William (Widge) Devaney is co-chair of Venable's Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA) and Anti-Corruption Group.

Mr. Devaney's practice includes white-collar criminal defense in federal and state proceedings, SEC enforcement investigations and actions, complex civil litigation, civil RICO, defending individuals and corporations in multi-national investigations, including FCPA and export control, as well as conducting national and international internal investigations on behalf of corporate management, audit committees and special committees of boards of directors.

Mr. Devaney has significant jury trial and appellate experience, as well as significant experience leading investigations.

Mr. Devaney was an Assistant United States Attorney in the District of New Jersey, where he was most recently a member of the Securities Fraud Unit. As a federal prosecutor, Mr. Devaney investigated and prosecuted numerous cases involving securities fraud, bank fraud, mail and wire fraud, tax evasion, money laundering, terrorism, government program fraud, computer trespass, and export violations. Prior to joining the Department of Justice, Mr. Devaney practiced white-collar criminal defense and complex civil litigation, representing clients in federal and state criminal investigations, SEC and CFTC investigations, as well as attorney disciplinary proceedings.

Significant Matters

Mr. Devaney's recent matters have included the defense of corporations and individuals in areas such as the FCPA, export control and economic sanctions, antitrust, tax evasion, insider trading, accounting fraud, Medicare/Medicaid fraud, visa fraud, and mail and wire fraud, civil RICO, securities litigation and consumer fraud actions by state attorneys general. Mr. Devaney has also recently conducted several national and multi-national internal investigations for companies in the insurance, chemical, software, retail, and logistics industries.

Activities

Mr. Devaney is co-chair of the American Bar Association White Collar Crime Section Sub-Committee on Transnational Crimes. He is a member of the Association of the Bar of the City of New York, (where he sits on the Criminal Advocacy Committee and previously sat on the Council for Criminal Justice), the Federal Bar Council and the National Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers. Mr. Devaney is also a member of the Criminal Justice Act panel for the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York.

Industries

Credit Counseling and Debt Services

Green Businesses

Government Experience

Assistant United States Attorney, United States Department of Justice, District of New Jersey

Judicial Clerkships

Honorable Oliver Gasch, U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia

News

April 24, 2013, Main Justice Honors Venable's FCPA and Anti-Corruption Group with Distinguished Service Award

April 23, 2013, Law360 quotes Widge Devaney on Ralph Lauren FCPA settlement

April 15, 2013, Widge Devaney offers advice to CFOs in Associations Now

March 7, 2013, Widge Devaney quoted in Law360 on Supreme Court's FCPA ruling

February 5, 2013, Law360 quotes Widge Devaney on judge's refusal to approve FCPA settlement between IBM and SEC

November 19, 2012, Law360 and Main Justice quote Widge Devaney on new FCPA guidance

November 16, 2012, Widge Devaney quoted in Bloomberg BNA on new guidance document for FCPA

November 1, 2012, Best Law Firms Names Venable "Law Firm of the Year" in Criminal Defense: White-Collar - Litigation

October 2, 2012, New York edition of Super Lawyers 2012 honors fourteen Venable attorneys

August 24, 2012, Widge Devaney quoted in Bloomberg BNA on risk of inheriting FCPA issues

August 8, 2012, Widge Devaney quoted in Law360 on proposed cartel whistleblower bill

July 24, 2012, Law360 quotes Widge Devaney extensively on unique no-contest plea in antitrust case

April 17, 2012, Widge Devaney quoted in Agenda on how corporate boards can manage risk of foreign corruption

April 12, 2012, Widge Devaney quoted in New York Times on Goldman programmer appeal

March 29, 2012, Widge Devaney quoted in the Associated Press on civil suit against Dominique Strauss-Kahn

March 23, 2012, Venable files amicus brief on behalf of respondent-defendants in Supreme Court cases

September 20, 2011, New York edition of Super Lawyers 2011 honors eight Venable attorneys

August 22, 2011, Venable submits amicus brief to U.S. Supreme Court on Sixth Amendment rights

June 15, 2011, Venable article referenced in Wall Street Journal blog

May 17, 2011, Widge Devaney Q&A featured on The Deal's website

May 11, 2011, Widge Devaney quoted in Law360 about the Galleon trial ruling

April 28, 2011, William Devaney quoted in article about Galleon trial

February 11, 2011, Widge Devaney interviewed in Bulletproof Blog

May 24, 2010, Widge Devaney quoted in News and Sentinel

November 2, 2009, Widge Devaney quoted in Associations Now on nonprofit embezzlement

July 16, 2009, Widge Devaney quoted in French News Agency article about Madoff transfer to medium-security NC prison

July 7, 2009, Widge Devaney comments on Madoff conviction on National Public Radio

June 30, 2009, Widge Devaney's comments on Madoff sentence carried in media outlets around the world

March 11, 2009, Widge Devaney comments on Madoff case in Reuters story

February 24, 2009, Widge Devaney interviewed by The National Law Journal on UBS deferred prosecution agreement

January 7, 2009, Widge Devaney comments on Blagojevich case in AP and CNN stories

Law360 interviews Widge Devaney on AUO price fixing verdict

Honors

Selected for inclusion in New York Metro Super Lawyers in the Criminal Defense: White Collar category, 2011 and 2012

Publications

Mr. Devaney has been the author of publications involving such topics as the FCPA and corporate compliance programs. Mr. Devaney also appears often in the print media commenting on current criminal matters.

