Overview
Brian Heberlig is a first-chair white-collar criminal defense lawyer with more than 20 years of jury trial experience in complex, high-profile criminal cases nationwide. Brian is a Fellow of the American College of Trial Lawyers and a two-time winner of The American Lawyer Litigator of the Week. Ranked Band 1 in Chambers USA, he has been described as a "revered member of the DC trial bar" who is "extremely detail-oriented, strategic and very skilled" in the courtroom. Brian's success in a trial involving a rare Rule 29 acquittal earned praise from the presiding federal judge, who described his advocacy as "crisp, cogent, thoughtful," and "some of the best trial work we have ever had the privilege to see in this or any courtroom."
Brian handles matters involving allegations of public corruption, securities and accounting fraud, export controls and sanctions violations, Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA) violations, theft of intellectual property, antitrust conspiracies, healthcare fraud, money laundering, environmental offenses, and other business crimes.
Brian leads internal investigations on behalf of clients to examine allegations of fraud and misconduct and handles Securities and Exchange Commission enforcement proceedings, complex commercial litigation, and congressional investigations.
Brian is co-head of Steptoe's Investigations and White-Collar Defense group.
- District of Columbia
- Maryland
- Supreme Court of the United States
- US District Court, District of Columbia
- US District Court, Eastern District of Michigan
- US Court of Appeals, Second Circuit
- US Court of Appeals, Fifth Circuit
- US Court of Appeals, Sixth Circuit
- US Court of Appeals, Ninth Circuit
- US Court of Appeals, Tenth Circuit
- US Court of Appeals, District of Columbia
- J.D., Georgetown University Law Center, 1996, summa cum laude, Francis E. Lucey S.J. Award (highest grade point average in graduating class)
- B.A., Dartmouth College, 1993
Areas of Work
Representative Matters
- Obtained a rare post-trial dismissal with prejudice for businessman Ali Sadr, in a criminal Iran sanctions case tried in the Southern District of New York, after uncovering evidence that prosecutors withheld exculpatory evidence and made misrepresentations to the Court.
- Secured a mid-trial Rule 29 acquittal for a businessman accused of bribing a former Pennsylvania Treasurer with campaign contributions, in a 79-count honest services bribery and money laundering case tried in federal court in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania.
- Secured an acquittal for David Rainey, the highest ranking BP executive charged in connection with the Deepwater Horizon oil spill, on a false statements charge tried in New Orleans, Louisiana. The acquittal followed the district court's dismissal, on the first day of trial, of a related obstruction of Congress charge, after successful pre-trial litigation established that selective invocation of the Speech or Debate Clause privilege by congressional witnesses interfered with Rainey's right to present a defense.
Served as trial counsel to numerous other high-profile clients, including the defense of:
- Former Blackwater security guard Paul Slough on charges relating to a shooting incident in Nisur Square in Baghdad, Iraq
- Former WorldCom CEO Bernie Ebbers on securities fraud charges
- DC real estate developer Douglas Jemal on bribery and tax evasion charges
- Naval Academy quarterback Lamar Owens at a general court martial
- DC Metropolitan Police Department homicide detective Erick Brown on obstruction of justice charges
- Yah Lin "Charlie" Trie on campaign finance charges related to the Clinton DNC fundraising investigation
Defended numerous government officials, including:
- Former Congressman Jesse Jackson Jr.
