Michael Bopp is a partner in the Washington, D.C. office of Gibson, Dunn & Crutcher. He brings his extensive government and private-sector experience to help clients navigate through the most difficult crises, often involving investigations as well as public policy and media challenges. He chairs the Congressional Investigations Subgroup and he is a member of the White Collar Defense and Investigations Crisis Management Practice Groups. He also co-chairs the firm’s Public Policy Practice Group and is a member of its Financial Institutions Practice Group.

Mr. Bopp’s practice focuses on congressional investigations, internal corporate investigations, and other government investigations. He also advises clients on public policy and regulatory consulting in a variety of fields, and on managing and responding to major crises involving multiple government agencies and branches. Mr. Bopp is one of only a handful of attorneys in the country listed in Band 1 for Congressional Investigations by Chambers – its highest rating. In addition, Mr. Bopp has been recognized by The Hill  as a top lobbyist for 2022 and 2023. BTI Consulting named Mr. Bopp to its 2018 BTI Client Service All-Stars list, recognizing the “lawyers who truly stand out as delivering the absolute best client service” as determined by a poll of corporate counsel.

A particular specialty is preparing people to testify at congressional hearings and for other high-profile, public, often contentious events. Mr. Bopp served as the debate coach for Senator Susan Collins in the 2020 election cycle. About the race, Politico  noted that Senator Collins “staged one of the most remarkable Senate comebacks of the past decade.”

Congressional Investigations, Internal Investigations, and Other Investigations Experience

Mr. Bopp has extensive experience representing clients in congressional, executive branch, and internal investigations. During more than a decade on Capitol Hill, Mr. Bopp led or played a key role in major investigations in both the Senate and House of Representatives, including four special investigations. In these capacities, he developed the strategy and set the agenda, and managed the discovery efforts for numerous investigations and orchestrated more than 100 committee hearings.

Mr. Bopp has extensive knowledge of both legislative and regulatory processes, as well as of the powers and authorities of Congressional committees, and he has testified as an expert on Congressional investigations before Congress. He currently chairs the ABA’s Committee on Legislative Process and Congressional Investigations. His contacts are extensive and strong in both Republican and Democratic circles.

Since joining Gibson, Dunn in 2008, Mr. Bopp has defended clients in dozens of Congressional and other investigations and has prepared numerous CEOs and other top executives for committee hearings, depositions, and interviews. He also brings his more than two decades of investigations experience to bear on internal investigations on important matters for a variety of clients.

Mr. Bopp’s engagements include representing companies, associations, other entities and individuals in the following investigations:

Congressional Investigations

• Counsel for multiple companies under investigation by the House Select Subcommittee on the Coronavirus Crisis in connection with CARES Act and other programs;
• Counsel for social media platform with respect to Senate Commerce and Judiciary Committee hearings on alleged bias and CDA Section 230 protections;
• Counsel for electronic cigarette manufacturer in investigations into marketing practices and interactions with FDA;
• Counsel for bank investigated for alleged sales practices and other possible violations by House Financial Services and Senate Banking Committees;
• Counsel for a number of technology companies in investigations and oversight into privacy, law enforcement, and security-related issues;
• Counsel for pharmaceutical manufacturer in House Oversight and Government Reform investigation of drug pricing and efforts to extend patents;
• Counsel for Pharmacy Benefit Manager in Senate Finance Committee investigation of drug pricing;
• Counsel for health insurance company, multiple government contractors, and a non-profit entity in House and Senate investigations relating to the Affordable Care Act;
• Counsel for Big 4 accounting firm in an investigation by the Senate Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations into alleged offshore tax evasion. This investigation culminated in a hearing at which our client successfully defended its actions resulting in no follow-up by the Subcommittee and avoiding negative press coverage and reputational damage;
• Counsel for private equity firm in Senate Aging Committee investigation of drug pricing;
• Counsel for automaker in connection with potential congressional and executive branch investigations relating to emissions controls;
• Counsel for Wall Street firm in investigations by the Senate Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations into causes of the financial markets crisis and into the commodities activities of financial holding companies;
• Counsel for automaker in Senate Commerce Committee investigation of Takata airbag malfunctions;
• Counsel for Member of Congress in Office of Congressional Ethics’ and House Ethics Committee’s inquiries into alleged insider trading. The Office of Congressional Ethics recommended that the allegations concerning the Member of Congress be dismissed;
• Counsel for health care company in the House Energy and Commerce and Senate Commerce Committees’ investigations of the health insurance industry;
• Counsel for telecommunications company in multiple congressional investigations relating to the company’s interactions with the Federal Communications Commission;
• Counsel for hedge fund in Senator Grassley’s investigation of information allegedly leaked relating to Medicare reimbursement rates; Counsel for a Big 4 accounting firm in the Senate Banking Committee’s inquiry into mortgage lending and servicing practices;
• Counsel for automaker in House Oversight and Government Reform Committee investigation of the agreement on Greenhouse Gas and CAFE standards;
• Counsel for loan recipient in House Oversight and Government Reform Committee investigation of Department of Energy “green energy” programs;
• Counsel for health insurance company in investigation by Chairman Baucus and Senator Grassley into health insurance company agreements with lab services providers;
• Counsel for companies in connection with Financial Crisis Inquiry Commission’s investigation of causes of the financial markets crisis;
• Counsel for several companies in investigation by Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee of career colleges;
• Counsel for healthcare information technology company in connection with Senate Finance Committee investigation;
• Counsel for company in connection with Senate Finance Committee’s investigation of a high-profile Executive Branch nominee;
• Counsel for elder care company in connection with Senate Special Committee on Aging’s investigation of continuing care retirement communities.
• Counsel for satellite company executive in investigation by House Science and Technology Committee’s into satellite procurement issues;
• Counsel for employee of security company in investigation by Commission on Wartime Contracting in Iraq and Afghanistan into services contracts; and
• Counsel for various parties in multiple investigations by House Committee on Standards of Official Conduct and Office of Congressional Ethics.

