After more than two decades as an assistant U.S. attorney for the Southern District of Texas, Vernon Lewis has landed at Greenberg Traurig as a shareholder in Houston.
Lewis noted GT’s reputation for client service and commitment to diversity and inclusion as factors that attracted him to the firm.
“GT affords its attorneys creativity in the practice of law with outstanding support from all of the professionals in the firm,” he said.
For the past three years, Lewis served as chief of the fraud section at the U.S. Attorney’s office for the Southern District of Texas, where he supervised 20 federal prosecutors in complex federal fraud crimes, including matters related to coronavirus fraud.
“Representing the people of the United States of America as an assistant U.S. attorney in the Southern District of Texas for 21 years has been the highlight of my career as an attorney,” said Lewis, a graduate of Houston’s Thurgood Marshall School of Law at Texas Southern University. “As an AUSA, I was privileged to work with some of the finest attorneys in the nation.
“Another highlight in my career has been working with federal law enforcement agencies. Federal law enforcement agents are the best in the world at investigating complex financial crimes that can be both domestic and international in scope. They are smart, well-trained, and tireless.”
Lewis said the SDTX was “very active” in prosecuting white-collar crimes last year, despite the pandemic. He supervised Foreign Corrupt Practices Act violations, securities fraud, coronavirus fraud, healthcare fraud, counterfeit drug violations, Paycheck Protection Program loan fraud, tax fraud, embezzlement, cybercrimes, environmental crimes, bank fraud, import fraud, bankruptcy fraud and business email compromise fraud.
Corporate counsel should have strong compliance programs in place and regular conversations with outside counsel about their concerns related to government investigations and white-collar matters, Lewis advises.
“When a government investigation/white-collar matter arises, the earlier counsel can get involved, the more favorable the outcome is likely to be,” he said.