Brendan R. McGuire, chief of the Terrorism and International Narcotics Unit of the United States Attorney's Office for the Southern District of New York (SDNY), will join WilmerHale's New York office as a partner in its white collar practice.
During his 10 years at SDNY, Mr. McGuire has overseen some of the nation's most significant terrorism, money laundering and economic sanctions cases. Prior to serving in his current position, Mr. McGuire was the chief of the Public Corruption Unit where he led some of the most notable investigations and prosecutions of New York officials in recent years.
“Brendan's extraordinary experience and skills bring added depth and strength to our premier white collar practice in New York,” said Robert Novick, WilmerHale's co-managing partner. “With the addition of Brendan, WilmerHale's New York office will have the distinction of fielding five recent leaders from the SDNY among our talented white collar enforcement team. We are delighted to welcome Brendan to WilmerHale.”
WilmerHale's global white collar practice consists of more than 60 members, including three former US Attorneys and more than 20 former Assistant US Attorneys. Besides New York, the practice's lawyers are in Washington DC, Boston, California and London. WilmerHale's clients rely on this team of seasoned advisers and trial practitioners, many of whom have held senior positions in the US Department of Justice, to handle their most challenging white collar enforcement problems.
“After having the privilege of serving in the Southern District for the past decade, I was drawn to WilmerHale because of its exceptionally talented group of attorneys, its culture of collaboration and its appreciation for government service,” Mr. McGuire said. “I very much look forward to rejoining several of my former colleagues and working with the entire WilmerHale team.” Mr. McGuire will play important roles in the firm's white collar work in New York as well as in its national security practice based in Washington.
Mr. McGuire rejoins former colleague Boyd M. Johnson III, co-chair of WilmerHale's white collar practice, who joined the firm's New York office in 2011 after serving as Deputy US Attorney for the SDNY.
“Achieving Brendan's level of success requires keen intelligence, creativity, tenacity and coolness under fire,” Mr. Johnson said. “All of those traits will greatly benefit our clients. We are fortunate to have him.”
Mr. McGuire will augment a remarkable team of recent SDNY leaders who are now partners in WilmerHale's New York office. Besides Mr. Johnson, they include Sharon Cohen Levin, former chief of the SDNY Money Laundering and Asset Forfeiture Unit; and Anjan Sahni, former chief of the SDNY Securities and Commodities Fraud Task Force.
About Brendan McGuire
Mr. McGuire joined the SDNY in 2005. As a member of the Terrorism Unit, he handled some of the most significant terrorism cases within the Department of Justice, including the 2009 kidnapping of Captain Richard Phillips by Somali pirates in the Indian Ocean, the 2010 prosecution of Faisal Shahzad for the attempted bombing of Times Square, and the 2011 prosecution of Russian arms dealer Viktor Bout for conspiring to kill Americans.
From 2011 to 2014, Mr. McGuire served as the chief of the Office's Public Corruption Unit. As chief, he supervised investigations and prosecutions of elected officials within New York City and New York State, as well as cases involving violations of the federal fraud and bribery statutes, including the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act, securities fraud, healthcare fraud and tax evasion. He also oversaw multiple corporate prosecutions, including the settlement of the largest municipal fraud case in history.
Since 2014, Mr. McGuire has been the chief of the Terrorism and International Narcotics Unit. During his tenure, he has supervised investigations and prosecutions of international and domestic terrorism, money laundering, violations of economic sanctions and export control laws, espionage and global narcotics trafficking. In that position, Mr. McGuire regularly coordinated criminal investigations with the intelligence community, the Department of the Treasury, the Department of Defense, the Department of State and foreign governments.
Mr. McGuire is a 2002 graduate of New York University School of Law, a 1998 graduate of Williams College and a 1994 graduate of Regis High School in Manhattan. After law school, he clerked for the Honorable Peter K. Leisure of the United States District Court for the Southern District of New York.