April 2013, FCPA Snapshot - 2012
William H. Devaney, Lindsay B. Meyer, Jan Lawrence Handzlik, Victoria R. Danta, Robert L. Meyerhoff
FCPA White Paper

March 2013, The FCPA and Anti-Corruption Enforcement: What Does It Mean for Charitable Contributions?
Robert L. Waldman, William H. Devaney

March 2013, Detecting and Preventing Fraud and Embezzlement
Jeffrey S. Tenenbaum, William H. Devaney

February 2013, Southern District of New York Ruling May Present Challenges for FCPA Defendants
William H. Devaney, Nancy R. Grunberg, Jan Lawrence Handzlik, Geoffrey R. Garinther, Hillary S. Profita
SEC Update

January 15, 2013, Lesson from Smith: Withdrawal from a Criminal Antitrust Conspiracy Must Be Affirmative
William H. Devaney, Lisa Jose Fales, Paul Feinstein, Leonard L. Gordon
Antitrust Alert

December 28, 2012, ILA-USMX Contract Extended 30 Days
Ashley W. Craig, William H. Devaney, Michael J. Volpe, Ariel S. Wolf, Amanda C. Blunt
International Trade Alert

November 2012, The New Foreign Corrupt Practices Act Resource Guide: An Opportunity to Review Your Nonprofit's Compliance
Lindsay B. Meyer, William H. Devaney, Carrie A. Kroll

November 2012, FCPA Guidance: Déjà Vu All Over Again
William H. Devaney, Victoria R. Danta
FCPA and Anti-Corruption News E-lert

July 2012, FCPA Snapshot, Mid-Year 2012
William H. Devaney, Jan Lawrence Handzlik, Victoria R. Danta
FCPA and Anti-Corruption News E-lert

June 2012, FCPA Investigation Follows Allegations of Improper Payments to Customs Officials in Kazakhstan
Lindsay B. Meyer, William H. Devaney, Ashley W. Craig
FCPA and Anti-Corruption News E-lert

April 24, 2012, Detecting and Preventing Fraud and Embezzlement in Your Nonprofit Organization
Jeffrey S. Tenenbaum, William H. Devaney

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, 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
FCPA and Anti-Corruption News E-lert

February 2012, FATCA - Overview of Proposed Regulations Issued by the IRS
Charles K. Kolstad, William H. Devaney, Michael D. Foster
Tax Bulletin

December 2011, Food Services Providers and Investigations by State Attorneys General
William H. Devaney, Doreen S. Martin, Michael J. Volpe
Client Alerts

December 6, 2011, Detecting and Preventing Fraud and Embezzlement in Your Nonprofit Organization
Jeffrey S. Tenenbaum, William H. Devaney

August 9, 2011, Preventing Embezzlement and Fraud at Nonprofits: What You Can Do To Protect Your Organization
Jeffrey S. Tenenbaum, William H. Devaney

June 2011, Anti-Corruption Enforcement: The New Global Reality
William H. Devaney, Victoria R. Danta
Financier Worldwide

May 4, 2011, Preventing Embezzlement and Fraud in Nonprofit Organizations
William H. Devaney, Jeffrey S. Tenenbaum, Doreen S. Martin

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, Indictment of Former GSK Lawyer Dismissed
Geoffrey R. Garinther, W. Warren Hamel, William H. Devaney, Winifred M. Weitsen
Client Alerts

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.

