Government Investigations

The sheer size of the Recovery Act-and the speed with which it has been constructed-ensures that all programs funded under the Act will be subjected to vigorous oversight by many federal and state investigatory entities, as well as by Congress.  

Congressional Oversight.  Just as the recent TARP legislation has already led to numerous congressional oversight hearings this year, a number of senior congressional leaders have already promised similar oversight for the Recovery Act.  There are multiple Congressional committees and subcommittees that have already announced their intent to focus extensively on Recovery Act funds over the upcoming term.

Federal Inspector General Investigations.  The Recovery Act provides additional funding for the inspectors general of all the federal agencies that will disburse the stimulus funds and establishes a Recovery Accountability and Transparency Board to coordinate and conduct oversight of funds to prevent waste, fraud and abuse. Given the additional funding provided by the Act, the existence of the Recovery Board and the likelihood of congressional oversight of any perceived failures, inspector general offices can be expected to oversee Recovery Act projects with particular diligence.

Government Accountability Office Oversight.  The Government Accountability Office (GAO) is tasked with oversight of Recovery Act funds, as well.  The GAO has already begun to send out teams of investigators to oversee the funds being disbursed by the states. 

State Investigations and Oversight.  Each of the individual states receiving federal Recovery Act funds for disbursement has an investigative and oversight apparatus in place, and can be expected to oversee the use of Recovery Act funds vigorously. 

Akin Gump Strauss Hauer & Feld LLP has developed a unique team and a singular approach to help our clients respond to the challenges they face when confronted with an investigation, whether initiated by Congress, a federal inspector general office, the Recovery Board or a state investigative agency.

Our congressional investigations practice is led by a former general counsel of the House of Representatives and a former senior counsel for oversight and investigations for both the House Committee on Energy and Commerce (where he served as chief counsel) and the Senate's Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations. Our congressional investigations team-networked with Akin Gump lawyers from a powerful combination of practices, including government relations, litigation, white collar criminal defense and others-provides our clients with the qualifications and experience to navigate the congressional investigations process and avoid the legal and political pitfalls with which such proceedings are replete. We have deep and broad experience representing clients from virtually every sector of the economy before a broad range of House and Senate committees. Our team further comprises both Democrats and Republicans who have extensive legislative and executive branch experience.

The inspectors general investigations practice at Akin Gump is comprised of a dedicated team of government enforcement, investigations and compliance lawyers.  The team includes lawyers who have served within federal Offices of Inspector General (OIGs), worked on congressional committees with significant OIG relationships and handled numerous OIG investigations and related matters.  Based on this collective experience, Akin Gump has a thorough understanding of the Inspector General Act of 1978 and the investigative powers and authorities it provides to OIGs; how OIGs conduct investigations and make decisions regarding referral and resolution; and the unique relationship between OIG investigations and Congress.

Our in-depth knowledge of the workings of Congress, OIGs and regulatory and law enforcement agencies allows our lawyers to help clients comply with subpoenas in an appropriate manner, including negotiating their scope to mitigate burden, reaching appropriate resolutions of investigations and implementing measures either to prevent noncompliance or to detect and correct instances of noncompliance.  The legal proceedings involved in congressional investigations are distinct from those in any other forum, and our lawyers are experienced in managing those proceedings to protect our clients' legal interests, both with respect to the congressional proceedings and to those in other judicial and regulatory venues.

Please visit our congressional investigations and inspectors general investigations web pages for more information.

Contacts:
	Email:	Phone:
	Steve Ross	202.887.4343	See More...
	John Sopko	202.887.4048	See More...
	Gary Thompson	202.887.4118	See More...