Patrick Stokes is a litigation partner in Gibson, Dunn & Crutcher’s Washington, D.C. office. He is a member of the firm’s White Collar Defense and Investigations, Securities Enforcement, and Litigation Practice Groups.

Mr. Stokes’ practice focuses on internal corporate investigations, government investigations, enforcement actions regarding corruption, securities fraud, and financial institutions fraud, and compliance reviews. He has tried more than 30 federal jury trials as first chair, including high-profile white-collar cases, and handled 16 appeals before the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit.  Mr. Stokes regularly represents companies and individuals before DOJ and the SEC, and is equally comfortable leading confidential internal investigations, negotiating with government enforcement authorities, or advocating in court proceedings.

Prior to joining Gibson Dunn, Mr. Stokes spent nearly 18 years with the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ). From 2014 to 2016 he headed the FCPA Unit, managing the DOJ’s FCPA enforcement program and all criminal FCPA matters throughout the United States, covering every significant business sector, and including investigations, trials, and the assessment of corporate anti-corruption compliance programs and monitorships.  Mr. Stokes also served as the DOJ’s principal representative at the OECD Working Group on Bribery working with law enforcement and policy setters from 41 signatory countries on anti-corruption enforcement policy issues.

From 2010 to 2014, he served as Co-Chief of the DOJ’s Securities and Financial Fraud Unit.  In this role, he oversaw investigations and prosecutions of financial fraud schemes involving market manipulation, accounting fraud, benchmark interest rate manipulations, insider trading, Troubled Asset Relief Program (TARP) fraud, government contract and procurement fraud, and large-scale mortgage fraud, among others.  Mr. Stokes also led the successful prosecution of one of the largest bank and securities fraud cases to come out of the financial crisis.

From 2002 to 2008, Mr. Stokes served as an Assistant United States Attorney in the Eastern District of Virginia, where he prosecuted a wide variety of financial fraud, immigration, and violent crime cases.  From 1998 to 2002, he served in the DOJ’s Tax Division as a trial attorney in the Western Criminal Enforcement Section where he prosecuted a wide variety of tax and financial fraud schemes.

Mr. Stokes received various awards while at the DOJ, including the Attorney General’s Distinguished Service Award in 2013 and 2014 and the Assistant Attorney General’s Exceptional Service Award (Criminal Division) in 2011 and 2014.

Mr. Stokes received his bachelor’s degree and Juris Doctor from the University of Virginia, where he was an editorial board member of the Virginia Journal of Social Policy and the Law.

Mr. Stokes is a member of the Maryland State Bar and the District of Columbia Bar.

Representative engagements include:

• Representing private equity firm in SEC and DOJ investigation of accounting practices and alleged securities manipulation at a portfolio company.
• Representing independent short seller in SEC and DOJ investigation of alleged manipulative stock trading practices.
• Representing a global medical company before the DOJ and SEC in an investigation of accounting practices and potential FCPA violations across many countries in Asia.
• Representing a medical device manufacturer before the DOJ and SEC relating to its interactions with public hospitals, health care providers, and distributors in Asia.
• Representing major technology company in multi-billion dollar investment due diligence, and risk assessments associated with infrastructure projects.
• Representing technology company related to alleged real estate kickback scheme associated with data centers.
• Representing the Audit Committee of an educational services company before the DOJ and SEC in an FCPA investigation in Middle East.
• Representing direct marketing company in an investigation before the DOJ and SEC of its internal controls and potential FCPA violations in Asia.
• Representing hospitality company before the DOJ and SEC in an investigation of potential FCPA violations in the Middle East.
• Representing former executive of biopharmaceutical company in DOJ and SEC investigations into alleged securities fraud scheme relating to drug trial performance.
• Representing executive in criminal and civil False Claims Act investigations by DOJ related to alleged government contracting fraud.
• Represented Audit Committee of a public medical diagnostics company in an internal investigation of whistleblower allegations of accounting improprieties and internal controls deficiencies.