White & Case

George J. Terwilliger III
Partner, Washington, DC
Contact Info
George J. Terwilliger III
Partner
701 Thirteenth Street, NW
Washington, DC
20005
United States
T: + 1 202 626 3600
F: + 1 202 639 9355

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Awards
Three DC Lawyers Named to Annual List

White & Case Swells Ranks in 2007 Guide

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Practice Experience
George Terwilliger is an experienced international lawyer and national practitioner.  He is the global head of the White Collar Practice Group of White & Case.  His experience combines a distinguished public service career with a private practice record of outstanding client results.  As the summary of his engagements below attests, throughout his career in public service and private practice he has been entrusted with significant and complex legal matters.  Mr. Terwilliger enjoys strong credibility with judges, peers and public officials.  He is also a media savvy professional whose experience and credibility as a public persona brings an added dimension to his counsel in many matters.

Mr. Terwilliger served as a presidential appointee in two administrations.  He was the Deputy Attorney General, the number two official of the US Department of Justice, in charge of all Justice Department operations, including crisis response, such as the civil unrest in Los Angeles in 1992.  On policy matters, he was a principal in the highest councils of government charged with addressing the broad array of legal policy issues arising in the Executive Branch.  He also served as a presidentially appointed United States Attorney for five years and for eight years as a front-line federal prosecutor.

In private practice, Mr. Terwilliger's clients have included national and international companies and prominent individuals.  Mr. Terwilliger was a leader of President George W. Bush's legal team during the Florida election recount.  He has successfully represented the interests of major corporations and other institutions in civil and criminal enforcement proceedings, including financial crimes and environmental, antitrust, healthcare and tax matters, among others.

Mr. Terwilliger has also served as counsel to a US Senate investigation, outside general counsel to federal commissions as well as confidant and counselor to elected and appointed officials.

Litigation Experience
Mr. Terwilliger served as a federal prosecutor for over ten years, during which time he became a highly skilled and accomplished trial and appellate lawyer, in jury trials and federal appeals, including numerous oral arguments in these proceedings.  He has tried many cases to verdict and continues to take a lead role in trial and appellate proceedings.  He represents clients in domestic and international matters, providing counsel and representation in matters calling for the sound, seasoned judgment of a highly experienced attorney.

Engagements
In private practice, Mr. Terwilliger has represented many of the largest companies in the nation and the world in civil and criminal cases.  In public service, Mr. Terwilliger was entrusted with responsibility for directing, and in certain matters, personally supervising some of the largest and most sensitive matters on the government's legal docket.  His professional background includes many matters in which he has obtained client objectives quietly.  However, it is not surprising that he has also been involved in many of the most significant legal matters to come to public attention, including:

  • BCCI: In his public service career, while serving as Deputy Attorney General (the number two position at the US Department of Justice), Mr. Terwilliger led personally the team which prosecuted and resolved criminal and civil allegations by the US government against BCCI in one of the most pervasive international bank fraud cases on record. Specifically, he took personal charge of all Department of Justice investigations of BCCI, crafted terms of engagement to resolve all matters and negotiated agreed-upon terms of settlement.  He then expanded the resolution to include interagency and inter-governmental matters, which resulted in a comprehensive international civil and criminal resolution between BCCI entities, including court appointed liquidators in several countries, and over twenty federal, state and local US governmental bodies with enforcement jurisdiction in the matter, including the Justice Department and US Attorneys Offices, the SEC, the Federal Reserve, the NY District Attorney and state banking authorities in New York and California.
  • Financial Fraud Task Force: While Deputy Attorney General, Mr. Terwilliger was chair of an interagency financial fraud task force which coordinated and directed US government agency activities in connection with widespread financial fraud, particularly in the savings and loan industry.  He also supervised an interagency review and decided major issues in an industry-rocking scandal involving fraud in the municipal bond market.
  • Crédit Lyonnais/Executive Life: In 2001, after the federal prosecutor in Los Angeles had decided to indict French bank Crédit Lyonnais and a French government-owned defeasance corporation holding Crédit Lyonnais assets and liabilities (the Consortium de Realisation – "CDR"), Mr. Terwilliger took charge of the leadership of the defense of Crédit Lyonnais and CDR, sought and obtained review by the Justice Department officials of the decision to indict and succeeded in having the case referred back to the Los Angeles prosecutor for reconsideration.  Thereafter Mr. Terwilliger led the negotiations that resulted in reducing the scope of charges against Crédit Lyonnais and CDR so as to preserve important elements of their defense of related civil allegations.  In the settlement of the criminal matter, Mr. Terwilliger obtained agreement by the government that several hundred million dollars pledged as part of the criminal disposition could be used in the future to offset potential civil liabilities. Thereafter, Mr. Terwilliger took charge of the litigation team defending Crédit Lyonnais and CDR from US$4billion in claims and civil proceedings in California and after prolonged pretrial proceedings, won an agreement to settle those claims for US$750 million, offset by the amount already pledged in connection with the criminal disposition.  Mr. Terwilliger worked closely with agencies and officials of the French government in both Paris and Washington in connection with these matters.

