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Dan Shallman, a former federal public corruption prosecutor, is an accomplished trial lawyer, investigator, and strategist. Mr. Shallman specializes in representing companies, independent board committees, and senior corporate executives in sensitive government and internal investigations. He is known for his ability to successfully resolve complex civil and criminal matters, including cross-border investigations involving alleged violations of the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA) and other anti-bribery laws, the False Claims Act (FCA), and the Sherman Antitrust Act.
Mr. Shallman is a leader of Covington’s west coast White Collar Defense and Investigations Practice and serves as vice chair of Covington’s renowned Global Anti-Corruption Practice Group.
Mr. Shallman was a founding partner of Covington’s Los Angeles Office in 2015 and serves as the Hiring Partner. He has been named one of the most influential white collar defense attorneys in Los Angeles by the LA Business Journal. A leader in the Los Angeles legal community, Mr. Shallman is a past chair of the ABA White Collar Crime Committee for Southern California and the 1,200-lawyer Legal Division of the Jewish Federation of Los Angeles. He currently serves on the Board of Directors of Bet Tzedek Legal Services.
- Counsel for one of Asia’s leading energy companies in a DOJ cartel investigation of alleged bid rigging and violations of the False Claims Act.
- Counsel for a military parts manufacturer in a DOJ False Claims Act investigation of alleged failure to comply with MIL-SPEC requirements for testing and qualification.
- Counsel for the Audit Committee of a global gaming and integrated resort company. Led independent internal investigation of alleged FCPA violations in Macau and Mainland China, and represented the Audit Committee in parallel DOJ and SEC investigations.
- Counsel for former senior executives of a major financial institution in criminal and civil investigations by the DOJ, SEC, and OCC regarding allegedly improper consumer sales practices.
- Counsel for former senior executives of a major financial institution in a DOJ investigation of alleged fraud in connection with the sale of mortgage-backed securities.
- Counsel for a global construction and engineering company in conducting internal investigations of potential FCPA violations in Latin America and Korea.
- Counsel for a global construction and engineering company in a Federal grand jury investigation of alleged violations of U.S. domestic bribery laws.
- Counsel for a global construction and engineering company in connection with an investigation by World Bank INT into alleged corruption, collusion, and fraud in World Bank funded projects in Asia.
- Counsel for the Special Litigation Committee of the Board of Directors of a technology company in conducting an independent investigation of alleged self-dealing and improper stock option awards by management.
- Trial counsel for Harry Potter author, J. K. Rowling, and Warner Bros. in a high profile copyright infringement trial. Defeated fair use claims and obtained a permanent injunction against the defendant publisher.
- Obtained declination from DOJ on behalf of a major film company in an investigation of alleged FCPA violations in Africa.
- Obtained declination from the U.S. Attorney’s Office on behalf of a major sportswear company in an investigation of alleged misleading advertising and obstruction of justice.
- Obtained declination and secured witness status from the U.S. Attorney’s Office on behalf of a senior California elected official in a federal political corruption investigation.
- Obtained declination from the U.S. Attorney’s Office on behalf of a Member of Congress in a corruption and fraud investigation. Represented client in House Ethics Committee investigation, which resulted in a complete exoneration.
- Advised a leading technology company on consumer privacy and data protection issues, and in preparing for and responding to data intrusions.
- Obtained a highly favorable resolution of a DOJ criminal antitrust investigation on behalf of an international airline in a cartel investigation involving alleged price-fixing of passenger ticket prices and air cargo rates.
- As a federal prosecutor, Mr. Shallman led a two-year grand jury investigation into political corruption in Southeast Los Angeles County resulting in a 39-count indictment against the former Mayor of Lynwood and three associates. Following a two-month trial, the jury returned guilty verdicts on all counts, and the lead defendant received one of the longest sentences ever imposed upon a public official for corruption in office (188 months).
Memberships and Affiliations
- Board of Directors, Bet Tzedek Legal Services
- American Bar Association White Collar Crime Committee for Southern California, Co-Chair (2014-2016)
- Legal Division of the Jewish Federation of Greater Los Angeles, Chair (2011-2013) and Vice-Chair (2009-2010)
- EMET, the Young Lawyers Division, Jewish Federation of Greater Los Angeles, Co-Chair and Founder (2007-2008)
- Geller Leadership Project, Jewish Federation of Greater Los Angeles, Co-Chair (2006)
Previous Experience
- Mr. Shallman served as an Assistant U.S. Attorney in Los Angeles from 1999 to 2007.
July 21, 2020, Covington Alert
On July 17, 2020, Commonwealth Edison Company (“ComEd”), an Illinois utility company, entered into a deferred prosecution agreement (the “DPA”) with the U.S. Department of Justice (“DOJ” or the “Department”) to resolve allegations of bribery under 18 U.S.C. § 666, which prohibits theft or bribery concerning programs receiving federal funds. Aside from the ...
