Chuck Connolly Quoted in Am Law, Law360 on Litigation and Government Enforcement Priorities in Biden Admin.

Chuck Connolly, co-head of the white collar defense and government investigations practice at Akin Gump, has been quoted in The Am Law Litigation Daily article “With a Change in Administration Amid Economic Turmoil, Defense Lawyers See a Busy Future.” The article looks at how the incoming Biden administration could affect litigation and government enforcement priorities.

Connolly said he expects a shift away from the immigration and drug prosecutions that were seen during President Trump’s term in office, with a move toward more corporate fraud, civil rights and environmental matters.

“Notably, very early in the Obama/Biden administration, the DOJ created the Financial Fraud Enforcement Task Force, which helped lead to unprecedented enforcement against financial institutions,” Connolly said. “Given the financial difficulties caused by COVID and the large volume of money that the government has pumped into the private sector, we anticipate a similar focus on corporations, financial institutions and other private sector actors who received or benefited from COVID-related assistance.” 

Connolly, who served as head of the Financial Crimes & Public Corruption unit in the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Virginia during the earlier economic crisis, said history shows that periods of economic turmoil lead to increases in accounting fraud, insider trading schemes and problems with corporate disclosure—ripe targets for the new administration.

Connolly shared these same sentiments with Law360 for the article “In Their Words: What Attys Expect If Garland Becomes AG,” which looked at the selection of Judge Merrick Garland as Attorney General.