Global law firm Goodwin today announced that Katherine L. Wawrzyniak joined the firm’s Complex Litigation & Dispute Resolution practice as a partner, resident in the San Francisco office. Katie joins the firm after serving as Deputy Chief of the Criminal Division of the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Northern District of California (USAO).
“We are thrilled to welcome Katie to Goodwin. She has deep and valuable experience navigating government investigations, as well as expertise in handling complex business disputes from her time in private practice, which will add meaningful depth to our litigation department as we support the increasing business needs of our clients,” said Jennifer Fisher, head of Goodwin’s Litigation department for Northern California. “Katie’s wealth of experience and leadership will be invaluable to our team as we continue to grow our litigation practice in California.”
During her tenure at USAO, Katie was responsible for overseeing the entire criminal division, consisting of approximately 95 Assistant U.S. Attorneys, spread across three branches and seven specialty sections.
Prior to joining senior management, Katie represented the United States in all stages of criminal litigation. She has conducted sophisticated long-term investigations and obtained guilty verdicts in four jury trials. Katie served as Co-Chief of the General Crimes Section, and as a line AUSA in the Corporate Fraud Strike Force and Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Force.
Goodwin has been recognized as an industry leader in government investigations and enforcement and white collar defense by top publications including Chambers USA, The Legal 500, and Benchmark Litigation. Katie is the latest addition to Goodwin’s deep bench of former government regulators and federal prosecutors from key U.S. Attorney’s offices and the DOJ.
The Complex Litigation & Dispute Resolution practice is highly ranked by leading industry publications including The American Lawyer, Benchmark Litigation, Daily Journal, Chambers, Legal 500, and U.S. News — Best Lawyers “Best Law Firms.” Most recently, Refinitiv ranked Goodwin in the top five for shareholder activism defense for its representation of public companies during 2022 and once again ranked Goodwin as the number one firm for Global M&A in its H1 2023 league tables.