July 20, 2020, Law360
Dan Shallman spoke with Law360 about a bribery settlement, which may target Illinois House Speaker Michael Madigan. Mr. Shallman says Friday's filings left open some “tantalizing questions” about where the federal investigation is going for Madigan and others. He adds, “It looks bad, no question about it.” But, he says it's clear the government's investigation ...
July 6, 2020, Covington Alert
On July 3, 2020, the U.S. Department of Justice’s (“DOJ” or the “Department”) Criminal Division and the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission’s (“SEC”) Enforcement Division quietly released A Resource Guide to the U.S. Foreign Corrupt Practices Act, Second Edition (the “Second Edition”). The first edition of the Resource Guide (the “First Edition”) was ...
June 12, 2020, Covington Alert
On June 8, 2020, the House of Representatives introduced the Justice in Policing Act of 2020 (hereinafter “the Act” or “the bill”) to “hold law enforcement accountable for misconduct in court, improve transparency through data collection, and reform police training and policies.” We anticipate a House committee markup the week of June 15 and a House floor vote ...
June 3, 2020, Covington Alert
On June 1, 2020, the U.S. Department of Justice (“DOJ” or the “Department”) Criminal Division released an updated version of its Evaluation of Corporate Compliance Programs document (the “Guidance”), which serves as a reference for prosecutors in assessing corporate compliance programs in the context of DOJ investigations. The Department last revised the ...
January 30, 2020, Covington Alert
It has been another strong year in anti-corruption enforcement, with 2019 meeting or beating the high-water mark for enforcement across a number of measurements.
November 6, 2019, Covington Alert
On November 5, 2019 the Department of Justice (DOJ) announced the launch of the “Procurement Collusion Strike Force” (PCSF). The creation of the PCSF marks a significant development in the government procurement enforcement landscape. Creation of the PCSF prioritizes the DOJ’s focus on government procurement offenses. As part of that effort, DOJ has launched a ...
May 10, 2019, Covington Alert
On April 30, 2019, the U.S. Department of Justice (“DOJ”) Criminal Division released an updated version of the Evaluation of Corporate Compliance Programs (the “Guidance”), which serves as a reference for prosecutors in assessing corporate compliance programs in the context of DOJ investigations.
April 3, 2019, Covington Alert
In March 2019, the U.S. Department of Justice introduced several changes to the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (“FCPA”) Corporate Enforcement Policy (“the Policy”). The Policy, originally incorporated into the Justice Manual in November 2017, outlines the Department’s position on mitigation credit that companies may receive for voluntary self-disclosure, full ...
April 3, 2019, Covington Alert
In March 2019, the U.S. Department of Justice introduced several changes to the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (“FCPA”) Corporate Enforcement Policy (“the Policy”). The Policy, originally incorporated into the Justice Manual in November 2017, outlines the Department’s position on mitigation credit that companies may receive for voluntary self-disclosure, full ...
NJ Case Signals Possible Uptick in Anti-Corruption Enforcement in Construction Industry
March 15, 2019, Corporate Counsel
Dan Shallman is quoted in Corporate Counsel regarding the anti-corruption risks of infrastructure projects in developing countries. Mr. Shallman says, We’ve seen an uptick in major infrastructure projects and those are generally in the developing world, which has the highest corruption risks. There’s risk around every corner in one of these projects.” The ...
In-House Counsel in Construction Industry May See Uptick in Anti-Corruption Enforcement
March 14, 2019, Corporate Counsel
Dan Shallman is quoted in Corporate Counsel regarding the uptick in anti-corruption enforcement. Mr. Shallman says, “We’ve seen an uptick in major infrastructure projects and those are generally in the developing world, which has the highest corruption risks. There’s risk around every corner in one of these projects.” The savviest companies have developed ...
Q1 2019, Covington Alert
It was business as usual for FCPA enforcement in 2018. The U.S. Department of Justice (“DOJ”) and the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (“SEC”) collected a total of $1 billion from seventeen corporate defendants, including through their share of two high-value, multi-jurisdictional enforcement actions. DOJ also announced thirteen new FCPA prosecutions ...
Winter 2019, Covington Alert
It was business as usual for FCPA enforcement in 2018. The U.S. Department of Justice (“DOJ”) and the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (“SEC”) collected a total of $1 billion from seventeen corporate defendants, including through their share of two high-value, multi-jurisdictional enforcement actions. DOJ also announced thirteen new FCPA prosecutions ...
