Nancy Kestenbaum

Clients come to Nancy Kestenbaum to handle their most important and sensitive government and internal investigations and litigation. With 25 years’ experience as a defense attorney and former federal prosecutor, she has represented clients ranging from the largest multi-national companies to individuals in high-stakes criminal and civil enforcement investigations by the United States Department of Justice, Securities and Exchange Commission, and other federal, state and local criminal and civil regulatory agencies.

In the most recent 2015 Chambers USA edition, clients and peers described her as an “excellent strategist” “who really has a mastery of the issues” and is “terrific in a courtroom.” Ms. Kestenbaum is currently the co-chair of Covington’s White Collar Defense and Investigations Practice Group and was formerly a member of the firm’s Management Committee.

Ms. Kestenbaum has represented corporate and individual clients in the life sciences, financial services, energy, technology and defense industries. She has defended clients in a variety of cases, including those related to international issues, such as the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act and trade controls and sanctions; financial fraud, such as accounting fraud, insider trading and tax; pharmaceutical issues such as off-label marketing, anti-kickback and safety violations; and many other issues, such as public corruption or obstruction of justice.

Education :

• Yale Law School, J.D., 1990
• University of Pennsylvania, B.A., 1985

Government Service : U.S. Department of Justice – U.S. Attorney’s Office

Judicial Clerkship : Hon. Kimba M. Wood, U.S. District Court, Southern District of New York, 1990 – 1991

Bar Admissions : New York

Representative Matters :

• Led independent investigations of sexual misconduct for Choate Rosemary Hall, The Brearley School, and other institutions.
• Obtained DOJ declination, closing investigation without charges, after two-year FCPA investigation of oil exploration company Hyperdynamics. Resolved related SEC FCPA investigation without bribery charges.
• Defended global and domestic pharmaceutical companies in investigations by the Department of Justice and state Attorneys General concerning marketing, physician interaction and drug safety and labeling issues.
• Represented multinational entities in investigations of export controls and sanctions.

Pro Bono :

• Assist the Campaign to Keep Guns Off Campus.
• Represent federal prisoner in Clemency Project application process.
• Successfully represented individual who obtained asylum from the Democratic Republic of Congo.
• Represented individuals who successfully sued Cracker Barrel restaurants for discrimination in public accommodations.

Memberships and Affiliations :

• Association of the Bar of the City of New York, White Collar Crime Committee
• Federal Bar Council
• American Bar Association, Criminal Justice Section