Roy McDonald focuses on conducting corporate internal investigations, litigating complex business disputes and securities cases, representing clients in connection with government investigations, and advising companies on compliance issues. He has represented publicly traded and privately held companies, boards of directors and their committees, and individual directors and officers.

He has extensive experience in the following areas:

• Corporate internal investigations involving issues of financial accounting and reporting, business practices, internal controls, corporate governance, compliance with securities laws, government contracts, and fraud.
• Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA) and anti-corruption matters, including internal investigations, government investigations, advising companies on compliance, policies, and internal controls, and providing training programs.
• Government investigations including those involving the US Department of Justice (DOJ) and Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).
• Complex business disputes in federal and state courts as well as in various alternative dispute resolution forums including securities class actions and shareholder derivative suits.

Mr. McDonald is the Hiring Partner and the Pro Bono Coordinator for the firm’s San Francisco office.

Representative Matters

• Audit committee investigation of FCPA issues concerning operations in China of a publicly traded technology company. Representation also involved DOJ and SEC investigations, and advising the company on policies, internal controls, compliance monitoring, and training programs.
• Numerous internal investigations for boards of directors and their audit and special committees concerning financial accounting issues, and related representations before the SEC.
• Audit committee investigation of FCPA issues concerning operations in Asia and Europe of a publicly traded pharmaceutical company, and related counseling on compliance and training.
• Multiple representations of companies, directors, and officers in SEC investigations, internal investigations, and shareholder derivative lawsuits regarding stock option practices.
• Representation before the DOJ in qui tam litigation and related internal investigation of government contracts issues involving the Middle East operations of an international shipping company.
• Representation of an energy marketing and trading company in various government investigations and civil actions arising from the California energy crisis, including investigations by the DOJ, SEC, Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC), Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC), and the State of California, and federal and state antitrust suits and class actions.
• Advising a publicly traded computer software company in connection with an investigation by the New York Attorney General’s Office concerning investment banking relationships and the allocation of IPO shares.
• Representation of a networking hardware company and its directors and officers in a securities class action.
• Representation of a publicly traded online marketing company in a federal court action against a competing company regarding a terminated strategic alliance and claims of fraud, unfair competition, tortious interference with contract, and breach of contract.
• Representation of an investment company in a federal court action arising from funding of a development stage biotechnology company.