Debevoise & Plimpton announced today that it has launched a new International Corporate Investigations and Defense practice. The Am Law Daily reports that Debevoise’s goal is to “formalize the firm’s existing network of specialists, including 12 former district attorneys, the former attorneys general of the U.S. and Britain, and other white collar lawyers on the ground in Paris and Frankfurt.”
Lord Goldsmith QC, the London-based head of Debevoise’s European litigation group, and Bruce Yannett, a New York partner who specializes in white collar work and internal investigations, told The Am Law Daily that the firm is seeing a growing trend of increased cooperation between national regulators in bringing investigations against corporations and executives. Yannett also noted that tougher enforcement regimes, increased pressure to hold companies accountable, and pressure on company executives’ performance in the downturn are forcing changes in the white-collar landscape.
