Derek A. Hahn

Crowell & Moring LLP partner Derek A. Hahn is a white collar and regulatory enforcement specialist who focuses on Foreign Corrupt Practices Act and securities fraud and financial investigations. He says he measures his success by what people don't know about his matters--or his clients.

His job often involves getting to the scene of potential trouble to find out what's going on, an aspect of his practice he relishes.

"I'm a big fan of international travel in my space," he said. "In my job, the travel is a huge plus."

Hahn has counseled clients in multiple industries on global anti-corruption issues across six continents. The issues have ranged from internal investigations to the self-reporting of events to the Department of Justice and the Securities and Exchange Commission to the development and implementation of related remedial measures.

He represents a U.S. technology company in conducting enhanced due diligence on one of its business affiliates in Southeast Asia. The matter involves on-site interviews and sight surveys, coordination of third party background reports and the development of related remedial recommendations.

That assignment is an offshoot of earlier work.

"Companies often perform due diligence checks on business partners," he said. "When it is time to refresh those checks, they come back to us."

The same client consulted Hahn five years ago to conduct checks on two other business affiliates in China and Egypt.

"In the Egypt case it was the time of the Arab Spring, and I did travel there and to China," Hahn said.

In the current matter he sent a senior associate to Singapore.

"The diligence side of what we do is designed to proactively prevent corruption and mitigate risks--not just respond to transgressions as they arise," Hahn said.

Another matter took Hahn to India.

"The idea again was to do the diligence checks early to reduce the client's risk of violations," he said. "It's nice to have clients like that who act prior to the issuance of subpoenas. There's a cooperative atmosphere to work in when you arrive."

Not all Hahn's investigations involve cordial and welcoming targets.

For a frequent client Hahn advised on an internal investigation and a whistleblower allegation involving potential corruption issues in Argentina. He helped guide the company through its decision to self-report to the DOJ and SEC while responding to the whistleblower's allegations.

"The other side of the ledger comes when there has been an accusation," he said. "Then there's a less cooperative atmosphere. Maybe the local government has brought allegations to the client's attention. A significant component of my practice is time-consuming and expensive FCPA probes. There's a heightened degree of complication when you conduct interviews."

One India trip was an example of Hahn's ability on occasion to mix business with this off-duty attraction to surfing. He's a member of the Association of Surfing Lawyers.

"I didn't take my board to India but I did get a chance to go to a small beach town outside Mumbai. There were no boards available. The best I could find was a jet ski. That's a different kind of fun."

-- John Roemer