Melissa D. Chastang is an associate in the litigation practice, focusing on government and internal investigations, white-collar defense and other legal compliance matters. She also advises clients in complex commercial disputes, including class action matters. Ms. Chastang represents both domestic and international clients in a variety of civil litigation and government enforcement matters, including matters arising under the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA). Her matters have involved securities fraud, the Bank Secrecy Act and False Claims Act (FCA) liability. She is a monthly contributor to the Red Notice, which covers corruption, anti-money laundering and FCPA developments.
Ms. Chastang actively supports the firm’s anti-human trafficking initiative and has assisted with the drafting of materials aimed at educating and training communities in Liberia and Tanzania to prevent human and labor trafficking. She represents clients from around the globe seeking asylum and other immigration-related relief.
Prior to joining the firm, Ms. Chastang received her J.D. cum laudefrom Harvard Law School, where she competed as a team member in the Philip C. Jessup International Law Moot Court Competition and served as a member of the Harvard Human Rights Journal. Previously, Ms. Chastang served as a legal intern for international justice litigation at a nongovernmental organization in South Africa.Ms. Chastang was salutatorian at Hampton University, where she earned her B.A. summa cum laude in English Arts. She is an alum of the Akin Gump Strauss Hauer & Feld LLP Pro Bono Scholar Program.
Representative Work:
- Ms. Chastang’s engagements include:
- providing compliance advice on the FCPA and other international anticorruption laws to clients in the shipping and retail industries
- representing confidential FBI informants in criminal antibribery enforcement
- managing discovery for a Fortune 100 company subpoenaed in multibillion-dollar residential mortgage-backed securities litigation
- representing a banking institution against civil investment fraud claims.
- serving as national coordinating counsel for a major retailer on a suite of multimillion-dollar product liability claims
- conducting internal investigations concerning anti-money laundering, drug trafficking and supply chain diligence in Central America
- representing one of the nation’s largest mortgage banking companies in a privacy-related consumer class action
- representing a health care provider on an FCA claim alleging fraudulent Medicare billing
Education:
- J.D., Harvard Law School, cum laude, 2014
- B.A., Hampton University, summa cum laude, 2011
Bar Admissions:
- District of Columbia
- Virginia
Cost
Rate : $$$