis What to Do in the First Two Weeks." April 17, 2012.
International Association of Defense Counsel, "Worldwide Enforcement of Anti-Corruption Laws, Navigating the International Minefield," February 12, 2012.
American Conference Institute, “12th FCPA Boot Camp,” June 27-28, 2011.
Ethical Corporation “3rd Global Anti-Corruption Summit USA 2010,” June 23-24, 2010.
Practising Law Institute, “The Foreign Corrupt Practices Act 2010,” May 19, 2010.
American Conference Institute, Foreign Corrupt Practices Act, “21st National Conference - The Premier Legal & Regulatory Anti-Corruption Compliance Event,” March 24-25, 2009.
Practising Law Institute, “The Foreign Corrupt Practices Act 2009: Coping with Heightened Enforcement Risks,” May 29, 2009.
Practising Law Institute, “The Foreign Corrupt Practices Act 2009: Coping with Heightened Enforcement Risks,” April 29, 2009.
Kirkland & Ellis LLP, Managing the Enforcement Response to the Financial Crisis: April 2, 2009.
American Conference Institute, Foreign Corrupt Practices Act, “20th National Conference - The Premier Legal & Regulatory Anti-Corruption Compliance Event,” November 18-19, 2008.
Association of General Counsels, “Protecting Your Assets: A Preventive Look at In-House Counsel Prosecutions,” Washington, D.C. October 15-17, 2008.
47th Annual Corporate Counsel Institute, Chicago, “Foreseeing the Risks of Doing Business in Non-U.S. Jurisdictions,” September 25-26, 2008.
New York City Bar FCPA, City Bar Center for CLE, New York, “FCPA Complying & Implementing Risk Management Strategies,” September 19, 2008.
Practising Law Institute, “The Foreign Corrupt Practices Act 2008: Coping with Heightened Enforcement Risks,” May 8, 2008.
American Conference Institute, Foreign Corrupt Practices Act, “19th National Conference - The Premier Legal & Regulatory Anti-Corruption Compliance Event,” March 26-27, 2008.
Prior Experience
Partner, Kirkland & Ellis, 1994-present
- Practice includes representing corporate and individual clients in all aspects of white collar criminal defense and related civil and administrative matters.
Acting Deputy Assistant Attorney General, Criminal Division, United States Department of Justice, 1992-1994
- Supervised the Fraud Section, General Litigation and Legal Advice Section, and Office of Policy and Management Analysis.
- Directed the Bank of Credit and Commerce International ("BCCI") forfeiture litigation and represented the Department in matters involving the sale of First American Bank.
- Testified before various congressional committees regarding the Department's white collar crime initiatives, including health care and telemarketing fraud.
- Served on the Executive Level Health Care Fraud Policy Group.
- Regularly appeared on professional and industry panels as the Department's spokesman on white collar crime issues.
Chief, Fraud Section, Executive Director, Economic Crime Council, Criminal Division, United States Department of Justice, 1990-1992
- Supervised prosecution of bank, securities, and defense procurement frauds resulting in fines, recoveries, and forfeitures totaling $1.03 billion.
- Served as an advisor to the United States Attorneys on white collar crime issues.
- Implemented Department initiatives in the areas of health care, defense procurement, securities, telemarketing and insurance fraud.
- Negotiated the comprehensive international settlement of criminal, civil and regulatory actions against BCCI including the forfeiture of approximately $550 million -- the largest single criminal forfeiture in history.
- Served as an advisor to the United States Attorneys on white collar crime issues.
- Chaired or coordinated the activities of numerous interagency groups, including the Economic Crime Council, the Interagency Bank Fraud Enforcement Working Group and the Securities and Commodities Fraud Working Group.
- Supervised the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act Unit.
- Supervised the Defense Procurement Fraud Unit.
Chief Assistant United States Attorney, United States Attorney's Office, Eastern District of New York, 1986-1990
- Supervised an enforcement program involving 103 Assistant U.S. Attorneys.
- Directed numerous corporate fraud investigations including the "Upwind" Department of Defense ("DOD") investigation leading to the largest DOD-related criminal settlement in history.
- Led the successful prosecution of the former Chairman of the New York Taxi and Limousine Commission on fraud charges.
- Established task forces to deal with major state and federal corruption investigations and initiated a Securities Section.
Partner, Anderson Laino & Urgenson, P.C., 1983-1986
- Practiced in the areas of civil and criminal litigation.
- Successfully represented numerous clients in criminal matters in the Southern and Eastern Districts of New York.
Chief, Criminal Division; Chief, Economic Crime Section, United States Attorney's Office, Eastern District of New York
- Supervised and conducted major investigations into all areas of white collar crime and political corruption.
- Successfully directed an extensive investigation of the Federal Crime Insurance Program which resulted in the conviction of more than a dozen claimants responsible for filing hundreds of false claims.
Associate, Mudge Rose Guthrie Alexander & Ferdon, 1975-1979
- Worked as associate lawyer specializing in securities law in the firm's corporate and litigation departments.
