Bruce Baird is the co-chair of Covington's White Collar Defense and Investigations Practice Group and one of the country's leading white collar defense and securities enforcement attorneys. He has successfully defended Fortune 500 corporations and their officers and directors in hundreds of regulatory enforcement and criminal cases. Mr. Baird has deep expertise in securities enforcement, advising companies and individuals in SEC and other securities investigations and civil cases arising from those investigations, advising Boards of Directors and Board committees on securities enforcement issues, leading internal investigations into possible financial wrongdoing, and providing solutions to corporate compliance issues. He also often advises and defends clients in white collar cases involving antitrust cartels, health care fraud, environmental crime, government contracts and international trade controls and in Congressional and executive branch investigations and testimony. Mr. Baird's 35 years of experience include nine years as an Assistant United States Attorney in Manhattan, where he was Deputy Chief of the Criminal Division and Chief of the Securities and Commodities Fraud Task Force. In this latter role, he was responsible for all criminal securities cases, including those against Michael Milken and Drexel Burnham Lambert, as described in the book "Den of Thieves" by James Stewart. He has tried numerous complex cases to both court and jury, and has persuaded the Department of Justice, the SEC, and other regulatory agencies not to proceed with cases on a significant number of occasions. Representative Matters · Representing JPMorgan Chase in an SEC investigation. · Representing Jefferies & Company, Inc. in SEC and NASD investigations. · Performing internal investigations on behalf of Board Committees of Adelphia Communications Corporation and Tyco International, Ltd. · Representing the Securities Industry Association on securities enforcement aspects of the Sarbanes-Oxley legislation. · Representing numerous NASDAQ and New York Stock Exchange companies and executives in DOJ and SEC investigations of insider trading and financial fraud and related civil securities actions. · Representing US and foreign companies and individuals in criminal antitrust investigations into price fixing and customer allocation. · Representing pharmaceutical and medical device companies as well as hospitals and medical practices in DOJ and FDA investigations of kickbacks, false claims and other fraud. · Representing foreign and domestic companies in foreign trades controls and Foreign Corrupt Practices Act cases. · Representing government contractors in criminal false claims act cases and associated qui tam cases. · Testifying before the Senate Judiciary Committee on criminal enforcement aspects of pending press shield legislation. Previous Experience · Southern District of New York, Deputy Chief, Criminal Division and Chief, Securities and Commodities Fraud Task Force, Assistant United States Attorney, 1980-1989 · Deputy Attorney General of the United States, Honorable Harold R. Tyler, Jr., Special Assistant, 1975-1976 Honors and Rankings · Named by Chambers USA as a Nationwide Leader in Securities Regulation (2009-2011). · The Best Lawyers in America, White Collar Criminal Defense, Corporate Governance and Compliance, and Regulatory Enforcement Litigation (2005-2012) · Endorsed by PLC, Which Lawyer? for White Collar Investigations (USA) (2010-2011). · Washington DC Super Lawyers, Criminal Defense: White Collar (2007-2011) · Euromoney, Benchmark: Expert Guide to America's Leading Litigation Firms and Attorneys, White Collar Litigation Star, National (2011) · Expert Guide to the World's Leading White Collar Crime Lawyers (2010) · Recommended by the Legal 500 US for SEC Investigations and Enforcement (2007) and White Collar Criminal Defense (2008-2011). · Who's Who in the World, in America, in the East, and in American Law (1996-date) Pro Bono · Testimony before the Senate Judiciary Committee on pending press shield legislation. · Led a team in presenting a prosecutorial misconduct motion in a pending death penalty case. · Supervise criminal trials and appeal. Memberships and Affiliations · ABA Section on Criminal Justice White Collar Crime Committee, past Chair of Subcommittee on Securities and Commodities Fraud · ABA Section on Litigation Criminal Litigation Committee · ABA Section on Business Law Complex Crimes Committee · Association of the Bar of the City of New York · Federal Bar Council Publications and Speeches · Recently written or lectured on SEC enforcement trends, Sarbanes-Oxley legislation, internal investigations, compliance programs, and antitrust foreign cartel law. Publications · "Anti-Corruption Mid-Year Review," Covington E-Alert (July 2011), Co-Author · "Significant Developments and Trends in Anti-Corruption Enforcement," Covington E-Alert (January 2011), Co-Author · "The Fifth Circuit's Decision in SEC v. Cuban: Lessons for Companies and Traders," Covington E-Alert (9/23/2010), Co-Author · "Honest Services Fraud," Covington Advisory (6/24/2010), Co-Author · "Second Circuit Limits Federal Securities Fraud Liability of Investment Banks, Accountants, and Lawyers," Covington E-Alert (4/29/2010), Co-Author · "The SEC's New Cooperation Policy for Individuals: Only Time Will Tell its Effectiveness," Covington E-Alert (1/14/2010), Co-Author · "Reexamining the Market-Based Approach to Criminal Antitrust Enforcement Against Individuals," Antitrust (Summer 2009), Co-Author · "President Obama Signs Fraud Enforcement and Recovery Act of 2009," Covington E-Alert (5/26/2009), Co-Author · "The Next Big Scandal? Stock Option Practices Under Scrutiny," Covington Advisory (5/26/2006), Co-Author · "Corporate Penalty Guidelines," Covington Advisory (1/7/2006), Co-Author · "Corporate Leniency Applications," The Antitrust Review of the Americas (January 2004), Co-Author · "International Cartels," European Antitrust Review (2003), Co-Author · "Long Arm of Antitrust Law Reaches Farther Overseas," National Law Journal (9/18/2000), Co-Author |