White Collar Defense and Investigations

Integrated Strategic Response in High-Stakes Matters

Sidley is consistently recognized as a leading firm for corporate investigations and white collar defense by industry publications, such as Chambers Global, Chambers USA, LMG Life Sciences, and Benchmark Litigation. Since the launch of the Chambers Crisis and Risk Management Guide, we have also been ranked among the leading firms globally, in the UK, and in the United States every year. Such recognition reflects our experience guiding clients through high-stakes, time-sensitive matters where legal strategy, business judgment, and credibility with regulators are critical. Drawing upon this experience, we provide integrated counsel on corporate crime, regulatory, congressional, enforcement, and crisis matters across jurisdictions, including:

•  Government investigations and information requests
• Whistleblower and reporting frameworks
• Data transfers and privacy compliance
• Compliance programs and internal controls

Finalist for “Most Impressive Global Investigations Practice of the Year”
2026 Global Investigations Review (GIR) Awards

Trusted Advisers With a Global Footprint

We represent clients before enforcement and regulatory authorities around the world, including:

• The U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ)
• The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC)
• State attorneys general
• Congressional committees
• Industry regulators
• International enforcement agencies in key markets in Europe, the UK, and Asia-Pacific

The firm has deep market knowledge and expertise in navigating complex investigations and compliance matters. They have the ability to understand business stakeholders’ concerns.
Chambers Global 2026, Global: Multijurisdictional Corporate Investigations/Anti-Corruption

Our team understands the expectations of the DOJ and other investigative agencies expectations and designs investigation protocols that withstand regulatory scrutiny while protecting clients’ legal and business interests. We work constructively with regulators while positioning clients for success should an enforcement matter escalate into litigation or other contested proceedings. Our team also includes former senior government officials, federal prosecutors, and counsel at regulatory agencies, as well as first-chair trial lawyers.

We combine local knowledge and language capabilities with a global perspective — making us a trusted choice for cross-border investigations, FCPA due diligence, and compliance risk assessments across Asia, Europe, and other key markets. We also coordinate strategy across differing enforcement regimes.

Dedicated Teams, Seamless Execution

We deploy lean, dedicated teams tailored to the scope, sensitivity, and complexity of each engagement. Whenever possible, we maintain consistent teams across engagements, enabling us to develop a deep understanding of our clients’ businesses, operating procedures, governance structures, and preferred protocols. This approach allows us to move quickly, reduce duplication, and provide seamless support across jurisdictions and workstreams.

White collar matters rarely fit within a single discipline. We collaborate across practices to provide coordinated, strategic advice.

Anti-Money Laundering

We advise clients on anti-money laundering (AML) and countering the financing of terrorism (CFT) requirements under the Bank Secrecy Act, USA PATRIOT Act, FinCEN regulations, and international standards.

Our team helps clients:

• Design and enhance compliance programs
• Strengthen controls and risk-management frameworks
• Conduct customer due diligence
• Address suspicious activity reporting obligations
• Implement transaction-monitoring processes

We also assist with regulatory examinations, enforcement inquiries, internal investigations, remediation, training, policy reviews, and risk assessments.

Antitrust Government Investigations

We represent companies and individuals worldwide in criminal and civil investigations, enforcement proceedings, cartel matters, merger reviews, and other competition-related issues.

Our work includes advising:

• Targets of investigations
• Complainants
• Witnesses
• Third parties responding to regulatory requests

With a focus on protecting clients’ legal and business interests — whether by narrowing investigations, securing favorable resolutions, negotiating remedies, or managing complex antitrust risks — we regularly coordinate matters across the United States, Europe, Asia, and other key markets. Our team helps clients navigate dawn raids, subpoenas, leniency and immunity applications, witness interviews, document production, negotiations with authorities, and parallel civil litigation.