January 2011, Financial Services Industry - Latest FCPA Target?
William H. Devaney, Melissa Gomez
FCPA and Anti-Corruption News E-lert

December 2010, Amnesty Under the FCPA?: A Senate Spotlight Focuses Attention on Rising Concerns Regarding the FCPA's Explosive Growth
Geoffrey R. Garinther, Nancy R. Grunberg, W. Warren Hamel, William H. Devaney
FCPA and Anti-Corruption News E-lert

October 6, 2010, Protecting Your Nonprofit from Embezzlement & Fraud
Jeffrey S. Tenenbaum, William H. Devaney, Doreen S. Martin

August 2010, A Lesson in Successor Liability: GE Settles Oil for Food FCPA Allegations
Lindsay B. Meyer, William H. Devaney, Nancy R. Grunberg, W. Warren Hamel,Geoffrey R. Garinther, Karl A. Racine, Doreen S. Martin, Carrie A. Kroll, D. E. Wilson, Jr., Ashley W. Craig, Treazure R. Johnson, Winifred M. Weitsen
FCPA and Anti-Corruption News E-lert

July 2010, Implementation of U.K. Bribery Act Postponed for Six Months
Lindsay B. Meyer, William H. Devaney, Carrie A. Kroll
FCPA and Anti-Corruption News E-lert

July 2010, FCPA News and Trends
William H. Devaney, Lindsay B. Meyer, Winifred M. Weitsen, Karl A. Racine,Geoffrey R. Garinther, W. Warren Hamel, Nancy R. Grunberg, Ashley W. Craig,D. E. Wilson, Jr., Treazure R. Johnson
FCPA and Anti-Corruption News E-lert

May 19, 2010, Protecting Your Nonprofit's Money in the Post-Madoff Era
Jeffrey S. Tenenbaum, William H. Devaney, Doreen S. Martin

2010 Edition, The Rise of Cross-Border Corporate Criminal Enforcement
William H. Devaney
Inside the Minds - International White Collar Enforcement

February 23, 2010, Protecting Your Nonprofit's Money in the Post-Madoff Era
Jeffrey S. Tenenbaum, Doreen S. Martin, William H. Devaney

January 25, 2010, DOJ Uses Undercover Sting Operation to Bring Foreign Bribery Case
FCPA and Anti-Corruption News E-lert

January 2010, DOJ Targets Pharmaceutical & Life Sciences Companies for FCPA Enforcement
Lindsay B. Meyer, William H. Devaney, Carrie A. Kroll
Client Alerts

September 8, 2009, Preventing Embezzlement in Your Nonprofit Organization
William H. Devaney, Jeffrey S. Tenenbaum

August 13, 2009, Recent Crackdown on U.S. Export Compliance for Logistics Providers
Lindsay B. Meyer, Ashley W. Craig, William H. Devaney, Carrie A. Kroll
International Trade Alert

December 2006, Department of Justice Alters its Procedures For Criminally Charging Corporations
Geoffrey R. Garinther, William H. Devaney
SEC Update

September 2006, Changes to the Federal Rules of Evidence May Have a Negative Impact on Corporate America
William H. Devaney, Geoffrey R. Garinther, Nancy R. Grunberg, Treazure R. Johnson
SEC Update

May 1, 2006, SEC Update, May 2006
Nancy R. Grunberg, Treazure R. Johnson, Geoffrey R. Garinther, W. Warren Hamel, William H. Devaney
SEC Update

July 21, 2004, Corporate Compliance Programs and the Sentencing Guidelines
William H. Devaney
New York Law Journal

Events/Speaking Engagements

Mr. Devaney has recently lectured on reverse mergers, trends in SEC and Department of Justice enforcement and responding to attorney general civil investigations.

While with the Department of Justice, Mr. Devaney lectured extensively on the Patriot Act. He has also lectured on corporate criminal liability and served as a faculty member at the National Advocacy Center.

Upcoming Events

May 2, 2013, "But That's the Way THEY Do Business - What You Need to Know about FCPA" at the 2013 IACC Annual Spring Conference
William H. Devaney

May 15, 2013, "Overseas Operations: What Every Nonprofit Should Know Before Leaving Home" at the 2013 ASAE Association International Conference
Lindsay B. Meyer, William H. Devaney

May 29, 2013, Association of Corporate Counsel Webcast: "Legal Issues in International Philanthropy"
Robert L. Waldman, William H. Devaney, Jeffrey S. Tenenbaum

Past Events

April 24, 2013, "Whistle While You Work: How to Effectively Manage Whistleblowing in Your Company," CLE Presentation
John E. Bowman, William H. Devaney

March 11, 2013, "The FCPA and Anti-Corruption Enforcement: What Does It Mean for Charitable Contributions?" at the Annual Conference of the Association of Corporate Contributions Professionals
Robert L. Waldman, William H. Devaney

March 5, 2013, "Embezzlement and Fraud Webinar" for the National Association of Home Builders
Jeffrey S. Tenenbaum, William H. Devaney

December 13, 2012, "Detecting and Preventing Fraud and Embezzlement in Your Nonprofit Organization" at the 24th Annual Not-for-Profit Symposium of the Greater Washington Society of CPAs
William H. Devaney

October 17, 2012, "FCPA Fundamentals" at ABA's National Institute on the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act 2012
William H. Devaney

August 6, 2012, Conducting an Effective Internal Investigation
William H. Devaney, Doreen S. Martin