    Mr. Terwilliger has been most recently the lead litigation counsel for CDR and Crédit Lyonnais in the defense of new civil fraud and contract allegations brought against them by a party to the Executive Life matter. The White & Case team he leads won dismissal of most of these charges and summary judgment for the remaining fraud charge in the case, which is now on appeal by the plaintiffs.

  • Bank of America: Working directly with the general counsel of the Bank of America, as well as its CEO and CFO, Mr. Terwilliger successfully defended the bank in proceedings where criminal allegations were made against the bank and a joint venture associate in connection with their participation in a securities offering involving mortgage-backed derivatives.  Mr. Terwilliger negotiated a resolution of a civil nature following many months of discussions with both the involved United States Attorney's office and the Criminal Division of the US Department of Justice.
  • Financial Reporting Matter: Mr. Terwilliger was engaged by the board a US Fortune 500 company to undertake a comprehensive review and report on the actions of senior management and board members in addressing financial reporting irregularities that were the subject of a prolonged US government investigation.  The review encompassed examining the activities of the company's most senior managers, several board members as well as outside legal and financial advisers to the company.  The company subsequently provided the report of the review and its conclusions to the US enforcement authorities as part of the negotiation of a resolution of the claims against it.
  • Schnitzer Steel Industries: In this matter, Mr. Terwilliger was engaged to provide the Board of Directors and chairman of a public company with counsel following an independent investigation by the audit committee of the Board which revealed long-standing practices involving corrupt payments to foreign governments and entities by the company.  Mr. Terwilliger assisted the board in resolving these matters with the SEC and the Department of Justice and in restructuring the board, senior management and compliance operations of the company.

Other Significant Engagements Include:

  • Internal Investigations and Compliance Reviews: Mr. Terwilliger has personally directed, supervised and managed internal factual investigations, and resulting legal analysis, for major international companies in matters arising in Europe, the Middle East, the Far East, the United States, Central and South America in connection with a wide variety of business operations including, but not limited to, banking and finance, energy, telecommunications, manufacturing and transportation.

    Mr. Terwilliger also led a team which designed, managed and conducted a worldwide compliance review that involved assessment of compliance with various legal requirements by businesses in several hundred countries and included on-site review in over 60 countries on six continents.  He and his White & Case team designed and implemented a risk-based assessment tool, approved by US government authorities, that was applied to conduct the most intensive compliance and risk management assessments in operations where the risk of noncompliance and potential liability was the highest.

    Mr. Terwilliger has extensive experience interfacing with various governmental authorities to report and resolve the results of internal investigations and, where consistent with client directives, to provide cooperation and assistance in connection with the government's own investigation of business operations and incidents.

  • Representation of Legal Professionals: Mr. Terwilliger has been called upon on several occasions to represent other lawyers.  He was engaged to represent the legal department of a major US industrial company in connection with criminal proceedings initiated against its lawyers in connection with discovery in civil litigation and resolved the matter without criminal charges being preferred.  He successfully defended a senior lawyer in private practice in a criminal investigation of whether the lawyer and his firm had misled a government agency in regulatory proceedings.  He is currently defending a patent attorney against ethics charges in connection with the attorney's exposure, through a contested litigation tactic, of biased testimony by an expert witness.
  • False Claims Act: Mr. Terwilliger has represented several major US companies in connection with investigations and civil litigation proceedings under the False Claims Act involving allegations of overcharging or underpaying obligations to US government entities.  He is currently lead counsel in such a matter where the client prevailed in the trial court and the matter is now before a federal appeals court.
  • Liaison with Government Authorities: During a terrorism incident in which snipers paralyzed the Washington region with random shootings, Mr. Terwilliger provided a liaison between a major US commercial bank and federal authorities who needed its assistance in connection with the investigation of the incidents.  In another matter, Mr. Terwilliger acted for a client who discovered that marketing mechanisms by which it would apply for visas for foreign nationals to visit certain European countries were being utilized to provide foreign nationals from the Middle East and North Africa visas under false names and with false identification data.  Mr. Terwilliger also assisted a financial institution client and governmental authorities in addressing the need for assistance in connection with an international terrorism matter.
  • Environmental Enforcement: Taking over responsibility for a commercial shipping entity to address allegations of civil and criminal environmental violations, Mr. Terwilliger successfully negotiated a comprehensive resolution satisfactory to the client with multiple state and federal agencies in three different jurisdictions.
  • Healthcare Fraud: Mr. Terwilliger has represented multiple clients in healthcare fraud and abuse investigations and proceedings.  His work has included representation of academic medical centers and private hospitals regarding allegations of fraudulent billing.
  • Representation of Individuals: Mr. Terwilliger has represented high-ranking executive branch officials, members of the US Senate and US House in both criminal proceedings and ethics matters. He has also represented prominent business persons and media personalities in criminal and civil proceedings.
  • Public Policy and Counsel to Government Undertakings: Mr. Terwilliger has regularly been called upon by both government and non-government entities to provide commentary and content to discussion and debate of key legal and public policy issues.  His speeches and writings have included addressing the erosion of attorney client privilege, the criminalization of business regulation and addressing national security legal issues following the terror attacks of September 11, 2001.  He serves as president of the Critical Strategies Foundation, dedicated to the funding of organizations and projects designed to assist in addressing critical challenges to democratic institutions through the use of multidisciplinary assets.

