Kelly Currie is a partner in the firm's New York office, where he is a member of the White Collar & Regulatory Enforcement Group. He is an experienced trial lawyer and represents companies and individuals in white collar criminal defense matters, enforcement actions, corporate internal investigations and complex civil litigation.
Mr. Currie joined Crowell & Moring in 2010 after serving for over 11 years as an Assistant United States Attorney in the Eastern District of New York, most recently as Deputy Chief of the Criminal Division, and previously as Chief of the Violent Crimes and Terrorism Section.
Mr. Currie has tried over fifteen federal jury trials to verdict and argued over a dozen cases before the Second Circuit Court of Appeals. His trials have involved securities and wire fraud, money laundering, international terrorist financing, multi-defendant RICO prosecutions and tax fraud.
Representative Engagements:
- Represent global professional services firm in Foreign Corrupt Practice Act (FCPA) investigation related to business transactions in the Middle East and North Africa.
- Advise international energy services company on FCPA compliance in relation to contracts in the Persian Gulf.
- Represent executive of an international corporation under criminal investigation by DOJ and EPA for alleged violations of environmental and import laws; client avoided any criminal or regulatory charges.
- Represent Chapter 7 bankruptcy trustee for a failed financial institution in relation to DOJ and SEC investigations of alleged misconduct prior to bankruptcy.
- Represent national transportation corporation in criminal investigation by state authorities.
During his tenure as Deputy Chief of the Criminal Division, Mr. Currie supervised approximately 100 Assistant U.S. Attorneys in criminal investigations and prosecutions including those involving securities fraud, wire and mail fraud, Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA) violations, and matters arising from the 2008 market collapse. As Chief of the Violent Crimes and Terrorism Section, Mr. Currie led teams of prosecutors in bringing nationally-recognized terrorism and national security prosecutions and RICO prosecutions against violent criminal enterprises.
In addition to his supervisory responsibilities, Mr. Currie personally led numerous complex, global investigations and prosecutions, including those involving FCPA violations, money laundering, export control violations and financing of terrorist organizations.
In addition to his service as a federal prosecutor, Mr. Currie has extensive experience in international negotiations and dispute resolution. From 1996 to 1998, he served as a senior advisor to former U.S. Senator George J. Mitchell, who chaired the Northern Ireland Political Negotiations. The negotiations resulted in the historic Good Friday Agreement, which established the legal and political framework for Northern Ireland's divided society to resolve its differences. Mr. Currie provided legal and political counsel to Senator Mitchell and engaged in bi-lateral and multi-lateral negotiations with leaders of the Northern Ireland political parties and representatives of the British and Irish governments on a myriad of issues.
In 2001, Mr. Currie again served as a senior advisor to Senator Mitchell in his role as chairman of an international fact-finding commission on the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. Mr. Currie engaged in sensitive discussions with representatives of the Israeli government and the Palestinian Authority and was a member of the team that that wrote the Commission's report which described the state of the conflict and made recommendations aimed at returning parties to final status negotiations. The report was presented to the President and the Secretary of State in May 2001.
Prior to joining the U.S. Attorney's office, Mr. Currie was in private practice at a large New York firm where he represented corporations and individuals in white collar criminal defense matters and securities litigation.
In 2008, the Eastern District Association, comprised of alumni of the Eastern District U.S. Attorney's Office, presented Mr. Currie with the Charles E. Rose Award for his outstanding service as an Assistant U.S. Attorney. He is also a recipient of the New York County Lawyer's Association Public Service Award.
Mr. Currie has served as a panelist and faculty member at Department of Justice and bar association conferences related to white collar prosecutions, federal criminal practice and national security matters.
Newsroom
Q&A: UK Bribery Act - "A reworking of rules on corruption may have a disproportionate impact on private equity managers in the region and abroad. PEM speaks with Crowell & Moring partner Kelly Currie to assess the impact."
July 8, 2011 — Private Equity Manager
New York-based White Collar & Regulatory Enforcement Group partner Kelly T. Currie talks to Private Equity Manager in a Q&A on the newly enacted UK Bribery Act and its impact on private equity managers in the United States and abroad.
False Claims Act – Special Report "Federal Procurement Trends for 2011": Practitioners Say Expansion of FCA Liability, Congressional Oversight Means 'Open Hunting Season' on Contractors
January 24, 2011 — BNA Federal Contracts Report
Government Contracts Group partner Robert T. Rhoad and White Collar & Regulatory Enforcement Group partner Kelly T. Currie are featured in BNA's "Federal Procurement Trends for 2011" special report in a piece about the controversy surrounding the governments effort to curtail waste, fraud, and abuse. For example, according to the article, "the False Claims Act is a primary tool for punishing those said to be guilty of overbilling or otherwise defrauding the federal government. But contracting practitioners (say) that recent efforts to increase the government's ability to recover under the FCA place unnecessary and detrimental risks on contractors. They predict that these risks will increase in the coming year as the government steps up its efforts to rein in fraud and collect much-needed funds for cash-strapped agencies.
According to Rhoad, "The government has used the FCA successfully since 1986 to recover money from contractors accused of fraud…With the Fraud Enforcement and Recovery Act of 2009 (FERA) amendments to the FCA, that trend will escalate."
According to Currie, "Congress is sending all kinds of signals that it’s going to apply close scrutiny because government spending is a big focus…I think there’s an overall tone in Washington that's calling for more oversight, so companies have to be prepared to defend themselves on multiple fronts."