As Chairman of Venable's Congressional Investigation Practice Group, Mr. Shepherd applies his intimate knowledge of Congressional investigations and his experience litigating white collar matters to provide insightful counsel to clients conducting internal investigations or responding to a Congressional investigation, voluntary request for information, subpoena, or testimony under oath.
In addition to his investigative experience while conducting oversight investigations, Mr. Shepherd has significant experience litigating white collar matters. He leverages that experience to conduct rigorous internal investigations for and to support the litigation activities of his clients.
During more than a decade serving on Capitol Hill, Mr. Shepherd has earned intimate knowledge of the legislative process. As a Congressional staff member and later as a member of the professional staff on House and Senate committees, Mr. Shepherd advised members and helped craft high profile port security and border protection legislation, including the SAFE Port Act signed by President Bush in October 2006. He uses this experience to provide clients with insight into the legislative process and create effective legislative strategies.
Responding to congressional investigations requires a hybrid approach that will include aspects of litigation, white collar criminal defense and lobbying. In the past three years, Mr. Shepherd has represented over two dozen companies, trade associations and individuals embroiled in congressional investigations being conducted by numerous congressional committees, including: Senate Finance Committee, Senate Commerce Committee, Senate Select Committee on Aging, Senate Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations, House Energy and Commerce Committee, House Oversight and Government Reform Committee, House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee, House Homeland Security Committee and the House Financial Services Committee.
Significant Matters
As Staff Director and Chief Counsel of the Senate Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations (PSI), Mr. Shepherd managed and supervised subcommittee staff on substantive and bi-partisan investigations. During his tenure, he managed 25 hearings on topics of national and global concern, including: abusive tax shelters, money laundering, foreign corruption, the effectiveness of the Patriot Act, abusive practices in the credit counseling industry, the dangers of Internet pharmacies, corruption and mismanagement of the United Nations Oil for Food Program, the Container Security Initiative, the Customs Trade Partnership Against Terrorism, the federal government's response to nuclear terrorism and identifying more than $12 billion in waste, fraud, abuse and potential taxpayer savings.
In addition to conducting witness interviews and depositions, Mr. Shepherd drafted, edited, and approved more than 100 subpoenas and Chairman's letters as well as reviewed and responded to assertions of privilege and diplomatic immunity. Mr. Shepherd also drafted numerous pieces of legislation that provided Customs and Border Protection more authority to seize and destroy illegally imported controlled substances, shut down dangerous domestic Internet sites that dispense pharmaceuticals without a prescription, combated abusive tax shelters, helped reform the United Nations, and required the U.S. Treasury Department to develop more effective methods to combat terrorist financing. During Mr. Shepherd's tenure, the PSI conducted oversight of numerous federal departments and agencies, including the Departments of Homeland Security, Energy, Treasury, State and Defense, as well as the Food and Drug Administration and the Internal Revenue Service.
As Oversight Counsel of the House Energy and Commerce Committee, Mr. Shepherd conducted committee investigations into nuclear terrorism, border and port security, drug safety and efficacy, telecommunications, and consumer safety, as well as the review of policies and operations of numerous federal agencies.
His duties included drafting document requests, interviewed witnesses, reviewed responses and assertions of privilege, and participated in meetings with key agency decision makers, industry representatives and other stakeholders to assess the impact of agency actions. Planned hearings, prepared witnesses, drafted opening statements, questions and other briefing materials for Committee and Subcommittee Chairmen.
Before joining the House Energy and Commerce Committee, Mr. Shepherd advised private-practice clients on legal and political aspects of congressional and agency investigations. He gained significant trial experience through support of white collar litigation and pro bono work in the DC Superior Court.
Activities
Member, Vienna Presbyterian Church (February 2003 to present)
Member, Old Presbyterian Meeting House, Alexandria, VA (2000 to 2003)
Trustee, Jeffrey's Charitable Trust, Sewickley, PA (1999 to present)
Member, Riverbend County Club (2009 to present)
Industries
Maritime
Life Sciences
Government Experience
Oversight Counsel, United States House of Representatives, House Energy and Commerce Committee
Staff Director and Chief Counsel, United States Senate, Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations
News
June 7, 2011, Raymond V. Shepherd quoted in Bloomberg story about partisanship on the Senate's Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations
April 11, 2011, Bart Stupak, Former Congressman and Chair of House Energy and Commerce Subcommittee, Joins Venable
December 16, 2010, Ray Shepherd quoted on increased oversight of government spending under new leadership
