Holland & Knight Partner John Brownlee Appointed Co-Chair of White Collar Defense Team
Washington, D.C. – June 4, 2010 – Holland & Knight's Managing Partner, Steven Sonberg, is pleased to announce the appointment of John Brownlee as co-chair of the White Collar Defense Team, which comprises 25 attorneys based in seven offices. Brownlee is a partner based in the firm's Northern Virginia and Washington, DC offices.
"I am pleased that John has accepted my request to co-chair our national White Collar Defense Team," said Sonberg. "John's broad legal experience and distinguished record as the United States Attorney for the Western District of Virginia and as an Assistant U.S. Attorney for District of Columbia will be tremendous assets as John takes on this new leadership role."
Brownlee's co-chair is John Hogan, who has led the White Collar Defense Team for more than 10 years. Hogan is a partner in the firm's Miami office and is the Chair of the South Florida Litigation Practice Group. Prior to joining H&K, Hogan's government experience included serving as the Chief of Staff to the Attorney General of the United States, as well as the acting United States Attorney for the Northern District of Georgia in Atlanta, and the first Statewide Prosecutor of Florida.
Brownlee's practice focuses on domestic and international enforcement defense matters and related civil litigation and federal white collar criminal defense. He is heavily involved in the firm's Foreign Corrupt Practices Act and False Claims Act practices and in handling mandatory disclosure matters, internal investigations, and Inspector General and grand jury investigations. Mr. Brownlee has extensive experience at the U.S. Department of Justice and the highest levels of federal law enforcement.
Prior to joining Holland & Knight, Mr. Brownlee served as the U.S. Attorney for the Western District of Virginia. Nominated by the President, he was unanimously confirmed by the U.S. Senate in 2001 and served with distinction for nearly seven years. As the district's chief federal law enforcement officer, Mr. Brownlee supervised the prosecution of all federal crimes and the litigation of all civil matters involving the federal government. During his nearly 11 years as a federal prosecutor, Brownlee successfully prosecuted many high profile cases, including numerous public corruption, violent crime, and complex financial fraud and environmental crimes.
Prior to his service as U.S. Attorney, Mr. Brownlee served as an Assistant U.S. Attorney in the District of Columbia from 1997 through 2001. He also had the distinct honor of serving as a law clerk for The Honorable Sam Wilson, U.S. District Judge, Western District of Virginia.
Mr. Brownlee served on active duty in the U.S. Army as an infantry officer and was a member of the Judge Advocate General Corps (JAG) in the Army Reserves. He is a graduate of the Army's Airborne and Ranger programs. He taught trial advocacy as an Adjunct Law Professor at the University of Virginia School of Law.
Brownlee holds an undergraduate degree from Washington and Lee University and law degree from the College of William & Mary.