Profile details
About Eric B. Bruce
Eric is a nationally recognized trial lawyer, global corporate investigator, and board advisor. Eric specializes in complex white collar criminal defense matters, internal and government investigations, crisis management and bet-the-company civil litigation. Eric splits his time between Washington and New York.
Eric defends multinational companies and their officers and directors against allegations of bribery/Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA) violations, money laundering, securities and accounting fraud, insider trading, antitrust violations, terrorist financing, tax evasion, and violations of the World Bank's Integrity Compliance Guidelines. He also frequently advises boards of directors and audit committees regarding complex cross-border litigation and investigations and develops strategies to favorably resolve those matters short of litigation.
Eric has been consistently and highly ranked by such leading publications as Chambers, Legal 500, and as one of LawDragon's top 500 Leading Global Litigators. He was also named a "Litigation Star" by Benchmark Litigation, where clients lauded him as "extremely smart, very experienced, and easy to work with." Clients also called Eric "a superstar" who has "creative ideas," "credibility with the DOJ and SEC," and is "very good at seeing around corners and anticipating the issues that may come up." Eric has been further recognized by Washingtonian magazine as one of Washington's best white collar defense attorneys and by the National Law Journal as a "White Collar Defense Trailblazer."
While in government, Eric served as Counselor to the Attorney General of the United States and advised the Attorney General on all of DOJ's complex white collar cases, cross-border criminal investigations and national security investigations, including cybersecurity, terrorism and espionage matters. Additionally, he served as Senior Counsel to the Assistant Attorney General for the Criminal Division at the DOJ, advising on complex issues arising from securities fraud and insider trading cases, as well as a variety of national security matters.
Eric also served for more than 10 years as a federal prosecutor in the US Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of New York where he successfully tried a wide range of cases, including complex white collar frauds, international terrorism cases and high-profile national security matters.
Recent work
- Global investigations and monitorships:
- Led three investigations into alleged improper payments in three different African countries on behalf of a multinational manufacturing company, and advised the board and executive management on the resulting risks
- Advised the board of directors of a UK financial services organization regarding options for a potential resolution of an FCPA investigation with the DOJ
- Led an investigation into potential FCPA violations on behalf of a Fortune 100 company arising from the company's operations in China, and advised on appropriate compliance enhancements
- Led an investigation into potential improper payments to a government agency in India on behalf of a US technology company, and advised on appropriate remedial steps and resolutions with third parties
- Led an investigation into potential improper payments to foreign officials in Southeast Asia on behalf of a multinational company, and advised on an appropriate remedial plan and employee training
- Led an independent investigation on behalf of a Chinese SOE under investigation by the World Bank's Integrity Vice Presidency regarding allegations of corruption arising out of an irrigation project in Ethiopia, and negotiated a favorable resolution of the allegations for the client with the World Bank
- Led an investigation into potential procurement fraud on behalf of a US energy company, arising from a whistleblower complaint regarding the company's operations in China
- Led an investigation into allegations of misconduct in the sale of overseas licensing rights on behalf of the special committee of the board of directors for a major media publication, arising from a whistleblower complaint
- Served as the independent integrity compliance monitor appointed by the African Development Bank to review and assess the compliance program of a Chinese SOE in connection with construction projects in Uganda
- White collar criminal defense & commercial litigation:
- Obtained an acquittal on two counts and hung jury on two counts on behalf of a corporate officer in the highly publicized, eight-week-long “FCPA sting trial” in Washington, DC. Ultimately, DOJ dropped all charges against Eric's client and 21 additional defendants in the case. Upon dismissal of the charges, the judge recognized the “tireless and spirited efforts” of defense counsel and noted that “their hard work and effective advocacy are a testament to how strong our criminal defense bar is nationwide”
- Secured rare voluntary dismissal of all charges filed by the SEC against a foreign brokerage firm charged with over $50 million in insider trading following an expedited internal investigation and presentation to convince the SEC that the trades at issue were based on legitimate market research
- Obtained an acquittal on the top count of conspiracy to commit securities fraud after a four-week trial in SDNY for the former Chairman and CEO of a publicly-traded health care company charged with over $10 million in securities fraud arising from an alleged scheme to fraudulently inflate the company's revenue, and a minimal sentence on the remaining count of securities fraud
- Secured a rare declination of prosecution for a corporate executive following allegations that the client had failed to pay taxes on over $14 million in Swiss bank accounts over a period of more than seven years
- Convinced the DOJ and SEC to bring no charges against the former CEO of a global telecommunications company after a three-year investigation into potential FCPA violations arising from the company’s operations in central Asia, and obtained dismissal with prejudice of all counts in a subsequent class action lawsuit filed against the client
- Obtained a favorable resolution with the SEC on behalf of two French proprietary trading firms in a high-profile SEC civil enforcement action alleging over $25 million in insider trading through the hacking of various newswire services to access corporate earnings announcements before they were publicly announced
- Negotiated a favorable, pre-filing settlement on behalf of a multinational technology company of a $4 billion claim by a competitor alleging various business torts for a small fraction of the original claim
- Obtained a favorable settlement on the eve of trial for Palantir in various cross-border proceedings in the US and Germany asserting and defending against a variety of business tort and contractual claims
- Represented the players association for a major sports league in a AAA arbitration hearing alleging over $50 million in damages resulting from alleged improper termination of a license
Qualifications
- Education
- JD, University of Maryland School of Law, Order of the Coif
- Maryland Law Review, Articles Editor
- BA Engineering, Lafayette College
- Professional
- Senior Fellow, Litigation Counsel of America, The Trial Lawyer Honorary Society
- Barrister, Edward Bennett Williams Inn of Court
- Member, Trial Law Institute
- Former US Head of Litigation, Arbitration & Global Investigations at Freshfields
- Former Board Member, Freshfields Global Litigation Board
- Former Director, Board of Directors for Court-Appointed Special Advocates for Children in Washington, DC (CASA DC)
- Member of the National Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers, American Bar Association, International Bar Association, Federal Bar Association, New York State Bar Association, and the New York City Bar Association.
- Admitted to practice in the District of Columbia, the State of New York, the US Supreme Court, and numerous federal appellate and district courts across the United States.