November 2, 2010, Venable's "Election Watch" Team of Capitol Hill, Regulatory and Executive Branch Veterans Comment on Impact of Mid-Term Results
October 22, 2010, Ray Shepherd quoted in Congressional Quarterly Weekly on Congressional oversight panels
May 5, 2010, Ray Shepherd quoted in Financial Times story about Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations' inquiry into Goldman Sachs
December 2, 2008, Ray Shepherd quoted in Defense Daily article on homeland security spending
November 7, 2008, Venable's "Election Watch Group" featured in Financial Week
November 5, 2008, Venable's "Election Watch Group" featured in Washington Business Journal
November 4, 2008, Venable's "Election Watch Group" Assesses Presidential Election's Impact on Multiple Industries
February 23, 2008, Ray Shepherd weighs in on importance of Congressional investigations of professional sports
February 14, 2008, Ray Shepherd comments on Andy Pettitte's role in the Roger Clemens hearing
February 14, 2008, Ray Shepherd weighs in on Clemens's and McNamee's congressional testimony
January 30, 2008, Ray Shepherd comments on spike in attorney work as congressional investigations increase
January 18, 2008, Ray Shepherd comments on 2007's congressional investigations in National Journal
October 7, 2007, Ray Shepherd Comments on Henry Waxman, Recent Congressional Investigations in USA Today, Legal Times
August 20, 2007, Ray Shepherd mentioned in Legal Times article on Giuliani campaign advisory board
July 7, 2007, Ray Shepherd quoted in Wall Street Journal article on executive privilege
May 9, 2007, Ray Shepherd Quoted in CQ Today
April 11, 2007, Ray Shepherd Mentioned in Wall Street Journal's Law Blog
March 26, 2007, Washington Times and Legal Times quote Ray Shepherd on White House subpoenas
February 23, 2007, Ray Shepherd Quoted in ABA Journal
February 2, 2007, Ray Shepherd and Don Berthiaume Mentioned in New York Law Journal
January 31, 2007, Ray Shepherd Mentioned in Bloomberg.com Article
January 30, 2007, Ray Shepherd Quoted in Financial Times
January 25, 2007, Ray Shepherd Quoted; Don Berthiaume Mentioned in Congressional Quarterly
January 4, 2007, Ray Shepherd Mentioned in The Wall Street Journal
December 22, 2006, Ray Shepherd's Move to Venable Receives Widespread Media Coverage
December 21, 2006, Ray Shepherd Mentioned in The Washington Post
December 19, 2006, Ray Shepherd Featured in Business Week
December 19, 2006, Raymond Shepherd, Chief Counsel and Staff Director of U.S. Senate Permanent Investigations Subcommittee, Joins Venable
Publications
March 2012, FCPA Snapshot 2011
William H. Devaney, Lindsay B. Meyer, Jan Lawrence Handzlik, Ashley W. Craig, Victoria R. Danta, Geoffrey R. Garinther, Nancy R. Grunberg, W. Warren Hamel, Glenn F. Ivey, Treazure R. Johnson, Thomas J. Kelly, Jr., George Kostolampros, Doreen S. Martin, Karl A. Racine, Seth A. Rosenthal, Michael Schatzow, Michael D. Sherman, Raymond V. Shepherd, III, Winifred M. Weitsen, D. E. Wilson, Jr.
April 2011, Could the Hospitality Industry be the Latest to Fall Under the FCPA Microscope?
William H. Devaney, Lindsay B. Meyer, Melissa Gomez, Karl A. Racine, Geoffrey R. Garinther, Nancy R. Grunberg, W. Warren Hamel, Treazure R. Johnson, George Kostolampros, Doreen S. Martin, Ashley W. Craig, D. E. Wilson, Jr., Winifred M. Weitsen, Michael D. Sherman, Michael Schatzow, Seth A. Rosenthal, Raymond V. Shepherd, III
FCPA and Anti-Corruption News E-lert
March 2011, Frequently Asked Questions & Answers about the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA)
Lindsay B. Meyer, William H. Devaney, Benjamin R. Civiletti, Ashley W. Craig, Geoffrey R. Garinther, Nancy R. Grunberg, W. Warren Hamel, Treazure R. Johnson, Thomas J. Kelly, Jr., George Kostolampros, Seth A. Rosenthal, Michael Schatzow, Michael D. Sherman, Raymond V. Shepherd, III, D. E. Wilson, Jr.
July 2009, Point of Order: An Insider's Guide to Surviving Congressional Investigations
Raymond V. Shepherd, III
Related Topic Area(s): Lobbying and Political Activity, Miscellaneous
April 2007, Capitol View, April 2007
Raymond V. Shepherd, III
Events/Speaking Engagements
Past Events
January 2012, Keynote Speaker, "Alaska Oil and Gas Legislative/Regulatory Developments," Alaska Support Industry Alliance
Raymond V. Shepherd, III, The Honorable Bart Stupak
December 9, 2009, "Developing an Integrated, Multi-Level Approach to Port, Maritime, Transportation and Global Supply Chain Security" at the Port Security Conference
Raymond V. Shepherd, III
December 7, 2009, "Congressional Investigations and Health Care Reform" CLE Program for Cardinal Health
Bruce R. Parker, Raymond V. Shepherd, III, Peter P. Parvis
December 10, 2008, Acquisition Priorities of the Next Administration and Congress
Robert A. Burton, Raymond V. Shepherd, III, Thomas J. Madden
June 18, 2008, WMACCA Government Contractors Forum
William L. Walsh, Jr., J. Scott Hommer, III, Raymond V. Shepherd, III
July 2006, "A View from the Hill: Congressional Investigations Identifying Waste, Fraud, and Abuse" for the Federal Audit Executive Council's Annual Conference
Raymond V. Shepherd, III
June 2006, "Port Security and Cargo Inspection Technology: What's Available and Deployed Now" for the Rapiscan Congressional Briefing
Raymond V. Shepherd, III
June 2006, "Port Security and Nuclear Terrorism: Congressional Oversight and Pending Legislation" for the Target Corporation Governmental Affairs and Partner Conference
Raymond V. Shepherd, III
October 2004, "Money Laundering, Terrorist Financing and the Patriot Act" for the American Bar Association Conference
Raymond V. Shepherd, III