Brian Whisler is a member of Baker & McKenzie’s Investigations and Business Crimes Group, the FCPA Practitioners Group and Global Pharmaceutical & Healthcare Practice Group. He also serves as a member of the Firm’s corporate white collar defense, investigations and compliance practice. Prior to joining Baker & McKenzie, Mr. Whisler served as the Criminal Chief Assistant US Attorney in Richmond, Virginia, Eastern District of Virginia, where he managed the criminal trial practice of over 25 prosecutors handling cases ranging from white collar crime, violent crime, public corruption and terrorism. He focused his own trial practice predominantly on white collar prosecutions, including health care fraud, securities fraud, money laundering and tax fraud. Mr. Whisler also served as an Assistant US Attorney for the Western District of North Carolina for 10 years, where he handled white collar prosecutions and served as Chief of Appeals and Health Care Fraud Coordinator.

Practice Focus

Mr. Whisler is experienced in handling a broad range of civil and criminal matters, including Foreign Corrupt Practices Act, money laundering, health care, securities and procurement fraud. He serves multinational and domestic clients in oil and gas services, pharmaceuticals, financial services, manufacturing and telecommunications. Additionally, Mr. Whisler has developed compliance programs for Fortune 50 corporate clients, guided companies and individuals in government investigations in multiple global jurisdictions, and defended clients in criminal and civil litigation.

Representative Legal Matters

• Represented a multi-national firm before World Bank Sanctions Board, argued in opposition to Integrity Vice-Presidency, and secured favorable Board decision imposing lowest sanction of one year conditional non-debarment.
• Represented a global logistics company in federal grand jury investigation predicated on allegations of export control violations and secured declination of criminal charges at conclusion of investigation.
• Represented a physician in a federal criminal health care fraud prosecution and argued successfully for a sentence of probation following a felony guilty plea.
• Represented a whistleblower in the filing of a Dodd-Frank claim before the SEC and during pendency of an SEC/DOJ investigation.
• Represented a global provider of oil and gas services corporate client as compliance counsel during pendency of a federal criminal and civil investigation.
• Led pre-acquisition due diligence and designed post-closing compliance program for a global financial services client.
• Conducted an internal investigation for an international provider of medical and safety technology during a federal grand jury investigation.
• Represented an individual client during a multijurisdictional federal grand jury investigation of procurement fraud involving US military contracts.
• Designed and implemented corporate compliance program for a global food product manufacturer.
• Conducted internal investigation into FCPA allegations for a global telecommunications provider.

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Professional Associations and Memberships

• Association of Certified Anti-Money Laundering Specialists - Member

Admission

U.S. District Court, Eastern District of North Carolina~United States (2010)
U.S. District Court, Eastern District of Virginia~United States (2002)
North Carolina~United States (1994)
U.S. District Court, Western District of North Carolina~United States (1993)
Virginia~United States (1989)
U.S. Court of Appeals, Fourth Circuit~United States (1989)

Education

George Mason University  (J.D.) (1989)
Grove City College  (B.A.) (1985)