Former Deputy Chief of Justice Department Fraud Section Joins Weil

Another former deputy chief of the fraud section of the Department of Justice has joined the private sector.  

Adam Safwat, formally deputy chief of the fraud section of the Justice Department's criminal division, has joined the international law firm Weil, Gotshal & Manges as counsel based in the Washington, D.C. office. He joins Weil's white-collar defense and investigations practice, and will focus on white-collar criminal defense, regulatory enforcement matters, and internal investigations.

He will be joining a team that includes his former colleague Steven Tyrrell, who served as chief of the Justice Departments fraud section, and Christopher Garcia, who served as chief of the Securities and Commodities Fraud Task Force in the U.S. Attorney's Office for the Southern District of New York.

Safwat joined the fraud section of the Justice Department in June 2006. Before serving as deputy chief, he served as an assistant chief and as a senior trial attorney in the fraud section. During his time at the agency, he worked on a wide range of matters, including on a number of complex investigations involving allegations of violations of the FCPA and federal securities laws.  He was also involved in developing the fraud section's substantive and administrative policies.

Prior to joining the fraud section, Safwat spent four years as an Assistant U.S. Attorney in the U.S. Attorney's Office for the District of Delaware, where he conducted jury trials in narcotics, bank robbery, and firearm cases, and also concluded a number of successful white collar investigations.  In addition, he previously spent approximately six years in private practice as an associate at two different international law firms. Safwat also clerked for the Honorable Walter Stapleton, United States Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit.

Other former deputy chiefs of the Justice Department's fraud section to join the private sector include Charles Duross, who joined the litigation department of law firm Morrison & Foerster as a partner this month, and Mark Mendelsohn, who joined the law firm Paul, Weiss, Rifkind, Wharton & Garrison in April 2010.