The following is an excerpt from Practice Perspectives: Vault's Guide to Legal Practice Areas.
Peter B. Axelrod focuses on white collar criminal defense and internal investigations with an emphasis on cross-border matters. Peter regularly counsels multinational corporations on matters involving the Foreign Corrupt Practice Act (FCPA).
Prior to joining Paul Hastings, Peter gained extensive experience at the DOJ as a prosecutor and government liaison running and coordinating complex, high-profile, and international investigations. In his last DOJ position, Peter served in Paris as the DOJ Attaché to France and Monaco, where he handled bilateral criminal justice matters with a focus on national security, the FCPA, sanctions violations, and cybercrime and complex frauds. As the Attaché, Peter worked extensively with the French Ministry of Justice and the National Financial Prosecutor (the Parquet National Financier) and investigated judges and prosecutors throughout France. In that role, Peter handled all requests involving France and the United States for extradition and obtained evidence in criminal matters.
Previously, as an assistant U.S. attorney, Peter prosecuted a range of cases, including national security matters, economic espionage, theft of trade secrets, securities fraud, tax evasion, money laundering, human trafficking, and perjury.
Describe your practice area and what it entails.
My practice focuses on government and internal investigations in the United States and internationally with emphasis on corruption, such as the FCPA and related antibribery laws around the globe. Often, my clients are confronting allegations implicating multiple jurisdictions and interests by the enforcement authorities in each jurisdiction. This work involves a combination of investigation, engagement with enforcement authorities (in the United States and abroad), and assessment of the client’s compliance program and the development and implementation of remedial measures to mitigate any misconduct.
What types of clients do you represent?
My clients are typically multinational companies and conglomerates that operate in countries all over the world.
What types of cases/deals do you work on?
A typical case may involve allegations of corruption—perhaps by a client’s employee, business partner, or other third party. My clients can face a range of different scenarios: They may need support to (i) conduct an internal investigation; (ii) respond to enforcement authorities in conjunction with a government investigation or compliance with reporting obligations under a settlement agreement; and/or (iii) evaluate and mitigate risk related to the acquisition of a company with operations in countries with high potential corruption risks, for example, or to better understand risks involving their own activities to strengthen their compliance program.
How did you choose this practice area?
Throughout my career, I have worked on cross-border investigations and found the exposure to different legal systems endlessly fascinating. As an assistant U.S. attorney, I consistently worked on cases with international dimensions, such as the prosecution of the former prime minister of Ukraine and economic espionage involving state actors, and in my role as a DOJ attaché in Paris, I was actively and directly involved in developing the relationship and coordination between the Fraud Section of the DOJ and its French counterparts, which led to the first coordinated FCPA resolutions between these authorities. My work in private practice at Paul Hastings has followed a natural progression: My experience in coordinating investigations amongst sovereign enforcement authorities provides a useful perspective for clients with matters in the scope of those kinds of investigations.
What is a “typical” day like and/or what are some common tasks you perform?
A typical day involves a range of activities:
- a client call to address the latest developments in a matter, be it a request from an enforcement authority or engagement with a business partner within the scope of the investigation;
- internal team meetings to develop and implement strategies in response to developments;
- conferences with enforcement authorities to address their requests;
- preparation for/or an interview as part of an internal investigation; and
- reports to senior client leadership or board on a
What training, classes, experience, or skills development would you recommend to someone who wishes to enter your practice area?
As much exposure to and participation in the criminal justice system as possible. For a law student, that might mean participating in a clinic, externing for a judge, or working in a public defender’s or prosecutor’s office. For a junior associate, that may mean representing clients in pro bono matters or volunteering for matters involving investigations. The opportunity to conduct fact-finding through interviews and document review and to make adjustments based on what you learn is a cornerstone of this practice. You will likely never learn everything you want to know, but developing the skills to go as far as you can is critical for providing clients with the best possible advice.
What is the most challenging aspect of practicing in this area?
The most challenging aspect is working in multiple legal systems to achieve the best possible result for a client. Even if, broadly speaking, the systems have the same objectives, the rules, procedures, and methods for achieving them vary and may do so to a considerable extent. For example, legal privilege in one country may cover communications with in-house counsel but not in another, and certain countries may have a practice or explicit policy of providing certain benefits for voluntary self-disclosure, while others do not. Therefore, continuous effort is required to ensure that any investigation and/or engagement with relevant authorities factors in these differences and that actions are calibrated to maximize the client’s objectives.
What do you like best about your practice area?
These are often high-stakes matters with significant implications for the client, so they get attention at the client’s most-senior levels. As external counsel, this means an opportunity to help a client address and solve a major problem that could adversely impact their core business activities in material ways. Moreover, there may be lessons learned that result in enhancements to the client’s compliance program and way of doing business that leave them much better off than where you found them and that set up their business for enhanced performance.
What are some typical tasks that a junior lawyer would perform in this practice area?
A junior lawyer would typically perform a range of tasks including: (i) document review; (ii) drafting outlines for investigative interviews; (iii) taking notes in interviews, client meetings, and meetings with enforcement authorities; (iv) legal research; and (v) drafting memos.
How important is prior criminal law experience (e.g., working for the prosecutor’s office or district attorney) in paving a successful career in white collar defense?
Prior criminal law experience—be it as a public defender or prosecutor—is invaluable because it provides an understanding of how authorities, courts, and juries make decisions. It is reassuring to clients to know that external counsel have deep experience in handling the kinds of matters that they are facing and, having been in the shoes of a prosecutor, for example, know how authorities, courts, and juries think and evaluate issues. That said, experience may be gained from working at a law firm on the same kinds of matters. There are clearly benefits to understanding client experiences—business pressures, conduct, and challenges—and making sure they are properly framed for the enforcement authorities.