Internal Investigations

• Conducted internal investigation of company’s compliance with FDA and FTC requirements and to gauge possible exposure to Justice Department inquiries.
• Conducted internal investigation of company’s compliance with government contracting requirements relating to vendor compensation;
• Conducted internal investigation of misconduct by attorney at major law firm leading to misrepresentations to clients and government agencies;
• Conducted internal investigation of company’s compliance with H-1B program requirements;
• Conducted internal investigation of high-ranking corporate official at major pharmaceutical company and uncovered misappropriation and misuse of corporate funds. Recovered more than $10 million for corporation; and
• Conducted internal investigation for portfolio company relating to potential False Claims Act lawsuit relating to alleged product defect. Convinced Department of Justice not to intervene.

Other Investigations

• Represented government official removed from office for allegedly covering up misconduct in a field office. Convinced Department of Justice Public Integrity Division to drop criminal investigation of client and secured reinstatement of client; and
• Counsel for 501(c)(4) organization in investigation by State of California into alleged violations of state election laws. Investigation ended with no prosecution.

Policy Experience

Mr. Bopp engages in high-level, strategic policy and related regulatory work on a variety of issues. His clients have included General Electric Company, U.S. Chamber of Commerce, Business Roundtable, Ticketmaster, Farmers Insurance, Microsoft, Fairfax Financial, Goldman Sachs, General Dynamics, University of Maine, MetLife, Perry Capital, International Swaps and Derivatives Association and Ligado.

Mr. Bopp has handled a variety of financial regulatory reform issues. He has helped numerous clients work with Congress and the Administration on regulatory reform legislation, and shape, prepare for, and sometimes challenge new regulatory requirements promulgated as a result of the Dodd-Frank Act.

Among his many successes is helping to create and run the Coalition for Derivatives End-Users, which has roughly 300 active company and trade association members. The Coalition works on both legislative and regulatory fronts to help protect interests of end-user companies in the debate over appropriate regulation of derivatives and has been a highly-successful participant in these processes. The Coalition’s top two priorities – establishing a statutory margin exemption for end-users and a clearing exemption for end-users that hedge through centralized treasury units –are two of the only substantive amendments to the Dodd-Frank Act that have become law.

As a result of this work, Mr. Bopp has been named one of the 100 most influential people in finance by Treasury and Risk  magazine and has been asked to testify before Congress.

Mr. Bopp also has assisted clients in numerous other policy areas, including budget, appropriations, housing, telecommunications, judiciary, patent, antitrust, transportation, homeland security, tax and bankruptcy. He has particular expertise with respect to issues involving the Office of Management and Budget (OMB).

From 2006-2008, Mr. Bopp served as Associate Director of OMB and was responsible for overseeing budgets and coordinating regulatory, legislative, and other policy for approximately $150 billion worth of spending for various government agencies, including the Departments of Treasury, Homeland Security, Transportation, Justice, Housing and Urban Development, and Commerce, the General Services Administration, the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission and the Commodity Futures Trading Commission.

From 2003 to 2006, he served as Staff Director and Chief Counsel of the Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs, one of the Senate’s largest committees and most expansive in terms of jurisdiction. He oversaw more than 100 hearings, led numerous investigations and was a primary drafter of key legislation, including the Intelligence Reform and Terrorism Prevention Act of 2004, the most significant reform of the intelligence community in more than 50 years, and 2006 legislation strengthening port security and overhauling the Federal Emergency Management Agency. He also directed a 50-person investigation of the failure of preparations and response to Hurricane Katrina. The investigation included 22 hearings, 325 witnesses, more than 800,000 pages of documents and an 800 page report.

Mr. Bopp served as Legislative Director and General Counsel to Senator Susan Collins of Maine from 1999 to 2003. He was Chief Counsel to the Subcommittee on Oversight and Investigations of the Committee on Education and the Workforce in the U.S. House of Representatives from 1998 to 1999, where he investigated alleged improper activities undertaken by Teamsters’ officials. Before that, he worked on the Congressional investigation of campaign finance abuses as senior investigative counsel to the House Committee on Government Reform and Oversight and as counsel for the Senate Committee on Governmental Affairs. He also previously served as counsel on the Senate Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations. Mr. Bopp served as outside general counsel to the campaign to re-elect Senator Susan Collins.

Mr. Bopp received his law degree cum laude  from Harvard Law School where he was Articles Editor on the Journal of Law and Public Policy. He graduated magna cum laude, with honors, in public policy from Brown University.

Publications

Law Review Articles

Bopp, Michael D., Hungar, Thomas; Schropp, Chantalle Carles, “How President Trump’s Tangles With Committees Have Weakened Congress’s Investigative Powers,” University of Virginia Journal of Law & Politics, Vol. 37, No. 1, 2021

Bopp, Michael D., Eyler, Gustav W., Richardson, Scott M., “Trouble Ahead, Trouble Behind: Executive Branch Enforcement of Congressional Investigations,” Cornell Journal of Law & Public Policy, 2015

Bopp, Michael D., Lay, DeLisa, “The Availability of Common Law Privileges for Witnesses in Congressional Investigations,” Harvard Journal of Law & Public Policy, Summer 2012

Other Publications

Bopp, Michael D., Hungar, Thomas, Jones, Roscoe Jr., “The Power to Investigate: Table of Authorities of House and Senate Committees for the 117th Congress,” September 2021

Bopp, Michael D., Hungar, Thomas, Jones, Roscoe Jr., “Congressional Investigations in the 117th Congress: Choppy Waters Ahead for the Private Sector?,” January 2021