Vinson & Elkins. Photo by Diego Radzinschi/ALM

Vinson & Elkins has hired Ephraim “Fry” Wernick, a former assistant chief of the U.S. Department of Justice's Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA) Unit, expanding the firm's white-collar defense practice.

Wernick joined Vinson on Monday as a partner in Washington, D.C., in the firm's government investigations and white-collar criminal defense practice. A federal prosecutor since 2008, Wernick was lead prosecutor in more than 30 criminal trials, including what is believed to be the largest campaign finance case in U.S. history.

He said Vinson has been on his radar since he started talking to firms with white-collar defense practices a few months ago, and it continuously impressed him as a “top-flight firm with tremendous work and talent.” Wernick grew up in Texas, so was familiar with the firm, and he also faced some Vinson lawyers during his government stint, including D.C. partner William Lawler and San Francisco partner Matthew Jacobs.

Vinson has a strong FCPA practice, Wernick said, and its client list provides him opportunity, since it includes a number of energy companies that may operate internationally in emerging markets where the risk of FCPA violations can be high.

It's not all about energy, though. Wernick said he also brought FCPA and other criminal prosecutions against companies in other sectors such as energy, financial services, telecom and aerospace.

Mark Kelly, chairman of Vinson, said in a press release that Wernick brings considerable experience to the firm.

“Having directed some of the DOJ's most significant and complex white-collar prosecutions and investigations, he is a strong complement to our growing and robust practice,” Kelly said.

At Vinson, Wernick will represent clients in investigations in connections with the FCPA, the Bank Secrecy Act, Anti-Money Laundering statutes, sanctions laws, International Traffic in Arms Regulations, and other financial crimes.

According to the firm, Wernick led or supervised four of the six largest-ever corporate FCPA resolutions, with each valued at more than $800 million. He also handled a multibillion-dollar FCPA and money-laundering investigation, which included bringing criminal charges against two senior bankers and an intermediary, and a national security counterintelligence investigation and prosecution. He said the details about much of his work are not public.

Wernick started as a federal prosecutor in 2008 in the U.S. Attorney's Office for the District of Columbia, and then later joined the DOJ and worked in the fraud and public corruption section. He also spent one year on detail to the DOJ's Guantanamo Bay Litigation Team, where he investigated and litigated cases on behalf of the U.S. against prisoners of war and “high-value detainees” connected to the Taliban, al-Qaida and other related groups.

In 2017, he also served as counsel to the chairman of the U.S. Senate Committee on the Judiciary.

He's worked at Texas firms before as an associate at Akin Gump Strauss Hauer & Feld from 2005 to 2008, and at Strasburger & Price, now known as Clark Hill Strasburger in Texas, from 2003 to 2005.