Erik L. Kitchen

Partner

• ekitchen@steptoe.com
• vCard
• Washington Office

Erik Kitchen is a partner in the Washington office of Steptoe & Johnson LLP, where he is a member of the Litigation and Business Solutions Departments. He has a broad range of experience defending clients in government investigations and proceedings, and conducting internal investigations on behalf of clients.  He also counsels clients with respect to compliance issues, with a focus on compliance with the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act.

White-Collar Criminal Defense
Mr. Kitchen has extensive experience representing senior corporate management, senior public officials, and other individuals and entities in government investigations and proceedings in a variety of contexts, including SEC and NASD enforcement proceedings and DOJ and US Attorney’s Office investigations and prosecutions.  In recent years, Mr. Kitchen has represented clients in proceedings involving alleged corporate accounting and securities fraud, alleged violations of SEC and NASD rules governing the investment banking and mutual fund industries, and alleged bribery of government officials.

Internal Investigations
Mr. Kitchen has conducted internal investigations for corporations on a wide range of issues, including alleged violations of the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act, alleged corporate fraud, compliance with contract obligations, and other alleged improper conduct by corporate officers.

Foreign Corrupt Practices Act
Mr. Kitchen assists clients in developing and implementing Foreign Corrupt Practices Act compliance programs, and counsels clients on the applicability of the FCPA to proposed corporate transactions and business relationships.  Mr. Kitchen also conducts internal corporate investigations regarding FCPA issues, and represents clients in government investigations of alleged FCPA violations.  Mr. Kitchen has counseled clients on FCPA issues arising in a variety of industries and with respect to operations in Europe, Asia, the Middle East, Africa, and Latin America.

Noteworthy

• Worked in the Office of Legal Policy at the US Department of Justice (1983-84)  

Select News & Events

• Law360 Features Steptoe Victory in 'How They Won It'
• Steptoe Secures Acquittal for Former GSK Associate General Counsel
• Steptoe FCPA Alert Published by Competition Law360
• Lucinda Low Co-Chairs, Moderates, Speaks; Erik Kitchen Moderates Panel at PLI FCPA: Coping with Heightened Enforcement Risks, February 21, 2007
• White-Collar Team Wins Acquittal for AOL Client
• Erik Kitchen Speaks on Panel on FCPA Internal Investigations, September 19, 2006

Selected Publications

• FCPA Year in Review 2010
  March 15, 2011
• International Law Advisory - Flurry of FCPA Cases Closes Out 2009; Enforcement Continues Apace in Early 2010
  March 16, 2010
• Private Investor Frederic Bourke Sentenced to Prison and $1 Million Fine
  November 16, 2009, International Law Advisory
• International Law Advisory - UK Company to Pay £6.6 Million in Foreign Bribery Conviction
  September 30, 2009
• International Law Advisory - SEC Adopts Several Expansive Applications of the Federal Securities Laws in the Recent FCPA Enforcement Action Against Nature’s Sunshine and Two Senior Executives
  September 8, 2009
• International Law Advisory - Private Investor Convicted for Involvement in Scheme to Bribe Officials in the Republic of Azerbaijan
  July 22, 2009
• International Law Advisory - Halliburton and KBR Agree to Near-Record Penalties; Additional Indictment Unsealed as US Seeks Extradition of UK Agents
  March 19, 2009
• International Law Advisory - 2008 Year End FCPA Round-Up—The Shoes Just Keep Dropping
  January 27, 2009

More Publications »