Compliance Counseling

Recognized by Law360 as a 2025 “Compliance Group of the Year” for the third consecutive year (2023–2025), our multidisciplinary, cross-border team — including more than 100 lawyers who have held senior positions at regulatory and enforcement agencies worldwide — provides practical, business-focused guidance tailored to the complex compliance challenges organizations face across industries and jurisdictions. Whether developing an enterprise-wide compliance program or addressing a specific regulatory issue, we help organizations prevent and detect misconduct, strengthen internal controls, and foster a culture of integrity.

Our team works with clients to meet increasing expectations from regulators, enforcement agencies, and stakeholders by assessing risk, strengthening governance, and developing practical compliance programs, including:

• Risk assessments and compliance program design
• Codes of conduct, policies, and procedures
• Training for boards, management, and employees
• Auditing, monitoring, and corrective action
• Information governance, privacy, and document retention

Congressional Investigations

Early strategic decisions can shape both a congressional investigation and its broader business and reputational impact. Our Washington, D.C.-based team represents financial institutions, public companies, universities, nonprofits, boards, executives, and individuals responding to congressional investigations and oversight inquiries. Drawing on extensive experience before congressional committees, we help clients anticipate developments, manage risk, and navigate fast-moving matters where legal, regulatory, and public scrutiny intersect. We advise clients on:

• Developing strategic responses to congressional inquiries
• Managing document requests, subpoenas, and committee communications
• Preparing witnesses for interviews, testimony, and public hearings
• Navigating parallel DOJ, SEC, state attorney general, and other regulatory investigations
• Addressing legal, business, and reputational considerations throughout the investigation
• Coordinating response strategies across regulatory, litigation, and communications issues

Crisis Management and Strategic Response

We help organizations identify, assess, and mitigate risks before they become crises. Our multidisciplinary teams comprise lawyers from our white collar, litigation, regulatory, employment, privacy, sanctions, antitrust, and public policy practices to address fast-moving challenges with a coordinated strategy.

We also conduct diagnostic assessments to identify threats to operations, strategy, and reputation. Working closely with management teams, we help prevent adverse events and prepare for emerging enforcement and litigation risks.

Sidley maintains dedicated crisis teams across a range of industries, including:

• Financial services
• Healthcare and life sciences
• Automotive
• Technology and cybersecurity
• National security
• Colleges, universities, and nonprofits
• Entertainment, sports, and media

Economic Sanctions and Export Investigations

We advise clients on economic sanctions, export controls, customs, import restrictions, and national security-related trade matters.

Our team helps clients navigate evolving legal regimes, global supply chains, and cross-border business relationships while monitoring developments driven by geopolitical events, national security priorities, and enforcement trends.

We provide counseling on:

• OFAC-administered sanctions
• Export Administration Regulations (EAR)
• International Traffic in Arms Regulations (ITAR)
• Licensing, classification, screening, and disclosure requirements
• EU and UK sanctions
• Blocking laws and state divestment statutes

Our work includes transactional support, regulatory advice and counseling, and investigations and enforcement support, including transaction due diligence, risk assessments, compliance counseling, development and execution of voluntary disclosure strategies, responses to government inquiries and subpoenas, enforcement defense and resolution, and remediation strategies and implementation.

Environmental Enforcement and Investigations

Sidley was among the first firms to establish an environmental practice focused on criminal and civil enforcement defense. We represent clients from the earliest stages of government contact through resolution. Our team includes former prosecutors, former Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) officials, and lawyers with extensive experience in environmental, health, and safety laws.

We regularly engage with the DOJ, EPA, Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA), and state regulators. Combining legal, technical, and scientific insight, we help clients secure favorable outcomes — including declinations, reduced penalties, and successful litigation results.

False Claims Act

We defend clients in False Claims Act (FCA) investigations led by DOJ and state attorneys general and in litigation against the government and whistleblowers. Sidley’s FCA team has defended hundreds of FCA enforcement actions across a wide range of industries and has litigated qui tam suits in federal and state courts across the country. Our Chambers Band 1-ranked FCA team leverages our lawyers’ capabilities across disciplines, including healthcare, FDA regulatory and enforcement, privacy and cybersecurity, labor and employment, trade and export control, antitrust, SEC regulatory and enforcement, and white collar defense, to efficiently and effectively guide clients through these complex matters.

Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA) and Anti-Corruption

Our global team handles complex anti-bribery and anti-corruption investigations, enforcement actions, and litigation. We advise clients on the FCPA, the UK Bribery Act, and other international anti-corruption regimes. Our experience covers DOJ, SEC, and internal investigations involving government officials, third-party intermediaries, licensing activities, transfers of value, and sales and marketing practices. We also frequently handle parallel investigations involving multiple authorities across jurisdictions.

Our team also:

• Conducts risk assessments
• Performs transaction due diligence
• Designs and enhances compliance programs
• Advises on post-acquisition integration
• Addresses books-and-records and internal controls issues
• Develops remediation strategies

Healthcare Enforcement

We represent healthcare and life sciences companies, boards, and senior executives in civil and criminal government investigations, congressional inquiries, internal investigations, and compliance reviews. Our work regularly involves DOJ, HHS-OIG, CMS, FDA and foreign regulators, state Medicaid Fraud Control Units, state attorneys general, congressional committees, and other federal and state authorities. With deep regulatory experience in the full range of healthcare and food, drug and medical device laws, we are uniquely positioned to investigate and defend these actions.

In particular, we have decades of experience handling enforcement matters based on allegations related to:

• The False Claims Act
• The Anti-Kickback Statute, Beneficiary Inducement Statute, and Stark Law
• Drug pricing and reimbursement
• Healthcare provider coding, billing, and reimbursement
• Medicare Advantage program issues
• Product promotion
• cGMP and Quality System requirements
• Market access and patient assistance programs

Internal Investigations

Our multidisciplinary team conducts internal investigations for companies, boards of directors, and senior executives facing allegations of misconduct, compliance concerns, and other sensitive and high-stakes matters. Our experience includes investigations involving:

• Potential fraud and corruption
• Financial and accounting issues
• Conflicts of interest
• Whistleblower allegations
• Corporate ethics and compliance matters
• Workplace misconduct and other employment-related matters, including discrimination, harassment, retaliation, and human resources concerns

We tailor each investigation to the circumstances, from focused document reviews and witness interviews to complex matters involving extensive data review and forensic analysis, while advising on privilege, confidentiality, governance, litigation and regulatory exposure, remediation, and risk mitigation. If an internal matter develops into a government or regulatory inquiry, our integrated team can transition seamlessly from the internal investigation to defending the client before the DOJ, SEC, and other international enforcement and regulatory authorities, including in parallel investigations or proceedings across jurisdictions.

State Attorneys General and Local Enforcement

As state and local regulatory enforcement activity intensifies across the U.S., Sidley is a trusted adviser to companies across industries facing high-stakes investigations and disputes brought by state attorneys general and enforcement agencies. Sidley’s lawyers possess the experience, credibility, and multidisciplinary thinking needed to handle complex state enforcement matters.

Our team includes several former assistant attorneys general and state prosecutors and officials — we harness this insider’s perspective to defend clients in multistate and multiagency enforcement actions before all 50 state attorneys general. Collaborating across offices and practice areas, our lawyers coordinate and execute strategic approaches to vigorously and creatively represent our clients in state attorneys general investigations, administrative proceedings, and litigation, and, where in our clients’ interests, to reach fair resolutions as effectively and efficiently as possible.

Highly Ranked in Investigations and Enforcement (International and Cross-Border)
Chambers Global 2026: USA

Highly Ranked in Corporate Investigations/Anti-Corruption (International Firms) in China, Hong Kong, and Singapore
Chambers Greater China Region/Asia Pacific 2015–2026


Highly Ranked for Corporate Investigations/Anti-Corruption (International Firms) China, International
Chambers Global 2017–2026


Highly Ranked in Litigation: White-Collar Crime and Government Investigations
Chambers USA 2026: California, District of Columbia, Illinois, Massachusetts, New York, and Texas