Eversheds Sutherland Launches Congressional Investigations Practice, Co-Led by Partners with Deep Experience on Capitol Hill

Led by Partners Michael Bahar and Neal Higgins, the firm’s team will help clients navigate all aspects of responding to requests from Congress, including fielding an initial inquiry, conducting an internal investigation, preparing for staff interviews and public hearings, managing the public response, and coordinating across other legal and regulatory proceedings.

Congressional investigations target organizations and companies across all sectors, based both in the US and abroad. Successfully managing a congressional investigation—even defining what constitutes success—requires a unique understanding of the relevant players, process, stakes and strategy. Tactics that prove effective in litigation or discussions with regulators often fall flat on Capitol Hill, and strategies unavailable in a litigation context may win the day in a congressional investigation.

“I am excited to announce the official formation of our Congressional Investigations practice,” said Mark D. Wasserman, Co-CEO of Eversheds Sutherland. “While we have long been assisting clients with regulatory matters around the globe, this dedicated practice underscores our commitment to this work. Our clients face intricate legal challenges, particularly in navigating heightened scrutiny from Congress and other global regulators. Our Congressional Investigations team will work closely with clients to address these challenges, help protect their customers and safeguard their sensitive business information.”

The Eversheds Sutherland team has deep and unique experience conducting and responding to congressional investigations, including in the national security realm.

• Michael Bahar, a DC litigation partner, served as Staff Director and General Counsel with the US House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence from 2012 to 2017, during a period that included numerous high-profile public and closed-door investigations. From 2010 to 2012, he served at the White House as Deputy Legal Advisor to the National Security Council, and since 2002, he has served in the US Navy as a JAG. Since 2017 he has also co-led Eversheds Sutherland’s Chambers-ranked global cybersecurity and data privacy practice.

• Neal Higgins, a DC litigation partner, coordinated congressional investigations for Senate leadership; served as legislative director for a senior member of the Senate Aging, Armed Services, Commerce, Finance, Foreign Relations, and Intelligence Committees; and served as CIA’s Director of Congressional Affairs during some of the most challenging investigations in that agency’s history. He later helped lead the response to the CIA’s largest data breach, served as Associate Deputy Director of the CIA for Digital Innovation and most recently spent two years at the White House as Deputy National Cyber Director.

Other members of the Eversheds Sutherland team bring significant government executive experience from their time with the Department of Defense, the Department of Justice, the Treasury Department and the Joint Committee on Taxation. They draw on Eversheds Sutherland’s global platform and deep substantive experience across a number of sectors, including financial services, energy and infrastructure, and technology and telecoms. Members of the team have:

• Testified and supported witnesses in open hearings and briefed Members and senior staff in the Capitol’s most secure spaces;

• Worked in senior positions in personal offices, in leadership offices, and on committee staff in the House and Senate, as well as in the White House and cabinet-level departments and agencies;

• Designed, executed, supported and responded to congressional investigations into some of the most controversial matters over the last 20 years, including Iraq War contracting abuses, post-Katrina reconstruction, the Deepwater Horizon oil spill, the attack on the US consulate in Benghazi, the “Fast and Furious” matter, interference with the 2016 US presidential election, leaks and data breaches like those resulting from the Edward Snowden and WikiLeaks Vault7 disclosures, significant cybersecurity attacks, and numerous classified and national security matters; and

• Supported individuals, businesses, and cabinet-level agencies and officials as they navigate congressional scrutiny, from requests for information to nationally televised hearings.

Comments from Neal Higgins, Co-Lead of the Congressional Investigations Practice and Former White House Deputy National Cyber Director:

“Finding yourself or your business in the crosshairs of a congressional investigation can be an unnerving experience, even for those who have testified many times before. Even a simple request for information, if handled incorrectly, can have repercussions well beyond Capitol Hill. I know from experience that successfully managing a congressional investigation requires a unique understanding of the relevant players, processes, and stakes. I am thrilled to have been tapped by Eversheds Sutherland to help build and co-lead this essential practice area for our clients.”

Comments from Michael Bahar, Co-Lead of the Congressional Investigations Practice and Former White House Deputy Legal Advisor to the National Security Council: 

“In recent years, the pace, scope, and stakes of congressional oversight have increased, especially at the intersection of technology and national security. We believe it is vital to offer this capability to our clients, many of whom already trust us with their most sensitive concerns. Members of our team have participated in congressional investigations from every angle: with the chairman on the dais, with the witness at the table, and sitting in the witness chair themselves. They have conducted factual inquiries, led closed-door depositions, and responded to complex discovery requests. The successful outcome of a congressional investigation can hinge on these factors, the experience and knowledge our team brings.”

Eversheds Sutherland’s Integrated Multidisciplinary Team

The Congressional Investigations practice will be integrated with the firm’s White Collar, Regulatory Enforcement, National Security Investigations and other practices, whose leaders include:

• Sarah Paul, Global Co-Head of Corporate Crime and Investigations

Ms. Paul’s practice spans all areas of white-collar defense, with a particular focus on government, internal and cross-border investigations. She has been recognized by Global Investigations Review as among the top 100 “Women in Investigations” and by Crain's New York Business as a "Notable Woman in Law.” Having served as an Assistant United States Attorney in the Southern District of New York for more than nine years, Ms. Paul has deep experience with sophisticated white-collar cases involving the full gamut of financial crimes. As a prosecutor, she led numerous high-profile cross border investigations, including an investigation resulting in the first US indictment in connection with the Panama Papers leak. She leverages her prior experience as a federal prosecutor to advocate strategically and successfully for her clients.

• Patrick Gilman, Global Co-Head of National Security Investigations

As the Global Co-Head of the firm’s National Security Investigations practice and a partner in the White-Collar practice, Mr. Gilman represents individuals and corporations with global operations facing significant risk of criminal or regulatory exposure to US and non-US government agencies, including the Departments of Justice, State, Treasury, Commerce, Defense and the United States Congress. He regularly guides clients through national security, cybersecurity, anti-money laundering, anti-corruption and sanctions-related matters. As a former federal prosecutor in the United States Army and a seasoned trial attorney, Mr. Gilman has two decades of experience prosecuting and defending criminal and high-profile national security cases before both federal trial and appellate courts.

Other core members of the team include Jeff Bialos, Co-Head of Global Aerospace, Defense and Security and former Deputy Under Secretary of Defense for Industrial Affairs; Jeff Cottle, Co-Head of National Security Investigations; Mark Herlach, Co-Head of Global Competition, Trade and Foreign Investment; Will O’Brien, Head of Cross-Border Litigation and International Commercial Arbitration; Caroline Setliffe, partner and former Legislation Counsel to the Joint Committee on Taxation, and Daniel McCarty, counsel and former policy adviser, US Department of the Treasury.

For more information about the team and practice, please click here to visit our official overview page.