Bill Harrington is a seasoned trial lawyer and appellate advocate. He has tried 11 federal criminal trials and argued eight federal criminal appeals. He formerly served as a federal prosecutor in the Southern District of New York where he oversaw criminal healthcare fraud investigations and also conducted numerous fraud and corruption prosecutions.
Criminal, Regulatory and Congressional Investigations
Companies and senior executives have chosen Mr. Harrington to defend them in a broad range of high-profile, sensitive criminal, regulatory, and congressional investigations.
Mr. Harrington is a specialist in healthcare matters involving federal healthcare fraud, the Anti-Kickback Statute, the False Claims Act, and the Stark Act. Mr. Harrington won an acquittal at a jury trial for the former president of Warner Chilcott, a pharmaceutical company investigated for illegal marketing. He has also represented pharmaceutical and durable medical equipment companies in non-public DOJ investigations of billing practices, manufacturing processes, and sales strategies. He won dismissal for a durable medical equipment manufacturer in a False Claims Act suit alleging fraud in its sales distribution model. In private practice, Mr. Harrington has designed compliance materials imposing safeguards around pharmaceutical company-sponsored events for non-U.S. doctors and hospital executives. He has also advised startup pharmaceutical companies on structuring their business models to comply with relevant federal guidelines, including the Stark Act. As a prosecutor, he investigated payments by pharmaceutical companies to doctors both in the U.S. and in foreign countries.
Mr. Harrington also has extensive experience in both consumer banking and investment banking investigations. He successfully represented Countrywide Home Loans in defeating a FIRREA and False Claims Act case in which the DOJ contended a sales program known as “HSSL” fraudulently generated mortgage loans that were sold to Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac. Countrywide won the case with no liability. Mr. Harrington serves as counsel for multiple current and former bank executives in benchmark antitrust and fraud investigations, including those related to the foreign exchange markets, U.S. treasury bonds, LIBOR, precious metals, and ISDAFIX. Mr. Harrington has recently represented broker-dealer executives in FSA, DOJ and SEC trading-fee probes, bank executives in multiple mismarking investigations, and a former state investigator in an investigation related to a New York State anti-corruption commission. He also defends companies, senior executives, and hedge fund traders in insider trading investigations and prosecutions.
Mr. Harrington’s practice frequently involves novel questions of how regulatory and criminal rules apply to new technologies. He represented Symphony Communication Services, a provider of encrypted communications systems, in regulatory matters related to the use of encrypted communications; CloudFlare, a website optimizer, in disputes with copyright holders over the scope of federal injunctive authority; and GoFundMe, a crowdfunding platform, in sanctions compliance matters.
Foreign Bribery and International Money Laundering
Mr. Harrington has extensive experience in foreign bribery allegations and international money laundering matters. He is currently advising senior executives of a South American construction company in an international accounting and bribery investigation related to Brazil’s Operation Car Wash. Mr. Harrington also represents an athletic wear company in investigations related to the FIFA-bribery cases of sponsorship and advertising agreements. He also represents a senior human resources executive at an international bank in SEC investigations related to preferential hiring of the relatives of foreign government officials.
Previously, Mr. Harrington has represented consumer product companies, energy company executives, financial institutions, construction company executives, and military contractors in both corporate internal and grand jury Foreign Corrupt Practices Act investigations. He has also developed anti-corruption training materials, audits and policies for travel companies and consumer product companies. His matters have included those raising allegations of corruption or money laundering in Afghanistan, Argentina, Brazil, Colombia, Costa Rica, Ecuador, Ghana, Guatemala, Indonesia, Lebanon, Kenya, Mexico, Peru, Russia, Saudi Arabia, Spain, Switzerland and the Ukraine.
False Claims Act
Mr. Harrington is an expert in federal civil fraud suits under the False Claims Act and FIRREA. Several such matters, including his successful defense of Countrywide Home Loans in the “HSSL” case, involve allegations that fraudulently generated mortgage loans that were certified for F.H.A. insurance or were sold to Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac. He currently represents two financial institutions in similar DOJ investigations of mortgage origination practices. Mr. Harrington has also represented services providers, military contractors and pharmaceutical companies in False Claims Act investigations. Mr. Harrington is regularly invited to speak to industry and legal groups on the False Claims Act and he writes a regular column in the New York Law Journal on federal affirmative fraud suits.
Pro Bono
Mr. Harrington serves as co-chair of Goodwin’s Pro Bono Committee, and represents indigent individuals as a member of both the Criminal Justice Act Panel for the Southern District of New York and the Second Circuit’s pro bono panel.
