Brigida Benitez

Brigida Benitez solves challenging problems that stem from business disputes, employment relationships, and compliance matters. With a focus on complex litigation, internal investigations, and global anti-corruption issues, she has represented a wide range of clients, including financial institutions, pharmaceutical companies, information technology enterprises, universities, sports franchises, and international development firms.

She litigates high-profile cases in federal and state trial and appellate courts throughout the United States, including the US Supreme Court. Brigida draws on 25 years of experience representing clients in high-stakes, complex litigation and arbitration matters, along with a deep understanding of the multijurisdictional investigative process, to help companies and individuals assess and mitigate reputational and litigation risk.

Brigida conducts internal investigations and investigations before enforcement agencies relating to a variety of sensitive and business-critical issues, such as the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA), financial fraud and corruption, employee misconduct, ethics, codes of conduct violations, accounting irregularities, whistleblower complaints, and sanctions procedures of the World Bank and other international financial institutions.

Brigida served as Chief of the Office of Institutional Integrity of the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB), heading the independent office responsible for investigation potential fraud and corruption in IDB-financed activities, and implementing compliance policies and procedures relating to anti-corruption, anti-money laundering, offshore financial centers, and sanctions laws and regulations administered by the Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC). As a member of the senior management team, she reported to the IDB president and the Audit Committee of the Board of Executive Directors.

She worked to develop the General Principles and Guidelines for Sanctions and oversaw the implementation of the Agreement for Mutual Enforcement of Debarment Decisions, entered into by the IDB, the World Bank, and several other leading international financial institutions. Her work encompassed 26 countries in Latin America and the Caribbean.

Brigida is a past president of the DC Bar, the second largest unified bar in the country, with more than 100,000 members worldwide. She currently serves as an adjunct professor at Georgetown University Law Center, where she teaches a course on international business litigation and federal practice.