M. Kendall Day is a litigation partner in the Washington, D.C. office of Gibson, Dunn & Crutcher.  He is a member of the White Collar Defense and Investigations and the Financial Institutions Practice Groups.  Mr. Day’s practice focuses on internal investigations, regulatory enforcement defense, white-collar criminal defense, and compliance counseling.  He represents multi-national companies, financial institutions, and individuals in connection with criminal, regulatory, and civil enforcement actions involving anti-money laundering (AML)/Bank Secrecy Act (BSA), sanctions, FCPA and other anti-corruption, SEC and other regulatory investigations, securities litigation, tax, wire and mail fraud, unlicensed money transmitter, and sensitive employee matters.  Mr. Day’s practice also includes AML/BSA compliance counseling and due diligence, and the defense of forfeiture matters.

Prior to joining Gibson Dunn, Mr. Day spent 15 years as a white collar prosecutor with the Department of Justice (DOJ), rising to the highest career position in the DOJ’s Criminal Division as an Acting Deputy Assistant Attorney General (DAAG).  As a DAAG, Mr. Day had responsibility for approximately 200 prosecutors and other professionals.  Mr. Day also previously served as Chief and Principal Deputy Chief of the Money Laundering and Asset Recovery Section.  In these various leadership positions, from 2013 until 2018, Mr. Day supervised investigations and prosecutions of many of the country’s most significant and high-profile cases involving allegations of corporate and financial misconduct.  He also exercised nationwide supervisory authority over the DOJ’s money laundering program, particularly any BSA and money-laundering charges, deferred prosecution agreements and non-prosecution agreements involving financial institutions.

Earlier in his time as a white collar prosecutor, from 2005 until 2013, Mr. Day served as a deputy chief and trial attorney in the Public Integrity Section of the DOJ.  During his tenure at the Public Integrity Section, Mr. Day prosecuted and tried some of the Criminal Division’s most challenging cases, including the prosecutions of Jack Abramoff, a Member of Congress and several chiefs of staff, a New York state supreme court judge, and other elected local officials.  From 2003 to 2005, he served as an Honors Program Trial Attorney in the DOJ’s Tax Division.  Mr. Day also served overseas as the Justice Department’s Anti-Corruption Resident Legal Advisor in Serbia.

Mr. Day received a number of awards while at the DOJ, including the Attorney General’s Award for Distinguished Service, the second highest award for employee performance; the Assistant Attorney General’s Award for Exceptional Service; and the Assistant Attorney General’s Award for Ensuring the Integrity of Government.

Mr. Day clerked for Chief United States District Court Judge Benson E. Legg of the District of Maryland.  He earned his J.D. from the University of Virginia School of Law, where he graduated in 2002 after winning first place in the Lile Moot Court Competition and being selected to receive the Margaret G. Hyde Graduation Award.  He graduated with honors and highest distinction from the University of Kansas in 1999 with a B.A. in Italian Literature and Humanities.

Mr. Day is licensed to practice in the Commonwealth of Virginia and the District of Columbia.

Representative Matters

• Several representations of the Boards of Directors of global financial institutions in connection with government investigations of alleged international money laundering, AML violations, foreign corruption, sanctions violations, and related issues.
• Representation of a leading non-profit organization in connection with an internal review of employee conduct and the organization’s response.
• Secured for an international financial institution a Deferred Prosecution Agreement in connection with government investigation of alleged tax evasion.
• Conducted internal investigation and analysis of FCPA allegations for a publicly traded company.
• Representation of a global financial institution in connection with government investigations of AML violations and related issues.
• Secured a no-penalty, Non-Prosecution Agreement for a health care company in connection with government investigations of wire fraud and securities violations.
• Representation of individual officers of a financial institution in connection with government investigation of alleged FCPA and foreign corruption violations and money laundering.
• Representation of a company in connection with a multi-district government investigation of fraud and False Claims Act violations.
• Representation of a leading independent company in the specialty ingredients business in connection with a DEA investigation for alleged failures to declare the import and export of certain List 1 controlled chemicals.
• Conducted AML compliance review for a publicly traded financial institution.

Selected Recent Speaking Engagements*

Gibson Dunn webcast, “Bank Secrecy Act / Anti-Money Laundering and Sanctions Enforcement and Compliance in 2020 and Beyond,” June 2020

Brunswick webcast, “AML/CFT and Sanctions Compliance in the Age of COVID-19: Current Issues and What Lies Ahead,” May 2020

American Bankers Association/American Bar Association Financial Crimes Enforcement Conference, “Trending Legal and Regulatory Risks in Financial Crimes,” December 2019

American Bankers Association/American Bar Association Financial Crimes Enforcement Conference, “The Intersection of Domestic and International PEP Screening and Political Corruption,” December 2019

American Bankers Association/American Bar Association Financial Crimes Enforcement Conference, “Making Automated Solutions Business as Usual in Your Financial Crimes Compliance Program,” December 2019

American Bankers Association/American Bar Association Financial Crimes Enforcement Conference, “Making Automated Solutions Business as Usual in Your Financial Crimes Compliance Program,” December 2019

Gibson Dunn webcast, “Anti-Money Laundering and Sanctions Enforcement and Compliance in 2019 and Beyond,” May 2019

Federal Bar Association, Current Issues in Government Investigations, “Following the Money Trail: The “Other” Counts in the Indictment,” May 2019

American Bar Association, 33^rd Annual Institute on White Collar Crime, “Money Laundering and AML: Responding to New and Existing Compliance and Enforcement Challenges,” March 2019

Gibson Dunn webcast, “Challenges in Compliance and Corporate Governance,” January 2019

Panel Presentation, “FinCEN’s Cyber Crime Advisory: Separating Fact from Fiction,” American Bankers Association/American Bar Association Financial Crimes Enforcement Conference, December 2018

The State Gaming Coalition webcast, “AML in Action: New Guidance for Gaming Operations,” October 2018

Panel Presentation, “AML Compliance: Essentials of Anti-Money Laundering,” Global Gaming Expo 2018 Education Program

Panel Presentation, “Supervisory Developments Regarding BSA/AML and OFAC Compliance,” Risk Management and Regulatory Examination/Compliance Seminar, Institute of International Bankers, 2018

Gibson Dunn webcast, “Developments in Virtual Currency Law and Regulation,” June 2018

Gibson Dunn webcast, “Anti-Money Laundering and Sanctions Enforcement and Compliance in 2018 and Beyond,” May 2018

American Bar Association, 32^nd Annual Institute on White Collar Crime, “Global Reach of Money Laundering Enforcement,” March 2018*

Testimony to Senate Committee on the Judiciary, for a hearing entitled “Beneficial Ownership: Fighting Illicit International Financial Networks Through Transparency,” February 2018*

Testimony to Senate Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs, for a hearing entitled “Combatting Money Laundering and Other Forms of Illicit Finance: Administration Perspectives on Reforming and Strengthening BSA Enforcement,” January 2018*

Kleptocracy and Money Laundering: A Conversation with Kendall Day, Hudson Institute, July 2017*

Cambridge Forum on Financial Institutions Enforcement, Interview, May 2017*

Chicago White Collar Crime and Corporate Governance Conference, Interview, April 2017*

American Bankers Association/American Bar Association AML Conference, Keynote Address, November 2016*

Wall Street Journal PRO, “Financial Regulation – Taking Stock, Looking Ahead,” Interview, October 2016*

*Engagements prior to joining Gibson, Dunn & Crutcher.