August 4, 2012, "What Every M&A and Private Equity Lawyer Needs to Know about the FCPA," American Bar Association Annual Meeting
William H. Devaney

June 14, 2012 - June 16, 2012, "Cartel Enforcement" at the 15th Transnational Crime Conference
William H. Devaney

May 6, 2012, Law Enforcement and the Chinese American Event
Lindsay B. Meyer, William H. Devaney

April 24, 2012, "Detecting and Preventing Fraud and Embezzlement in Your Nonprofit Organization" for the Greater Washington Society of CPAs
Jeffrey S. Tenenbaum, William H. Devaney

January 23, 2012, "Competing in the Global Market While Complying with Anti-Corruption Laws - How Government Contractors Can Best Deal with the U.S. and British Anti-Corruption Laws" at the NDIA Annual Meeting
William H. Devaney

December 6, 2011, Detecting and Preventing Fraud and Embezzlement in Your Nonprofit Organization
Jeffrey S. Tenenbaum, William H. Devaney

October 21, 2011, "Opportunities and Challenges in Implementing an International Business Strategy"
William H. Devaney, Michael A. Gollin, Lindsay B. Meyer

October 11, 2011, "International Collaborations: Negotiations and Compliance" for NCURA TV
William H. Devaney, Lindsay B. Meyer

August 9, 2011, Legal Quick Hit: "Embezzlement and Fraud at Nonprofits: What You Can Do to Protect Your Organization" for the Association of Corporate Counsel's Nonprofit Organizations Committee
Jeffrey S. Tenenbaum, William H. Devaney

July 14, 2011, Impact of the U.K. Bribery Act on U.S.-Based Businesses
William H. Devaney, Lindsay B. Meyer

May 4, 2011, "Preventing Embezzlement and Fraud in Nonprofit Organizations" for the NYS Society of CPAs
William H. Devaney, Doreen S. Martin, Jeffrey S. Tenenbaum

April 13, 2011, "Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA): Impact on Entertainment and Sports Industries" for Association of Corporate Counsel
William H. Devaney

January 6, 2011, "Director and Officer Civil and Criminal Liability in Failed Banks and Thrifts," webinar hosted by Venable LLP
William H. Devaney

October 14, 2010, "Nuts & Bolts of the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act [FCPA]: What Companies Conducting Foreign Business Should Know" at Rutgers School of Law - Newark
William H. Devaney

October 14, 2010, "Preventing Embezzlement in Your Organization," Nonprofit Spark Radio Show
William H. Devaney

October 6, 2010, Association of Corporate Counsel Webcast: "Preventing Embezzlement in Your Nonprofit Organization"
Jeffrey S. Tenenbaum, William H. Devaney, Doreen S. Martin

June 29, 2010, Honest Services Fraud: What Government Contractors, Government Attorneys, and the Private Bar Need to Know
William H. Devaney

June 25, 2010, "Corruption - The New Global Landscape" Breakfast Seminar at Venable LLP
Lindsay B. Meyer, William H. Devaney

June 10, 2010, "Corruption - The New Global Landscape" Breakfast Seminar at Field Fisher Waterhouse LLP
Lindsay B. Meyer, William H. Devaney

May 19, 2010, Protecting Your Nonprofit's Money in the Post-Madoff Era
Jeffrey S. Tenenbaum, William H. Devaney, Doreen S. Martin

April 9, 2010, Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA) Assessing Risk and Maintaining Compliance Webcast
Lindsay B. Meyer, William H. Devaney, Carrie A. Kroll

February 23, 2010, "Protecting Your Nonprofit's Money in the Post-Madoff Era" at the 2010 Charity Effectiveness Symposium, hosted by The Education and Research Foundation of The Better Business Bureau of Metropolitan New York
Jeffrey S. Tenenbaum, Doreen S. Martin, William H. Devaney

January 12, 2010, Insider Trading Enforcement Trends: Considerations for Hedge Funds and Alternative Managers
William H. Devaney, Treazure R. Johnson

September 17, 2009, "Foreign Evidence: Collecting it and Protecting it" for the American Bar Association
William H. Devaney

June 12, 2009, The Reverse Merger Conference 2009
William H. Devaney

June 9, 2009, Venable is Hosting the National Foreign Trade Council Global Payroll Seminar
William H. Devaney

April 17, 2008, Forensic and Valuation Services (FVS) Webinar
William H. Devaney, Doreen S. Martin

March 31, 2008 - April 1, 2008, Investors' and Issuers' Summit on Alternative Capital Raising Strategies
William H. Devaney

December 4, 2007, THE CREDIT CRUNCH: How to Not Only Survive, But Prosper
Robert L. Smith, II, Suzanne Fay Garwood, William H. Devaney, Wallace E. Christner