KING & SPALDING

Positioning 

Special Matters and Government Investigations

Our Special Matters team is dedicated to advising entities and individuals across borders and sectors who are facing the reality or threat of a government investigation. Clients turn to us because of our reputation for conducting thorough and reliable internal investigations, for using the investigative record effectively to persuade the government to appropriately decline prosecution or enforcement action against our clients where possible, and for discreetly resolving government investigations on favorable terms. When quick and discreet resolution is not possible, we are prepared to defend our clients in court – where we have a successful track record advocating and litigating against the government and other authorities on behalf of our clients.

Most importantly, clients value our transparency, candor, and ability to build relationships in order to protect and advance our clients’ interests. We can successfully and seamlessly navigate the complexities of dealing with enforcement agencies all over the world, including in France where we have a team of 8 specialists driven by one of the top French market leaders.

In the U.S., a key component of our success is leveraging the experience of our more than 175 former government officials firm-wide, including the recent former CIA Director, who is a key member of our team. Collectively, we have handled investigations before 73 of the 93 U.S. Attorney’s Offices and every litigating division of the Justice Department. We likewise have represented clients in investigations conducted by all 12 of the SEC’s offices and all of the SEC’s specialized enforcement units. 

The Paris team is fully integrated into the global Special Matters and Government Investigations practice, whose philosophy and composition reflect King & Spalding's deep investigations and sensitive matters culture. The team is composed of six lawyers (a partner, a counsel, a senior associate, a mid-level associate, two associates, and a law clerk) and an in-house consultant, and an expert in financial criminal investigation who served as financial investigator during more than 30 years (Gendarmerie Nationale Département Délinquance Économique et Financière). Experienced in assisting large groups and executives, our lawyers regularly intervene in sensitive, complex, and high-stakes cases (internal governance issues, external growth, financial, strategic, geopolitical or media issues, etc.).

A large number of leading French and foreign-based concerns, including those in Africa, regularly rely on our 20-years-experienced Paris-based investigations team for assistance in conducting internal investigations, negotiating with the French National Prosecutor's Office or the financial sections of the public prosecutor's office, and in designing criminal defense strategies.  As such, the team carries out internal investigations/audits in order to identify the reality and extent of facts which may constitute an offense. This expertise is essential in the process of assessing the risks that such facts may involve and identifying the corrective measures to be implemented to prevent any repetition. 

Our global team of lawyers have devoted their entire careers to white-collar criminal and civil defense in high-stakes matters with industry-wide impact. We have conducted cross-border investigations in more than 160 countries involving every continent, and thus have extensive experience before foreign regulatory authorities.

Business 

• Corporate internal investigations 

• Government investigations
• Administrative investigations 
• White-collar crime defense
• Crisis management 
• Business intelligence 

Offices 

• Abu Dhabi
• Atlanta
• Austin

• Brussels
• Charlotte
• Chicago
• Denver
• Dubai

• Frankfurt
• Geneva
• Houston
• London
• Los Angeles

• Miami
• New York
• Northern Virginia
• Paris
• Riyadh

• San Francisco
• Silicon Valley
• Singapore
• Tokyo
• Washington, D.C.