Baker Donelson Adds Former DOJ Prosecutor and SEC Enforcement Division Senior Counsel Ferdose al-Taie to Government Enforcement and Investigations Group

Ms. al-Taie focuses her practice on white-collar criminal defense, internal investigations, antitrust/competition law, SEC enforcement, government investigations, and corporate compliance. In addition to being a bet-the-company business litigator, she defends companies and individuals in a variety of government investigations and enforcement actions, including matters involving allegations of antitrust violations, mergers and acquisitions, corporate misconduct under the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA), whistleblower allegations (qui tam health care fraud and securities violations), federal equity receiverships, and allegations of cryptocurrency malfeasance. She is particularly skilled at defending clients undergoing parallel civil and criminal enforcement actions.

Chair of Baker Donelson's Government Enforcement and Investigations Group Matthew S. Chester said, "Like many members of our team, Ferdose brings a significant amount of prosecutorial experience, which is a tremendous benefit to our clients. Having the perspective of a former federal prosecutor and SEC enforcement attorney is essential to providing effective defense and compliance counseling. With her additional experience in assisting clients in internal investigations and commercial litigation disputes, Ferdose adds further depth to our Group's already substantive understanding of a range of criminal and civil enforcement actions."

During her five years at the DOJ, Ms. al-Taie served as a trial attorney in the Antitrust Division in the District of Columbia, a Special Assistant U.S. Attorney in the Eastern District of Virginia in Alexandria prosecuting criminal cases, and a civil Assistant U.S. Attorney in the District of Arizona in Phoenix who defended the government and brought affirmative civil actions. During her five years at the SEC in the District of Columbia, she investigated and prosecuted federal securities law violations, including complex financial fraud, insider trading, multilevel marketing schemes, municipal securities violations, accounting violations, unregistered securities offerings, and broker-dealer violations.

Since leaving the SEC, Ms. al-Taie has served as a federal equity receiver and receiver's counsel, a position for which she was nominated by the SEC and appointed by federal judges. Prior to joining Baker Donelson, she was a partner with the law firm Akerman LLP.

Ms. al-Taie, who resides in Dallas and works virtually in the Firm's Houston and Washington, D.C. offices, is the incoming co-chair of the White Collar & Criminal Litigation Committee of the ABA Litigation Section, is active in the Women's White Collar Defense Association, and is a mentor with the Dallas Women Lawyers Association. She has served as a board member for the Constitutional Law Center for Muslims in America, a board member of the Women's Bar Association of the District of Columbia, and chair of the Judicial Outreach Committee of the National Association of Federal Equity Receivers. Ms. al-Taie earned her bachelor's degree from Cornell University, her law degree from American University's Washington College of Law, and a certificate in Securities Law from Georgetown University Law Center.