Professionals

Joan Meyer

Partner

Chair, Government Enforcement, Internal Investigations & White Collar Defense

VCARD

Overview
Experience
Publications
Presentations
Distinctions
Professional and Civic
News
Events

Overview

Joan has more than 25 years’ experience handling complex criminal and civil litigation, primarily domestic and international white collar defense for companies involving anti-corruption, financial frauds, government contracting, false claims, securities and commodities violations, and trade compliance matters. She has tried scores of cases at the state and federal levels and handled more than 40 appeals in state and federal appeals courts. Joan also conducts domestic and international internal investigations for corporate clients to determine if legal and regulatory violations were committed and defends companies and individuals in negotiation and litigation with U.S. government agencies.

With her extensive experience in global corporate compliance, Joan routinely advises senior management and boards of directors on best practices for compliance with U.S. and international legal requirements and regulations and the consequences of law enforcement inquiries, including the development of a defense strategy, government disclosures, disciplinary actions, and the enhancement of compliance policies and procedures and internal controls. She has handled matters around the world for companies in the manufacturing, life sciences, mining and extraction, financial services, transportation and logistics sectors and assisted them in conducting global risk assessments and audits, developing and implementing compliance programs, creating remediation plans and developing emergency/crisis management strategies. Joan has been recognized multiple times by the National Association of Corporate Directors as one of the most influential professionals in corporate governance.

Before joining Thompson Hine, Joan was a partner at Baker McKenzie for more than ten years, where she served as practice chair of the Compliance & Investigations group and as the Washington, D.C. office litigation chair. Before entering private practice, she held several high-profile government positions, including serving as senior counsel to the Deputy Attorney General at the U.S. Department of Justice, where she advised on complex criminal litigation, including corporate frauds such as falsely inflating revenue, insider trading and accounting schemes, and managed the operation of the president’s Corporate Fraud Task Force. She also developed the Department’s corporate charging and monitorship policies. Joan also held a variety of positions in the U.S. Attorney’s Office in the Western District of Michigan, including First Assistant and Chief of the Criminal Division, and she was a criminal prosecutor in Chicago at the Cook County State’s Attorney’s Office. Additionally, she worked as a senior trial attorney in the Division of Enforcement at the U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission where she prosecuted investment frauds involving the commodity futures markets.

Experience

Examples of Joan’s experience include:

Representing the special committee of a Fortune 100 manufacturing company’s board of directors in connection with a six-year global investigation involving the company’s agents and distributors, which was resolved with a guilty plea by a subsidiary.
Representing a technology company involved in processing mortgage-related documentation for major financial institutions during the financial crisis in connection with a highly publicized investigation by federal and state authorities.
Obtaining a favorable settlement with the U.S. government for one of the world’s largest snack food companies following a multi-year overseas investigation of one of the company’s subsidiaries.
Serving as co-lead counsel for a publicly traded Latin American petrochemical company in an investigation by two federal agencies of FCPA violations in Brazil.
Securing a favorable settlement with the SEC for a major beverage company following an investigation of a foreign subsidiary’s distribution channel activities.
Achieving a settlement with multiple law enforcement agencies for a Latin American aerospace manufacturer in a multijurisdictional investigation of is operations in Latin America, Asia and the Middle East. The matter was selected and cited as a landmark case in U.S. and international publications.
Obtaining a declination of charges by the U.S. government for a professional infrastructure and environmental services company in connection with allegations of corruption involving a recently acquired foreign subsidiary.
Securing a declination of charges by the U.S. government for a software company in connection with activities within the company’s foreign distribution chain.
Representing a former executive of a major financial institution in civil litigation before a federal banking agency involving allegations of unsafe and unsound business practices.

