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Simone E. Ross

Partner

Washington +1 202 662 5566

  • About
  • Representative Matters
  • Credentials
  • About

    Simone E. Ross is a seasoned litigator who skillfully manages complex criminal and internal investigations and civil litigation for corporate and individual clients in various industries.

    Simone has represented clients in parallel criminal and civil proceedings conducted by the U.S. Department of Justice, the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, and other federal and state agencies, and in congressional investigations. She also has represented clients in litigation matters involving business torts, civil fraud, product liability, and employment disputes.

    Simone currently serves as one of the white collar co-chairs of Covington’s Life Sciences Medical Device Industry Group. She also previously served as one of the firm’s Managing Partners for Legal Personnel.

    Simone's prior experience includes having served as Managing Vice President of Ethics & Investigations at a top 10 financial institution, where she built and led that institution’s internal ethics and investigations department. Her responsibilities included oversight of the institution’s enterprise-wide Code of Business Conduct and Ethics, briefing federal regulators, auditors, senior executive leaders, and board committees on ethics, investigations, and other risk management matters, and leading and implementing responses to regulatory and audit matters.

    Simone also previously served in the U.S. Department of Justice as an Assistant United States Attorney in the District of Columbia, where she prosecuted criminal cases, and as an Assistant Counsel in the Office of Professional Responsibility, where she investigated prosecutorial misconduct allegations.

    Areas of Expertise

  • Practices and Industries
  • Representative Matters
    • Represents companies and individuals in various industries in investigations by the U.S. Department of Justice and Congress, including pharmaceutical and medical device companies, financial institutions, and defense contractors targeted in criminal, oversight, ethics, and other matters.
    • Represents pharmaceutical companies in DOJ investigations of sales and marketing activities involving alleged violations of the Food, Drug and Cosmetic Act, the Anti-Kickback Statute, the False Claims Act, and other federal statutes, and in negotiations and implementation of corporate integrity agreements.
    • Counseled major pharmaceutical and medical device companies in civil qui tam and employment litigation with potential collateral consequences in government investigations.
    • Successfully defended a former DOJ official accused of prosecutorial misconduct by obtaining full exoneration in independent and internal investigations by a Special Prosecutor and DOJ-OPR, respectively.
    • Conducted an internal investigation for a financial institution in connection with a review by the U.S. Treasury Department of alleged violations of anti-money laundering laws.

    • Conducted a comprehensive review, including an internal investigation of alleged corporate and employee misconduct, of an international consumer products supplier’s compliance with U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration regulations.
    • Represented a defense contractor in civil proceedings, including injunctive actions, to enforce non-competition and non-solicitation agreements, and in the negotiation and settlement of other employment disputes.
    • Reviewed a multinational pharmaceutical company’s business conduct policy and compliance plan with respect to federal, state, and local laws governing the company’s operations.
    • Represented a health care provider in a civil fraud action.
    • Represented a Special Committee of the Board of Directors of Adelphia Communications Corp. in connection with widely publicized allegations of mismanagement by the company’s senior executives.

    Areas of Expertise

  • Credentials
    Education
    • Georgetown University Law Center, J.D., 1993
    • Stanford University, A.B., 1988
        • with distinction
    Bar Admissions
    • District of Columbia
    Government Experience
    • U.S. Department of Justice
    • U.S. Department of Justice – U.S. Attorney’s Office
    Judicial Clerkship
    • Hon. Aubrey E. Robinson, Jr., U.S. District Court, District of Columbia, 1993 - 1995
    Pro Bono
    • Represented non-profit entities in responding to confidential and sensitive data requests from law enforcement agencies.
    • Represented a major, health care provider in a matter involving theft of proprietary information and coordination with cross-jurisdictional law enforcement.
    • Represented a Florida death-row inmate in post-conviction proceedings that culminated in a reversal of his convictions.
    Accolades
    • Meritorious Award for Sustained Superior Performance, U.S. Department of Justice, Office of Professional Responsibility (2003-2007)
    Memberships and Affiliations
    • Children’s Law Center, Board of Directors
    • Second District (D.C. Metropolitan Police Department) Citizens Advisory Council, Member
    • Chevy Chase Citizens Association, Member
    Previous Experience
    • Managing Vice President, Ethics & Investigations, at a top 10 financial institution.
    • Assistant Counsel, Office of Professional Responsibility, U.S. Department of Justice. Investigated professional misconduct allegations made against federal prosecutors and other Justice Department attorneys relating to prosecutions of terrorism, corporate fraud, narcotics trafficking, money laundering, and other alleged criminal activities.
    • Assistant U.S. Attorney, U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Columbia. Tried criminal cases in D.C. Superior Court, and briefed and argued criminal appeals before the D.C. Circuit and the D.C. Court of Appeals.

    Areas of Expertise

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