Steptoe & Johnson partner Reid Weingarten kept a goal in mind when negotiating with federal prosecutors in 2016 to settle criminal charges against its client Volkswagen AG: Survival.

Since March 2016, Steptoe's white-collar criminal defense group, including Weingarten, has served as lead counsel for the German automaker in the DOJ's high-profile criminal investigation arising from the company's emissions cheating scandal.

Weingarten, a former DOJ prosecutor himself, said he argued in negotiations with government lawyers that they should not impose a penalty that might bankrupt Volkswagen.