Publications

“A Decade After the Milberg Weiss Scandal: Does History Repeat Itself?” New York Law Journal, March 2021
“White House Due Process Memo Could Reform Enforcement,” Law360, September 2020.
"DOJ’s False Claims Act Recoveries in Fiscal Years 2020 and 2019," Thompson Hine Government Contracts Update, September 2020
“DOJ’s Fraud Section Issues Revised Corporate Compliance Guidelines,” Thompson Hine White Collar Criminal Practice Update, June 2020
“SEC’s Enforcement Focus on Pandemic-Related Misconduct,” Thompson Hine COVID-19 Update, May 2020
“Supply Chain Disruptions Bring Compliance Risks to the Forefront,” Thompson Hine COVID-19 Update, April 2020
“U.S. Alleges Huawei Involved in Long-Running Scheme to Steal Trade Secrets,” Thompson Hine White Collar Update, February 2020
“U.S. Probes Scientists and Academics with Overseas Ties, Targets Trade Secret Transfers,” Thompson Hine White Collar Update, January 2020
Co-author, "Justice Department Emphasizes Antitrust Enforcement Through Creation of Multi-Agency and Bid-Rigging Strike Force," Thompson Hine Antitrust & Government Contracts Update, November 2019
Co-author, “Corporate Settlement Tools, Deferred Prosecution Agreements, Non-Prosecution Agreements and Cooperation Agreements,” Bloomberg Law, 2018
Author, Mexico chapter of From Baksheesh to Bribery: Understanding the Global Fight Against Corruption and Graft, 2019
Co-author, “Decreased Enforcement Expected From SEC Regarding Conflict Minerals Regulations – For Now,” NACD BoardTalk blog, 2017
Co-author, “Cross-Border Information Flows: Existing and Developing Challenges,” NACD BoardTalk blog, 2016
“One Year After Yates Memo: The DOJ’s Yates-Lite Approach,” Law360, 2016
“The Evolving Calculus of Corporate Voluntary Disclosure in FCPA Cases,” The Review of Securities and Commodities Regulation, 2016

Presentations

Presenter, "Practical Advice for Antitrust and Privacy Compliance in the Biden Era," Thompson Hine Webinar Series, March 2, 2021
Presenter, "White Collar Crime - Recent Developments and Emerging Risks Part I," Thompson Hine Webinar Series, February 18, 2021
Panelist, “Setting the Stage: Government Investigation in High-Tech Industries,” Bloomberg Law In-House Forum West, 2019
Panelist, Sanctions, Export Control and National Security Conference, Global Investigations Review, 2019
Panelist, “Anti-Corruption Issues When Doing Business in Latin America,” The Foreign Corrupt Practices Act and International Anti-Corruption Developments, PLI, 2019
Speaker, “Enforcement Developments in Latin America,” PLI, 2018
Panelist, Developments in Brazil Conference, Latin America American Conference Institute, 2017
Panelist, Transparency International Corporate Forum, 2017
Speaker, “The SEC Whistleblower,” Corporate Counsel Webcast, 2017
Speaker, “The Role of the General Counsel in the Remediation Process,” Corporate Counsel Seminar, 2017
Speaker, Ethisphere Roundtable, 2017
Speaker, NACD Roundtable, 2016
Speaker, Compliance Seminar, District of Columbia Bar, 2016
Panelist, American Conference Institute FCPA Panel, 2016
Presenter, SEC Whistleblower Program, ABA, 2016
Speaker, National Association of Real Estate Investment Managers Political Donations/Lobbying Compliance Seminar, 2016
Speaker, “Voluntary Disclosures in Corporate Investigations,” ABA Panel, 2016
Speaker, Leading Minds of Governance Forum, NACD, 2016

Distinctions

Listed as a Litigation Star by Benchmark Litigation, 2022
Listed in Legal 500 (Corporate Investigations and White Collar Criminal Defense), 2021
Selected to Law360’s Compliance Editorial Advisory Board, 2021, 2022
Top 5 Global Investigations Practice (as D.C. chair of Baker McKenzie’s Compliance & Investigations practice), Global Investigations Review (2016 & 2017)
100 Most Influential People in Corporate Governance and the Boardroom, National Association of Corporate Directors (2016 & 2017)
Elite FCPA Practice (as D.C. chair of Baker McKenzie’s Compliance & Investigations practice), Global Investigations Review (2016)
Deal of the Year, Latin Lawyer (2016)
Department of Justice Director’s Award
National Award from the Center for Missing and Exploited Children