September 28, 2018, Covington Advisory
On August 24, 2018, the Second Circuit issued its much-anticipated decision in U.S. v. Hoskins.Emphasizing on multiple occasions that Congress defined “with surgical precision” who could be liable under the anti-bribery provisions of the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (“FCPA”), the court held that the government may not employ conspiracy or accomplice liability ...
July 19, 2018, Covington Alert
Last week, in SEC v. Cohen, a federal district court dismissed an SEC enforcement action, in its entirety, on statute-of-limitations grounds. Most notably, citing the Supreme Court’s 2017 Kokesh decision, the court held that the injunction sought by the SEC in the case "would function at least partly to punish Defendants and is therefore a penalty" for purposes ...
February 23, 2018, Covington Alert
On Wednesday, the Supreme Court issued its much-anticipated decision in Digital Realty Trust, Inc. v. Somers. Ruling 9-0, the Court held that the Dodd-Frank Act prohibits retaliation against whistleblowers only if they reported suspected wrongdoing directly to the SEC.
January 25, 2018, Covington Advisory
Our message this year is simple: FCPA enforcement is here to stay. Despite pre-election statements to the contrary, various senior officials in the U.S. Department of Justice (“DOJ”) and U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (“SEC”) have, over the past year, consistently reaffirmed DOJ’s and the SEC’s commitment to FCPA enforcement.
June 7, 2017, Covington Alert
On Monday, in Kokesh v. SEC, the Supreme Court handed a major loss to the Securities and Exchange Commission, unanimously holding that SEC claims for disgorgement of ill-gotten gains are subject to a five-year statute of limitations. The Kokesh decision also calls into question the proper measure of disgorgement (e.g., gross versus net profits) and even whether ...
June 7, 2017, Covington Alert
On Monday, in Kokesh v. SEC,1 the Supreme Court handed a major loss to the Securities and Exchange Commission, unanimously holding that SEC claims for disgorgement of ill-gotten gains are subject to a five-year statute of limitations. For decades, the SEC had taken the position that its disgorgement claims could reach back indefinitely, and recently obtained a ...
October 17, 2016, Los Angeles Times
The Los Angeles Times highlights the role of Dan Shallman and Aaron Lewis in helping unravel a bribery case against two brothers who allegedly tried to buy the support of a Huntington Park city council member for higher towing fees. In what Dan Shallman called a “huge vindication,” the court sentenced one of the brothers with probation.
DOJ Sweetens Rewards for FCPA Cooperation
April 6, 2016, The Recorder
Dan Shallman is quoted in this article exploring a DOJ pilot program that could reduce criminal penalties for companies that self-report FCPA violations. According to Shallman, the voluntary disclosure would likely appeal to large companies that face significant FCPA exposure. “It's trickier for cases where the exposure is smaller and less clear," he says.
Collateral Consequence: The Ever Expanding Intended and Unintended Impact of a Conviction
2016, ABA National Institute on White Collar Crime
August 11, 2015
WASHINGTON, DC, August 11, 2015 —The Los Angeles Business Journal has named Covington partner and former federal prosecutor Daniel Shallman to its list of the city’s “Most Influential Lawyers” in the white collar and cyber practice areas. In selecting Mr. Shallman, the publication noted that he has handled “a string of impressive matters” since joining the firm ...
Covington Opens Los Angeles Office
March 6, 2015
LOS ANGELES, March 6, 2015 — Covington will open a new office in Los Angeles on March 9. The office will be staffed by current firm lawyers and three new senior lawyers and will focus initially on insurance coverage, media and content distribution, patent litigation, public policy/government affairs and white collar defense. "We believe there is a strong base ...
Former Federal Prosecutors Daniel Shallman, Aaron Lewis Join Covington’s New Los Angeles Office
March 6, 2015
LOS ANGELES, March 6, 2015 — Former federal prosecutor and leading white collar defense lawyer Dan Shallman will join Covington as a partner in the firm’s new Los Angeles office on March 9. Mr. Shallman will head the firm’s Southern California white collar and investigations team while also playing a leading role in the growth of Covington’s LA office. Aaron ...
Anti-Corruption Under the FCPA & UK Bribery Act - How to Avoid Prosecution
2012, International White Collar Crime Conference
Foreign Corrupt Practices Act: Staying Out of the Government's Crosshairs
2007, Strafford Publications, Inc.
Federal Prosecution of State and Local Corruption
2006, Independent Cities Association Annual Conference
- Chambers USA, Litigation: White-Collar Crime & Government Investigations (2019-2020)
- Los Angeles Business Journal, “Most Influential Lawyers: White Collar and Cyber Crime” (2015)
- Southern California Super Lawyers, Criminal Defense: White Collar (2008-2020)
- U.S. Department of Justice, “Director’s Award” for Superior Performance as an Assistant U.S. Attorney