    Mr. Terwilliger has also served as outside counsel to a US Senate investigation and counsel to two congressionally established United States commissions.  He is also been an informal adviser to cabinet and executive branch officials as well as members of the legislative branch individually.

Courts
US Supreme Court
US Courts of Appeals for the Second, Fourth and District of Columbia Circuits
US District Courts
US Tax Court

Education
B.A., Seton Hall University, 1973
J.D., Antioch School of Law, 1978

Publications
"Costs of Containing Costs," The National Law Journal, March 3, 2008
"Internal Investigations," The National Law Journal, November 26, 2007
"Independent Investigations: Why, When and How to Make Them Work," Directors and Boards Boardroom Briefing, October 2, 2001, (co-authored with Darryl S. Lew)
"Under-Breaded Shrimp and Other High Crimes: Adressing the Over-Criminalization  of Commercial Regulation," American Criminal Law Review, Fall 2007
"Voluntary Disclosures," The National Law Journal, June 25, 2007
"The Attorneys Showdown," The Wall Street Journal, March 28, 2007
"Business Crime—The McNulty Memo," The National Law Journal, March 26, 2007
"Corporate Crisis: Considerations for Counsel Managing the Response to Investigations, Litigation, and Other Critical Corporate Events," National Legal Center for the Public Interest, January 18, 2007
"Borders," Patriot Debates: Experts Debate the USA Patriot Act, June 2006
"Internal Investigations EU Data Protection Laws," The National Law Journal, May 22, 2006
"Privilege in Peril: Corporate Cooperation in The New Era of Government Investigations," Engage—The Journal of the Federalist Society's Practice Groups, March 2006 (co-authored with Darryl S. Lew)
"Borders," Patriot Debates—Experts Debate the USA Patriot Act," American Bar Association, 2005 (co-authored with Timothy Edgar)
"Business Crime 'US v. Pasquantino'," The National Law Journal, November 7, 2005
"GCs and Business Managers Play Crucial Role in Responding to Business Crimes Investigations," The National Law Journal, August 15, 2005
"Acts of Subsidiaries FCPA Enforcement," The National Law Journal, April 18, 2005
"Corporate Donations ‘527' Organizations," The National Law Journal, September 13, 2004 (co-authored with John C. Wells)
"Business Crimes Privilege in Jeopardy," The National Law Journal, February 9, 2004
"Chapter 7: Multinational Corporations After September 11: New Risks and New Responsibilities" The Executive's Desk Book on Corporate Risks and Response For Homeland Security, 2003 (co-authored with Randall Larsen, Elin Gursky, Edward E. McNally)
"Commerce and Crime—Business Regulation," The National Law Journal, January 2003
"The War On Terrorism: Law Enforcement or National Security?" The Federalist Society: National Security White Papers, 2001
Corporate Criminal Liability: A Handbook for Protection Against Statutory Violations, Washington Legal Foundation, 1997

Speaking Engagements
"The First 72 Hours of a Government Investigation," National Legal Center for the Public Interest General Counsel Conference, Washington, DC, January 2007
"A Bridge Too Far: The Creeping Criminalization of Corporate Conduct," Seventh Annual Legal Reform Summit hosted by the US Chamber Institute for Legal Reform and the National Chamber Foundation, Washington, DC, October 2006
"Internal Investigations of Corporations and Indemnification of Officers," Virginia Bar Association Corporate Counsel Fall Forum, Richmond, VA, October 2006
"Defective Products: Will Criminal Penalties Ensure Corporate Accountability?," US Senate Judiciary Committee hearing, Washington, DC, March 2006
"Implications of the US Department of Justice policy on the attorney-client privilege during a panel" Federalist Society for Law & Public Policy Studies, Washington, DC, January 2006
"Attorney-Client Privilege: Where Do We Go From Here?", US Chamber of Commerce and the National Chamber Foundation, Washington, DC, November 2005
"The Role of Criminal Law and Intent in Regulating Corporate Behavior," Fourth Annual General Counsel Forum, Philadelphia, September 2005
"Corporate Crisis: Considerations for Counsel Managing the Response to Investigations, Litigation and Other Critical Corporate Events," April 2001
"Netting Your Data: Investigation and Discovery of Electronic Data," June 1998
"Use of the Primary Jurisdiction Doctrine in False Claims Act Cases," American Bar Association Seminar Series, 1998

Awards and Rankings
The Best Lawyers in America, White Collar
National Law Journal, 100 Most Influential Lawyers in America

Languages
English

Citizenship
United States
 



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