- Former Congressman Richard Renzi
- Former DC Councilmember Michael Brown
- Department of Justice (DOJ) trial attorney in investigation relating to prosecution of former Senator Ted Stevens
- Former US House of Representatives Transportation Committee Chairman in House Ethics Committee investigation
- The Republic of Kazakhstan in an FCPA investigation
- Michigan City Councilmember
Defended numerous corporations and corporate executives, including:
- Control Components Inc. in a criminal FCPA matter
- Audit Committee Chairman of Chiquita Brands International
- Former General Counsel of Tyco
- Former CEO of Firestone
- Executives of medical device company in off-label promotion investigation
- Executives of auto parts manufacturers, generic pharmaceutical company, and Archer Daniels Midland in cartel investigations
- Corporate executive in the FCPA "shot show" investigation
Speaking Engagements
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"Lessons learned from United States v. Ali Sadr, 18-cr-244-AJN (SDNY): Serious Brady Violations Lead to a Post-Conviction Dismissal with Prejudice and Ongoing Proceedings," New York State Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers, November 12, 2020
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"The New Normal in Government Investigations? Lessons Learned from United States v. Volkswagen and Other Recent Enforcement Actions," Forum on Corporate Enforcement, Boulder, CO, May 24, 2018
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"Significant Legal Developments in the Northeast Region," ABA's 32nd Annual National Institute on White-Collar Crime, San Diego, CA, February 28, 2018
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"Successful Defenses in Countering the Government's Overreaching in the Public Corruption Context," Pennsylvania Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers' 2017 White-Collar Practice Seminar, November 2, 2017
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Steering Committee member, Forum on Corporate Enforcement, New Orleans, LA, May 24, 2017
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"Landmark White-Collar Crime Trials: Individual Prosecutions in Wake of Major Disasters," American Bar Association, September 26, 2016
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"The (Over) Criminalization of Big Accidents," Forum on Corporate Enforcement, May 25, 2016
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"Getting the Ear of Your Audit Committee and Board: Corporate Governance Considerations Affecting Your FCPA and SEC Compliance Status and Exposure," ACI's 18th Annual New York Conference on the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act, May 16, 2016
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"Scholars & Scoundrels: Media Access to Evidence in the Digital Age," Council for Court Excellence, January 29, 2015
News & Publications
Press Releases
Steptoe Receives 25 Practice, 72 Individual Mentions in Chambers USA 2023
June 1, 2023
Press Releases
Steptoe Secures Win for Clients in Case Against Former Trump Advisor
September 2, 2022
Publications
The Trouble with Gov't Interview Notes in Criminal Defense
Law360
August 17, 2022
By: Brian M. Heberlig, Bruce C. Bishop, Nicholas P. Silverman
Press Releases
Steptoe Receives 27 Practice, 72 Individual Mentions in Chambers USA 2022
June 3, 2022
Media Mentions
May 18, 2022
Press Releases
Steptoe Partner Brian Heberlig Discusses the Ali Sadr Case on “For the Defense” Podcast
March 1, 2022
Publications
FISC Features a Case Study by Steptoe Lawyers Exploring the Prosecution of Ali Sadr Hashemi Nejad
FISC
December 2021 – January 2022
By: Edward J. Krauland, Brian M. Heberlig, Nicholas P. Silverman, Bruce C. Bishop
Press Releases
Steptoe Receives 24 Practice, 71 Individual Mentions in Chambers USA 2021
May 20, 2021
Events
Webinars
US Economic Sanctions and the Ali Sadr Case
January 28, 2021
Speakers: Brian M. Heberlig, Wendy Wysong
Noteworthy
- Law360, "MVP," White-Collar (2020)
- National Law Journal, "Trailblazer in Criminal Law" (2020)
- The Am Law Litigation Daily's "Litigators of the Week" for securing rare Rule 29 judgment in United States v. Richard Ireland (2017)
- Chambers USA, Litigation: White-Collar Crime & Government Investigations, DC (2012-2023)
- Legal 500 US, Dispute Resolution: Corporate Investigations and White-Collar Criminal Defense (2012-2017, 2019)
- Super Lawyers, Washington, DC, Criminal Defense: White-Collar (2010-2023)
- Washingtonian magazine, "Best Lawyers" for White-Collar Criminal Defense (2009-2018, 2020, 2022)
- Washingtonianmagazine, "Top Lawyers Hall of Fame” (2022)
- Best Lawyers in America, White-Collar Criminal Defense (2014-2022)
- Best Lawyers in America, Bet-the-Company Litigation (2019-2022)
- The Am Law Litigation Daily's "Litigators of the Week" for securing a complete defense acquittal in United States v. Rainey, 2015
- Super Lawyers, Washington, DC, "Top 100 Lawyer" (2014-2015, 2023)
Professional Affiliations
- Fellow, American College of Trial Lawyers
- Co-Chair, DC Regional Subcommittee, American Bar Association's White-Collar Criminal Committee (2013-2018)
- Co-Chair, American Bar Association's White-Collar Crime Subcommittee on Public Corruption and Extortion (2008-2012)