Brian M. Heberlig

Highlights

• Secured a complete defense acquittal for former Autonomy CEO Mike Lynch after an 11-week securities and accounting fraud trial in San Francisco related to HP's $11.7 billion acquisition of Autonomy in 2011. The acquittal on conspiracy and wire fraud charges followed the district court granting a Rule 29 judgment of acquittal on a securities fraud charge after the government's case-in-chief.
• 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 an acquittal for David Rainey, the highest-ranking BP executive charged in connection with the Deepwater Horizon oil spill, on a false statement 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.
• 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.

Select Prior Trials

• Defended former Blackwater security guard Paul Slough on charges relating to a shooting incident in Baghdad, Iraq.
• Defended former WorldCom CEO Bernie Ebbers on securities fraud charges.
• Defended former Tyco General Counsel Mark Belnick on grand larceny and fraud charges in connection with his receipt of corporate loans and bonuses.
• Defended DC real estate developer Douglas Jemal on bribery and tax evasion charges.
• Defended Naval Academy quarterback Lamar Owens at a general court martial.
• Defended DC Metropolitan Police Department homicide detective Erick Brown on obstruction of justice charges.
• Defended Yah Lin "Charlie" Trie on campaign finance charges related to the Clinton DNC fundraising investigation.
• Defended Michigan City Council member Charles Busse on honest services and public corruption charges.

Select Representations of Public Officials

• Represented former US Representative Jesse Jackson Jr. regarding campaign finance violations.
• Defended former US Representative Richard Renzi on federal corruption charges, including in a Ninth Circuit interlocutory appeal based on the Speech or Debate Clause.
• Represented former DC Councilmember Michael Brown in a bribery case.
• Lead counsel for a Department of Justice trial attorney in an investigation relating to the prosecution of former Senator Ted Stevens.
• Defended Former US House of Representatives Transportation Committee Chairman Bud Shuster in House Ethics Committee investigation related to lobbying activity.
• Defended former US Representative Peter Visclosky in a House Ethics Committee investigation related to alleged earmarks and lobbying activity.
• Defended the Republic of Kazakhstan in an FCPA investigation.

Select Representations of Corporations and Executives

• Represented Control Components Inc. in a criminal FCPA matter.
• Represented global telecommunications and media conglomerate in a revolving door investigation.
• Represented former Audit Committee Chairman of Chiquita Brands International in an investigation related to providing material support to a terrorist organization in Colombia.
• Represented former Firestone CEO Masatoshi Ono in private securities litigation related to tire controversy.
• Represented executives of a medical device company in an off-label promotion investigation.
• Represented executives of auto parts manufacturers, generic pharmaceutical company, government contractors, and Archer Daniels Midland in cartel investigations.
• Represented a corporate executive in the FCPA "shot show" prosecution.

• "Lessons From High-Profile Acquittal of Former Autonomy CEO," PACDL 2024 White Collar Practice Seminar, November 14, 2024
• "Brian Heberlig's Path to Success in the Dr. Michael Lynch Trial," Athena Rising Podcast, August 6, 2024
• "Brian Heberlig for Ali Sadr," For the Defense Podcast with David Oscar Markus, March 1, 2022

• "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

• "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

• "Significant Legal Developments in the Northeast Region," ABA's 32nd Annual National Institute on White-Collar Crime, San Diego, CA, February 28, 2018

• "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

• Steering Committee member, Forum on Corporate Enforcement, New Orleans, LA, May 24, 2017

• "Landmark White-Collar Crime Trials: Individual Prosecutions in Wake of Major Disasters," American Bar Association, September 26, 2016

• "The (Over) Criminalization of Big Accidents," Forum on Corporate Enforcement, May 25, 2016

• "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

• "Scholars & Scoundrels: Media Access to Evidence in the Digital Age," Council for Court Excellence, January 29, 2015

• The Am Law Litigation Daily's "Litigators of the Week" for securing a complete defense acquittal in United States v. Mike Lynch, 2024
• Chambers USA, Litigation: White-Collar Crime & Government Investigations, DC (2012-2024)
• Law360, "MVP," White-Collar (2020, 2024)
• Super Lawyers, Criminal Defense: White-Collar, Washington, DC (2010-2024)
• Super Lawyers, "Top 100 Lawyer," Washington, DC (2014-2015, 2022-2024)
• Best Lawyers in America®, Criminal Defense: White Collar, Washington, DC (2014-2024)
• Best Lawyers in America®, Bet-the-Company Litigation, Washington, DC (2019-2024)
• Who's Who Legal, Business Crime Defence – USA (2023)
• Washingtonian magazine, Top DC Lawyers, Criminal Defense White-Collar (2022, 2024)
• Washingtonian magazine, "Best Lawyers" for White-Collar Criminal Defense (2009-2018, 2020, 2022)
• Washingtonian magazine, "Top Lawyers Hall of Fame" (2022)
• National Law Journal, "Trailblazer in Criminal Law" (2020)
• Legal 500 US, Dispute Resolution: Corporate Investigations and White-Collar Criminal Defense (2012-2017, 2019)
• The Am Law Litigation Daily's "Litigators of the Week" for securing rare Rule 29 judgment in United States v. Richard Ireland (2017)
• The Am Law Litigation Daily's "Litigators of the Week" for securing a complete defense acquittal in United States v. Rainey, 2015

• Fellow, American College of Trial Lawyers
• Chair, American College of Trial Lawyers, DC Committee (2020-2022)
• Chair, American College of Trial Lawyers, Federal Criminal Procedure Committee (2022-2024)
• 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)