Annie Railton is a partner in Goodwin’s Government Investigations & Enforcement practice. She represents companies, boards, executives, and other individuals in government and internal investigations, regulatory and enforcement proceedings, and complex civil litigation. She currently co-leads the firm’s Healthcare Government Enforcement & False Claims Act Defense and Financial Services Litigation & Investigations practices.
Annie is ranked by Chambers USA among the leading white-collar defense and government investigations attorneys in New York, where she is recognized as a “terrific lawyer” with “a good reputation and judgment” who has “a tremendous ability to fully dissect the government’s arguments through her advocacy.” She is also recommended by The Legal 500 US for her corporate investigations and white-collar criminal defense practice.
Annie regularly defends clients in False Claims Act investigations and litigation, DOJ criminal cases, SEC Enforcement and Examination inquiries, and investigations by state attorneys general, among other regulators. She has also conducted numerous internal investigations for companies, boards of directors, and special board committees. Her matters include, among other things, compliance with healthcare regulations, anti-kickback and bribery laws, US tariff and customs regulations, and securities laws.
Experience
Areas of Practice
Professional Activities
Annie worked as a Special Assistant District Attorney for the Kings County (Brooklyn) District Attorney’s Office in 2013, where she prosecuted felony cases and conducted several jury trials and evidentiary hearings.
Annie also has an active pro bono practice, representing individuals and entities in a variety of federal and state matters, including several clients in federal criminal cases. She also represented the National Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers in an amicus brief filed with the US Supreme Court.
At Goodwin, Annie is actively involved in associate mentoring and serves on her group’s Attorney Development Committee. As a member of the Community Service Committee, she also helped plan the annual New York Day of Service for several years.
Annie is a member of the Federal Bar Council, the New York City Bar Association, the Women’s White Collar Defense Association and the National Association of Women Lawyers.
Credentials
Education
JD2008
New York University School of Law
BA2004
New York University
Gallatin School of Individualized Study
(magna cum laude)
Admissions
Bars
- New York
Courts
- U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York
- U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of New York
- U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit
- U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit
Recognition & Awards
Annie is recognized by Chambers USA for her work in White-Collar Crime & Government Investigations and in Healthcare, where she is described as “a terrific lawyer” who has “a lot of great trial experience and is fantastic.” She is also recommended by The Legal 500 US for her corporate investigations and white-collar criminal defense practice.
Annie has been recognized as a Future Star by Benchmark Litigation and a Rising Star by the New York Law Journal. She was also recognized by Law360 as a White Collar “Rising Star” in 2017, one of only five attorneys nationwide to receive the award that year.
In 2018, Annie served as co-lead counsel in a federal criminal trial in the Southern District of New York, after which the judge praised “defense counsel’s excellent representation of the defendant throughout the case,” noting that “it’s plain that defense counsel did an extraordinary job, including making a successful motion to suppress, getting the count that the defendant had pleaded guilty to dismissed, and getting additional counts dismissed, either because the government couldn’t pursue them or the jury did not find them to be proven.”
At New York University School of Law, Annie was a Student Articles Development Editor for NYU’s Review of Law and Social Change.
Publications
Annie regularly writes and comments on developments related to government investigations and enforcement.
Annie’s recent publications include:
- Co-Author, “An International Guide to Corporate Internal Investigations, Second Edition,” American Bar Association, November 21, 2025
- Co-Author, “Tariff Evasion Draws Increased Federal Scrutiny,” New York Law Journal, November 2025
- Co-Author, “The Big Lessons from the SEC Speaks Conference 2024,” The Columbia Law School Blue Sky Blog, April 2024
- Co-Author, “The False Claims Act and Kickbacks: Factual Causality Required,” New York Law Journal, April 2023
- Co-Author, “Whistleblower Lawyers Use False Claims Act to Target Private Equity Firms Invested in Healthcare and Life Sciences,” Journal of Health Care Compliance, June 2022
- Co-Author, “HHS OIG Opines on Longstanding Medtech Legal Issue—Physician-Owned Device Distributors,” WLF Legal Pulse, May 2022
- Co-Author, “The DOJ Goes Phishing: The Rise of False Claims Act Cybersecurity Litigation,” Business Crimes Bulletin, March 2022
- Co-Author, “Senate Judiciary Committee Advances False Claims Act Amendment to Full Senate,” Life Sciences Perspectives, November 2021
- Co-Author, “PE Investment in Health Care Attracting Greater Federal Scrutiny,” New York Law Journal, June 2021
- Co-Author, “Life Sciences Companies Face Heightened Insider Trading Risks and Scrutiny,” Compliance & Enforcement, April 2021
- Co-Author, “For Civil Enforcement, The Pandemic Is Just Beginning,” New York Law Journal, April 2021
- Author, “Enhanced Scrutiny of COVID-19 Medicare Payments and Data Reporting for Hospitals,” New York Law Journal, October 2020
- Co-Author, “Next for America’s Nursing Homes: A Legal Pandemic,” New York Law Journal, June 2020
- Co-Author, “To Fight the Pandemic, Health Care Companies Face New Opportunities But Old Legal Risks,” New York Law Journal, April 2020
- Co-Author, “New Attack on Physician Compensation Models Under the Stark Law,” New York Law Journal, December 2019
- Co-Author, “Does Violating Medicare Regulatory Guidance Still Create False Claims Act Liability?,” New York Law Journal, June 2019
- Co-Author, “Claim Certifying Medical Necessity Must Meet Definition of ‘Reasonable and Necessary,” New York Law Journal, March 2019
- Co-Author, “New DOJ Policies May Help Companies Better Navigate False Claims Act Investigations,” Risk & Compliance Magazine, October 2018
- Co-Author, “DOJ Announces Public Release of the Cyber-Digital Task Force’s First Report; Impact on and Role of the Private Sector Likely to be a Focus in the Coming Months,” Compliance & Enforcement, August 2018
- Co-Author, “DOJ Announces Establishment of Task Force on Market Integrity and Consumer Fraud; SEC Chairman Highlights Actions Involving ICOs,” Digital Currency & Blockchain Perspectives, July 2018
- Co-Author, “Two Recent Cases Illustrate Need to Rely on Causal Concepts in FCA Cases,” New York Law Journal, June 2018
Annie’s recent speaking engagements include:
- Speaker, Tariff “Enforcement Beyond § 1592,” 24th Annual Dominick L. DiCarlo U.S. Court of International Trade Lecture, April 2026
- Speaker, “Private Equity Investment Risks in Healthcare,” ABA National Institute on Health Care Fraud, June 2022
- Speaker, “Internal Investigations and the Prosecutor’s Perspective,” Compliance Savvy Executive Series, April 2022
- Speaker, “Compliance Program Growth – Internal Investigations,” Goodwin Foundations In Healthcare Compliance Series, December 2021
- Speaker, “False Claims Act Risks and Trends in U.S. Higher Education,” Boston Bar Association Virtual Higher Education Legal Conference, March 2021
- Speaker, “False Claims Act Risks and Trends in U.S. Higher Education,” Goodwin Higher Education Symposium, October 2020
- Speaker, “Healthcare Issues + Trends: The False Claims Act and Other Government Enforcement,” Goodwin Webinar Series, July 2020
- Speaker, “Legal Risks Associated with PPP Loan Applications,” Airbase Navigating Uncertainty Series, May 2020
- Speaker, “Enforcement Trends and Risks in Healthcare and Life Sciences,” New York Healthcare + Biotech CLE Day, October 2019
- Speaker, “Government Investigations and Compliance,” Benchmark Women in Litigation Forum, September 2017