Name: Geoffrey R. Garinther
Item: Geoffrey R. Garinther
Author: grgarinther

Bio

Geoffrey R. Garinther, Partner & Chair of Litigation Division

AREAS OF PRACTICE
Litigation
Healthcare and Pharmaceutical Enforcement
Corporate Governance and Investigations
Foreign Corrupt Practices Act and Anti-Corruption
Investigations and White Collar Defense
Antitrust Investigations
Internal Investigations
International
Government Experience
Assistant United States Attorney, U.S. Attorney's Office for the District of Maryland

BAR ADMISSIONS
District of Columbia
Maryland

EDUCATION
J.D., University of Pennsylvania Law School, 1984
B.A., magna cum laude, Washington College, 1981

JUDICIAL CLERKSHIPS
Honorable Marvin H. Smith, Maryland Court of Appeals, 1984 - 1985

MEMBERSHIPS
American Bar Association
Federal Bar Association
Maryland Bar Association
Fourth Circuit Judicial Conference

Geoff Garinther is a former federal prosecutor with 30 years of trial experience whose practice focuses on defending corporations and individuals accused of white collar crime – particularly where there are allegations of political corruption or healthcare fraud – and on conducting independent investigations for the boards of public companies. He is also the chair of Venable's Litigation Division and a member of the firm's Management Committee.

Mr. Garinther has tried nearly 50 cases to verdict in his career, both as a former Assistant United States Attorney in Maryland and in private practice. He uses this experience first and foremost to help his clients avoid prosecution whenever possible. Mr. Garinther is also well known for his corporate governance experience, which includes internal investigations for corporate directors and Zapata investigations for independent directors dealing with shareholder litigation.

SIGNIFICANT MATTERS

Mr. Garinther recently successfully defended a prominent DC law firm against an effort to obtain discovery from four of its lawyers who had conducted an internal investigation for a multi-national pharmaceutical company.

Since 2009, Mr. Garinther has been pursuing shareholder litigation against three former officers of Tampa-based WellCare Health Plans, Inc., following a Zapata investigation into the claims on behalf of an independent director of WellCare.

As reported in the "Big Suits" section of the March 2012 American Lawyer, Mr. Garinther and his partner Warren Hamel led a Venable team in a five-year investigation and negotiation of criminal and civil claims against an India-based generic drug manufacturer, Ranbaxy, that resulted in a settlement allowing the company to exercise its first-to-file right to market Atorvastatin (generic Lipitor) in the United States.

Over the past three years, Mr. Garinther has successfully defended executives – two based in Asia and one in the U.S. – in three different DOJ Antitrust Division investigations.

HONORS

Recipient, Maryland Chapter of the Federal Bar Association Peter A. DiRito Award, 2017

Listed in The Best Lawyers in America for Criminal Defense - White-Collar (Woodward/White, Inc.), 2013 - 2018

Selected for inclusion in Benchmark Litigation "Local Litigation Stars" for both DC and Maryland, 2012 and 2013

Selected for inclusion in Washington DC Super Lawyers, 2017

Selected for inclusion in Maryland Super Lawyers, 2008 - 2017

2004 recipient, U.S. District Court for the District of Maryland's pro bono award.

Voted by readers of The Daily Record in 2002 as one of ten Maryland lawyers "you’d want for your defense."

AV^{^®} Peer-Review Rated by Martindale-Hubbell

Selected for inclusion in Benchmark Litigation's national rankings, White Collar Crime

ACTIVITIES

Mr. Garinther is a member of the Criminal Justice Act panel for the U.S. District Court for the District of Maryland, through which he represents indigent criminal defendants. He also chairs the joint state and federal bar associations' liaison committee to that court, as well as court committees dealing with magistrate-judge selection and attorneys’ fee guidelines. He is a permanent member of the Fourth Circuit Judicial Conference. He occasionally appears as a television analyst on criminal matters, has written extensively on corporate governance and homeland security issues, and has lectured, as a defense lawyer, at the DOJ’s National Advocacy Center.

PUBLICATIONS

May 2, 2017, The UK Criminal Finances Act: Freezing Suspiciously Obtained Property to Fight Global Corruption, FCPA and Anti-Corruption News E-lert
April 24, 2017, Full Steam Ahead: Prepare for Enforcement of the FCPA, FCPA and Anti-Corruption News E-lert
March 23, 2017, FDA Delays Effective Date of "Intended Use" Final Rule, Investigation and White Collar Defense
December 12, 2016, Yates Memo and Compliance Audits, FCPA and Anti-Corruption News E-lert
September 10, 2015, Caveat CEO: Let the Corporate Officer Beware, Client Alerts
August 17, 2015, Report and Return: Diligence Is Key, Healthcare Alert
August 7, 2015, First Amendment Protects Certain Truthful, Non-Misleading Statements about Off-Label Drug Uses, Client Alerts
July - September 2015, Filing Qui Tam Actions and False Claims Litigation, Corporate Disputes
February 2013, Southern District of New York Ruling May Present Challenges for FCPA Defendants, SEC Update
March 2012, FCPA Snapshot 2011, FCPA and Anti-Corruption News E-lert
March 28, 2012, Failure to Make Pre-Suit Demand for Litigation in an Executive Compensation Case Leads to Dismissal of Shareholder Derivative Action against Maryland Corporation

SPEAKING ENGAGEMENTS

September 2017, Commentator on "Convicted" Podcast
September 14, 2017, "Internal Investigations and Compliance" at Legends of the Boardroom
February 12, 2014, "Plea Bargaining in Federal Criminal Cases" at the Criminal Federal Practice Seminar at the National Advocacy Center (NAC)
April 4, 2012, “Negotiating Plea Bargains with Defense Counsel,” Criminal Federal Practice Seminar, National Advocacy Center

Geoffrey R. Garinther

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