Brown Rudnick has added the head of Cadwalader Wickersham & Taft’s crisis management and government investigations group in Washington DC.  

Mark Grider has joined the US firm’s white collar defence, investigations and compliance practice as partner and as the first head of its crisis management litigation response team after just a year at Cadwalder. A veteran white collar lawyer, he previously worked for more than 20 years in the US government, including as a senior advisor in the White House and as a deputy assistant attorney general in the Department of Justice (DOJ).

Head of Brown Rudnick’s white collar practice Steve Best commented that Grider’s hire “comes in response to client demand and the increasing number of investigations in traditionally regulated industries as well as disruptive technology companies.” Although Brown Rudnick’s investigations practice is not ranked in Chambers, Best has been individually highlighted for his white collar experience for more than 10 years. Best also said that Grider’s “strong relationships with key players in Washington will be critically important to our clients.”

In 2021, white collar prosecutions increased about 12% over the first year of President Joe Biden’s administration, according to the Transactional Records Access Clearinghouse at Syracuse University, which has tracked the US justice system records since 1989. The Biden White House is expected to continue to take a broader view of corporate enforcement, which is good news for white collar defence practice. 

As head of Brown Rudnick’s crisis management litigation response team, Grider will counsel companies and individuals as well as help them manage and avert crises. Grider said that in the role he would “bring a business mindset to the law and will help private equity firms capitalise on strategic growth opportunities – such as helping GCs go from being a cost centre to a profit centre – with reliable forecasts and sound advice. I will also focus on mentoring and growing the pipeline.”

While at the Department of Justice, he oversaw criminal matters relating to antitrust, civil, tax and environmental and natural resources divisions, as well as the consumer protection branch.

When asked about his move to Brown Rudnick from Cadwalader, Grider commented, “My decision to leave Cadwalader isn’t a reflection on that firm, its lawyers or staff.  I had a wonderful experience there and I wish my former colleagues the very best and hope to collaborate with them in the future. I decided to join Brown Rudnick because I was drawn to its unique platform and capabilities. The firm’s litigation and white collar teams have an outstanding reputation and I could not pass on the opportunity to join them.”

The firm said Grider will also focus internally on diversity, equity and inclusion efforts, noting that it has achieved Mansfield certification two years in a row. The Mansfield Rule program promotes diversity in law firm hiring, promotions, marketing and firm governance.

Earlier this year, Brown Rudnick brought on London-based lateral partner Jeffrey Cottle into its white collar practice. Cottle, who was previously a partner at Norton Rose and Steptoe & Johnson, works with clients in both London and Washington DC. 

Brown Rudnick is one of a number of US firms to have added lawyers with senior government experience in Washington DC recently, as their clients face heightened scrutiny related to business practices and behaviour in the wake of the Covid-19 pandemic.    

Last May Arnold & Porter hired the former chief of the US Securities and Exchange Commission’s whistleblowing unit, Jane Norberg, to strengthen its securities enforcement and litigation practice, while Winston & Strawn expanded its environmental litigation team with the arrival of former DOJ lawyer Jonathan Brightbill.

In March Latham & Watkins hired the former director of the US Federal Trade Commission’s Bureau of Competition Ian Conner as a partner in the firm’s litigation and trial department. 

And in February, Morrison & Foerster added a former lead prosecutor in the Robert Mueller investigation to co-chair its national security and global risk and crisis management groups.