Brian Smith
Managing DirectorBrian Smith focuses on government-facing investigations, corporate enforcement matters, and other internal investigations which could present legal or reputational risks for clients. He has extensive experience with transnational bribery, corruption, Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA), money laundering and other securities and accounting fraud investigations. Brian is adept at navigating investigative complexities coupled with criminal exposure and follow-on collateral risks such as sanctions from public procurement entities or funding institutions. His experience includes managing cases in the energy, financial services, transportation, mining, aerospace, defense, oil and gas and health care sectors. He has conducted investigations in over 80 countries and appeared before government enforcement agencies and multilateral development banks (MDBs) on five continents. He has over two decades of investigative experience, including nearly 10 years leading government-facing investigations in-house for a US-based multinational conglomerate and over 10 years with the US government.
Brian’s experience includes conducting sensitive pre-acquisitions due diligence along with post-acquisition reporting requirements to regulators such as the US Department of Justice (DOJ) and MDBs while also dealing with compliance monitorships. Brian also conducts anti-corruption risk and due diligence assessments, including identifying risks to develop and implement proactive compliance policies and procedures to enhance corporate compliance programs.
Brian is not a lawyer.
- B.S., Mechanical Engineering, Vanderbilt University
Prior Experience
Before joining DLA Piper, Brian was a managing director at an investigative consulting firm and a senior investigator at an international law firm where he led client engagement and provided tailored solutions for compliance and investigative needs. Previously, he led cross-border anti-corruption, government-facing, revenue recognition, conflict of interest, financial fraud, intellectual property rights and other legal or reputational risk investigations for a US-based multinational conglomerate. There he had additional Sub-Saharan Africa regional responsibilities and appeared before US and foreign governments and other enforcement agencies.
He spent over a decade in government service as an FBI Special Agent, working white collar criminal investigations including public corruption, FCPA, money laundering, financial fraud, and securities fraud investigations collaboratively with the US DOJ, the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), the Department of Treasury's Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC), the Internal Revenue Service and overseas regulatory and law enforcement agencies. He provided numerous investigative training sessions to US and foreign prosecutors and law enforcement officials. He received the US Attorney General’s Award for Distinguished Service for investigative work on a large global investigation.
