Kirkland Expands Global Investigations and Enforcement Practice with Addition of Award-Winning International Enforcement Team
Kirkland & Ellis LLP is pleased to announce that an internationally recognized group of partners will join the Firm’s global Government, Regulatory & Internal Investigations Practice Group in Chicago, Washington, D.C., New York, London and Hong Kong. Asheesh Goel, Zachary Brez, Marcus Thompson, Kim Nemirow and Cori Lable will join the Firm as partners this week. All were former partners of Ropes & Gray LLP.
“Asheesh, Zach, Marcus, Kim and Cori are market leaders in the international investigations and enforcement space. In addition to handling complex international enforcement matters, they are exceptionally adept at helping the most sophisticated investment firms in the world responsibly address cross-border transactional risk. Their experience perfectly complements our strong existing team, at a time when demand for sophisticated counsel to help clients navigate a challenging and increasingly complex, cross-border enforcement environment continues to grow,” said Jeffrey C. Hammes, Chairman of Kirkland’s Global Management Executive Committee.
“This is a strength on strength combination,” said Mark Filip, member of Kirkland’s Global Management Executive Committee and former U.S. Deputy Attorney General. “This team has deep experience handling cross-border matters for financial institutions, asset management firms, and other sophisticated public and private business organizations, and the team’s global expertise — spanning Europe, the Middle East, Latin America, Africa and Asia — is tremendously valuable to our clients. They add great intellectual firepower, leadership and expertise. We are delighted to welcome Asheesh, Zach, Marcus, Kim and Cori to Kirkland.”
Asheesh Goel, 44, is an internationally acclaimed lawyer who has handled the most sensitive securities enforcement and international anti-corruption matters. Mr. Goel was the managing partner of Ropes & Gray’s Chicago office, which he helped launch in 2008, and the co-chair of its global anti-corruption and international risks practice. He previously served as branch chief with the U.S. Securities & Exchange Commission (SEC), Division of Enforcement, in Chicago, where he spearheaded high-profile investigations and litigation. Mr. Goel was a partner at Kirkland for almost three years after leaving the SEC. Publications including The Wall Street Journal, the Financial Times and Chambers & Partners have highlighted Mr. Goel’s work. Mr. Goel will be based in Kirkland’s Chicago and Washington, D.C., offices.
Mr. Goel stated: “I’m excited to be returning to Kirkland & Ellis after all of these years. Kirkland has the finest lawyers in the world and I’m honored and humbled to be a part of it all. The combination of our practices will prove to be powerful.”
Zachary S. Brez, 45, advises clients on enforcement and regulatory issues regarding international risk and appears before a wide variety of governmental bodies, including the Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC), the Bureau of Industry and Security (BIS), the Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States (CFIUS), FinCEN, and U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP). Mr. Brez is co-author of the leading practitioner’s guide to OFAC enforcement. Mr. Brez also handles enforcement, regulatory and litigation matters concerning securities, futures, swaps and other derivative financial products. As part of this practice, he represents clients before the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ), the SEC and the CFTC, and is the author of the preeminent practitioner guide on futures enforcement in the United States. Mr. Brez was most recently the co-chair of the business and securities litigation practice at Ropes & Gray and previously served as co-chair of the firm’s securities and futures enforcement practice. Mr. Brez practiced at Kirkland from 2002 to 2010, after serving in the New York office of the SEC’s Division of Enforcement. He will be located in Kirkland’s New York office.
“This is a homecoming for me, and I’m excited to rejoin the fantastic and hard-working colleagues I last worked with seven years ago. But more than that, our team is thrilled to begin the next chapter of our practice and to continue advising our clients on the cutting edge issues they tackle every day,” said Mr. Brez.
Marcus Thompson, 45, advises clients on anti-money laundering, anti-corruption, sanctions and related business-crime matters. He has conducted investigations and compliance reviews across Europe and has helped companies in a variety of sectors with the design and implementation of compliance programs. He also advises individuals involved in investigations conducted by enforcement and regulatory bodies in the UK such as the Financial Conduct Authority, Serious Fraud Office, Financial Reporting Council, Crown Prosecution Service and HM Revenue & Customs. Mr. Thompson started his career as a barrister, defending and prosecuting cases in the criminal courts, before joining the Serious Organised Crime Agency as a senior legal adviser. He also spent several years as general counsel for Walkers, a leading offshore law firm. He has been recognized in The Legal 500 UK. Mr. Thompson will be based in Kirkland’s London office.
Kim B. Nemirow, 41, handles complex anti-corruption, sanctions and anti-money laundering investigations and compliance matters arising in Latin America, Asia and globally. A fluent Spanish speaker, Ms. Nemirow was formerly a partner in the Chicago office of Ropes & Gray. Before Chicago, Ms. Nemirow spent several years in Ropes & Gray’s Hong Kong office, where she led the firm’s Asia-based government enforcement practice as its founding partner. Ms. Nemirow has been internationally recognized as a leader in her field by Chambers Asia-Pacific and Global Investigations Review, among other publications. She will be based in Kirkland’s Chicago office.
Cori A. Lable, 40, has built a practice defending multinational clients throughout Asia in cross-border government investigations, enforcement actions, and related complex civil litigation, and providing compliance advice to address corruption, money laundering, export controls and other international risks. She has extensive experience working with clients in the private equity, financial services, pharmaceuticals and medical device sectors. Ms. Lable has been recognized as a leading practitioner by Chambers Asia-Pacific and other publications. She will be based in Kirkland’s Hong Kong office.
Goel, Brez, Thompson, Nemirow and Lable join Kirkland almost one year after another significant addition to the Firm’s top-ranked litigation practice. In September 2016, Kirkland added former Solicitor General Paul Clement, former Assistant Attorney General Viet Dinh and all of the attorneys at acclaimed former D.C. litigation boutique Bancroft PLLC to bolster Kirkland’s Supreme Court, appellate and government investigations practices.
Kirkland’s Government, Regulatory & Internal Investigations Practice Group, which includes accomplished lawyers and former senior government officials in the United States and the United Kingdom and the largest Asia-based enforcement defense practice of any law firm, is uniquely experienced to handle the primary and collateral consequences of government investigations, whether it be pre-investigation prevention and mitigation, internal investigations or defense of a government investigation, or resolution through settlement or trial. The group also extensively advises financial institutions and companies, both public and private, in connection with potential investments worldwide.
About Kirkland & Ellis
Kirkland & Ellis is a 1,900-attorney law firm representing global clients in government, regulatory and internal investigations, litigation and dispute resolution/arbitration, intellectual property, private equity, M&A and other complex corporate transactions and restructuring matters. The Firm has 13 offices around the world: Beijing, Boston, Chicago, Hong Kong, Houston, London, Los Angeles, Munich, New York, Palo Alto, San Francisco, Shanghai and Washington, D.C.
