DOJ Criminal Division Official Rejoins Covington

WASHINGTON, DC, May 30, 2013 — Daniel Suleiman, deputy chief of staff to the Assistant Attorney General overseeing the Justice Department’s criminal division, is returning to Covington & Burling effective July 1.

Mr. Suleiman joins the firm’s Washington office as special counsel where he is expected to focus on defending individuals and corporations facing white collar criminal charges, Foreign Corrupt Practices Act investigations and congressional inquiries. Prior to joining the Justice Department, Mr. Suleiman worked at Covington.

Mr. Suleiman worked closely with former Assistant Attorney General Lanny Breuer, now vice chair of the firm, during his 3-year tenure at the department. In addition to serving as his deputy chief of staff, Mr. Suleiman served as counsel and subsequently as senior counsel to the Assistant Attorney General.

“Dan is an extremely talented lawyer, a consensus builder, with a whip-smart command of white collar strategies,” Mr. Breuer said. “We are proud that Dan is returning to Covington after devoting three years to public service.”

In his Justice Department role, Mr. Suleiman helped oversee about 600 lawyers and 1,000 employees, and managed an annual budget of approximately $600 million. He provided advice on a wide range of federal law enforcement priorities, with particular focus on Foreign Corrupt Practices Act and financial fraud enforcement. He also worked closely with section leaders within the division and with committees on Capitol Hill, regularly briefing lawmakers on department initiatives in the areas of financial fraud enforcement, Medicare fraud enforcement, and other criminal law policy and prosecution issues.

As a member of the department’s Financial Fraud Enforcement Task Force, Mr. Suleiman co-led a criminal investigation of a major financial institution arising out of a congressional report on the Wall Street financial crisis. He also successfully urged the affirmance of a criminal conviction in the D.C. Court of Appeals.    

“It has been a tremendous privilege to work in the Justice Department’s criminal division, serving alongside the brilliant lawyers and other professionals in the division who are dedicated to keeping America safe,” Mr. Suleiman said. “I will miss the Justice Department, but I am honored to return to Covington and look forward to working again with Lanny and all of the firm’s superb lawyers.”

Before entering private practice, Mr. Suleiman clerked for Judge Diana Gribbon Motz of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit. Mr. Suleiman earned his law degree from Columbia Law School, where he served as an articles editor of the Law Review, was a two-time James Kent Scholar, and won the Class of 1912 Prize for excellence in the study of contracts. He earned his undergraduate degree from Harvard, where he served as co-editorial chair of the Harvard Crimson and won the 22nd Rolling Stone College Journalism Competition for Essays and Criticism.

Covington & Burling LLP, an international law firm, provides corporate, litigation, and regulatory expertise to enable clients to achieve their goals.  Founded in 1919, the firm has more than 800 lawyers and offices in Beijing, Brussels, London, New York, San Diego, San Francisco, Seoul, Shanghai, Silicon Valley, and Washington, DC.