Partner

Doreen M. Rachal

Healthcare
Securities Enforcement and Regulatory
White Collar Defense and Investigations

drachal@sidley.com

Boston +1 617 223 0311

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DOREEN RACHAL focuses her practice on white collar criminal defense, internal investigations, and criminal and civil government investigations, including grand jury matters. She also has experience with complex civil litigation, asset forfeiture, healthcare fraud litigation, securities litigation and enforcement, and compliance with the USA PATRIOT Act, Bank Secrecy Act and related anti-money laundering requirements. Doreen represents companies and individuals before the United States Department of Justice, the United States Attorney’s Offices, the Securities and Exchange Commission, FINRA and the Massachusetts Attorney General’s Office. She is a member of Sidley’s White Collar Defense and Investigations, Healthcare, and Securities Enforcement and Regulatory groups.

Prior to joining Sidley, Doreen served as an Assistant United States Attorney at the United States Attorney’s Office for the District of Massachusetts in the Affirmative Civil Enforcement Unit, where she handled qui tam actions and prosecuted healthcare fraud matters involving potential violations of the False Claims Act, Stark Law and anti-kickback statutes. Prior to joining the Affirmative Civil Enforcement Unit, Doreen served in a supervisory capacity as the Chief of the Asset Forfeiture Unit. In that role, Doreen prosecuted civil and criminal asset forfeiture cases involving money laundering, drug trafficking, healthcare fraud and securities violations. During her tenure at the United States Attorney’s Office, Doreen successfully handled several trials as lead counsel. Doreen was also an associate at a global law firm, as well as a law clerk for the Honorable Chief Justice (Ret.) Roderick L. Ireland of the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court.

Doreen’s experience and commitment to public service earned her the National Bar Association’s 2019 “Outstanding Women Lawyer Hidden Figure/Impact Award.” She has also received the Massachusetts Lawyers Weekly’s 2022 Excellence in the Law Award for “Excellence in Pro Bono” for her outstanding leadership, vision, advocacy, and contributions in the community, as well as the 2018 “Top Women of Law” Award, which celebrates outstanding achievements made by exceptional women lawyers. Doreen was recognized by Massachusetts Super Lawyers for Criminal Defense: White Collar in 2022.

Doreen received both her undergraduate degree, magna cum laude, and graduate degree from The Catholic University of America. Doreen attended Howard University School of Law, where she served as Articles Editor of The Howard SCROLL Social Justice Law Review, participated on the Moot Court Team, and received the CALI Excellence for the Future Award in Jurisprudence, Remedies and Civil Rights Clinic.

Experience

Doreen’s representative matters include:

Representation of a large financial institution in a major unemployment insurance matter that has resulted in the client receiving over 4,000 subpoenas from local, state, and federal government agencies. This work has included production of thousands of account statements to the government agencies and responding to thousands of grand jury and administrative subpoenas since 2020 as a result of fraud related to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Representation of global company regarding potential criminal liability exposure involving MARPOL and the Clean Water Act. Handled large scale internal investigation in the United States and assisted with related internal investigation in Asia. Handled company’s response to grand jury subpoenas, crisis management, preparing witnesses for potential grand jury testimony and proffers, settlement discussions with the government, and review and analysis of company’s governance policies and procedures. Also handled presentation to Board regarding findings and recommendations regarding the company’s governance policies and procedures.
Representation of global company in connection with grand jury subpoena. Handled internal investigation and document review, responses to the grand jury subpoena, discussions with the government, and consultation with the company’s Board of Directors regarding findings of the internal investigation.
Representation of private equity firm in connection with its investment in a company that is currently manufacturing an innovative cutting-edge technology. Provided crisis management and litigation support and handled settlement negotiations related to stock purchase agreements and shareholder derivative legal action.

Doreen regularly handles high-profile pro bono cases for the NAACP Boston Branch, the Lawyers Committee for Civil Rights, ACLU Massachusetts, and The Innocence Project.

She recently led a case with the NAACP Boston et al., which involved defending the Boston Public School District’s (BPS) implementation of an interim admissions policy geared toward creating socio-economic, geographic, and racial equity diversity within Boston’s elite exam schools. Doreen’s win in the U.S. District Court for the District of Massachusetts upheld the policy, which enabled BPS to enroll a more diverse student population. This case is currently pending before the First Circuit.

Doreen is a member of the Boston Bar Association, the National Conference of Bar Presidents, the Massachusetts Black Lawyers Association, the American Bar Association, the Massachusetts Chapter of the Federal Bar Association, the Women’s Bar Association of Massachusetts, the National Bar Association, and the Hispanic National Bar Association. An active member of the Massachusetts Black Lawyers Association, she served as President from 2013–2014 and held various other leadership positions. Doreen also serves on the Boston Bar Association’s Amicus Committee, the Massachusetts Chapter of the Federal Bar Association’s Board of Directors, as Chair of the Pro Bono Committee of the Women’s Bar Foundation of Massachusetts, and as Chair-Elect of the National Bar Association’s Women Lawyers Division. She is a member of the Board of Trustees of Barnard College. At her previous firm, Doreen served on the Diversity Committee for three years, focusing on the retention and recruitment of diverse lawyers. Doreen also served for six years on the Massachusetts Judicial Nominating Commission by appointment of the governor.

Credentials

Admissions & Certifications

U.S. Supreme Court
U.S. Court of Appeals, 1st Circuit
U.S. District Court, District of Massachusetts
Massachusetts
New York
New York Supreme Court

Doreen M. Rachal

Credentials

Admissions & Certifications

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