John S. Irving is a member of the firm's Litigation Section. He is a former federal prosecutor with significant trial and investigative experience, who focuses his practice on white collar defense, civil and criminal environmental matters, compliance, internal investigations, congressional investigations, and maritime issues.
At Holland & Knight, Mr. Irving's representations have included serving as Special Impeachment Counsel to the U.S. House of Representatives Committee on the Judiciary, representing U.S. and foreign companies and individuals in federal grand jury investigations and discussions with the U.S. Department of Justice and other federal investigative agencies, performing internal investigations, representing a federal law enforcement official in agency disciplinary proceedings, assisting in the trial of a False Claims Act case involving fraud, and advising clients on issues pertaining to the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act, money laundering, environmental laws, the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines, and electronic discovery.
Prior to entering private practice, Mr. Irving served for nearly 10 years at the United States Department of Justice. As an Assistant United States Attorney in Washington, D.C., he handled a range of matters, including grand jury investigations, the prosecution of offenses from theft to First Degree Murder, and appellate arguments. He tried dozens of cases before federal and local juries and courts and investigated many more. Starting in 2005, Mr. Irving served as Counsel to two Deputy Attorneys General, where he reviewed death penalty cases and coordinated a presidential initiative to reduce gun crime. In the Fall of 2006, Mr. Irving was appointed Counsel to the Assistant Attorney General for the Environment and Natural Resources Division, where he prosecuted federal criminal environmental cases in Florida and California and assisted in defending federal government agencies against civil environmental claims involving natural resources damages and a number of environmental statutes. Mr. Irving also received extensive instruction on issues related to corporate fraud including compliance programs, parallel investigations, Sarbanes-Oxley requirements, and unlawful accounting and securities practices.
Mr. Irving's broad legal experience in Washington also includes significant exposure to public corruption cases while investigating unlawful political campaign contributions as Investigative Counsel for the United States House of Representatives' Committee on Government Reform and Oversight, and while working with federal prosecutors and agents in the Office of Independent Counsel.