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Aaron Lewis

As a partner and co-chair of Covington's White Collar Defense and Investigations practice group, Aaron Lewis represents businesses, boards of directors, and individuals in sensitive, high-stakes government investigations, internal investigations, and regulatory enforcement matters.

He has advised clients facing alleged criminal and civil violations of the False Claims Act (FCA) and the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA), as well as allegations of public corruption, export controls violations, obstruction of justice, and espionage. Aaron's clients have included companies and independent board committees in the aerospace and defense, automotive, technology, entertainment, and retail industries and he routinely leads internal investigations of alleged misconduct or compliance failures, including several investigations involving allegations of ineffective internal controls and dysfunctional workplace cultures. He returned to Covington in 2015 after six years of service in the Department of Justice (DOJ), first as Counsel to Attorney General Eric Holder in Washington, and later as an Assistant United States Attorney in Los Angeles.

During his service in the Justice Department, Aaron advised the Attorney General on a range of enforcement issues, including intellectual property protections, national security matters and civil rights. He worked closely with senior officials at the White House, the Justice Department, and several law enforcement agencies, including the FBI and DHS. As an Assistant United States Attorney, most recently in the National Security Section, Aaron investigated and prosecuted cases involving thefts of trade secrets, export control violations, and computer network intrusions. He also prosecuted cases involving bank fraud, false statements, and mail fraud. An experienced trial and appellate lawyer, Aaron has tried several cases to verdict, and argued before the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals.

Contact:Read more about Aaron LewisEmail

October 17, 2023, Covington Alert

What You Need to Know

  • On October 4, 2023, Deputy Attorney General Lisa Monaco provided new and expanded policy guidance on corporate criminal enforcement, announcing a new Mergers and Acquisitions Safe Harbor Policy (“Safe Harbor Policy”).
  • The Safe Harbor Policy provides acquiring companies an opportunity to avoid criminal charges if they voluntarily self-disclose misconduct at acquired companies within six months of a merger or acquisition (“M&A”), fully cooperate in any DOJ investigation, engage in timely and appropriate remediation within one year of the transaction closing date, and pay restitution or disgorgement, as appropriate.
  • The Safe Harbor Policy—which we expect will be formalized in writing and incorporated into the Justice Manual—appears to draw heavily on policies and guidance from the Criminal Division dating back to 2008, but that will now be formalized, clarified, and applied across the Department, with different parts of the Department “tailor[ing] its application . . . to fit their specific enforcement regime.”
  • As with all of the Department’s recent policy announcements concerning the benefits of voluntary disclosure, significant questions remain. We discuss some of those below, and we will be watching to see how DOJ applies the Safe Harbor Policy in practice. At a minimum, however, companies should ensure that their pre- and post-closing diligence and integration processes are designed to quickly identify legacy or ongoing misconduct at acquired companies so that they may have an opportunity to consider the expected benefits and burdens associated with a voluntary disclosure under the Safe Harbor Policy.
  • In addition to announcing the Safe Harbor Policy, Deputy Attorney General Monaco noted a “dramatic” expansion in national security enforcement, new enforcement tools that the Department is deploying, continued focus on incentivizing companies to seek compensation clawbacks from individual wrongdoers, and even more policy changes to come. Deputy Attorney General Monaco’s announcement follows recent shifts in enforcement remedies sought by the Department, such as divestiture in certain criminal antitrust cases—an unprecedented remedial measure.

Continue Reading DOJ Provides Further Voluntary Disclosure Incentives, This Time Linked to M&A Transactions, and Signals Other Areas of Focus

Effective January 1, 2021, California employers will be required under Assembly Bill (AB) 685 to provide detailed notices to employees when there is a COVID-19 case in the workplace and to notify local public health departments of COVID-19 “outbreaks” in the workplace.  California employers should begin assessing their practices now

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Continue Reading California’s AB 685 Expands Employers’ COVID-19 Notification Requirements, Effective January 1

On June 8, 2020, the House of Representatives introduced the Justice in Policing Act of 2020 (hereinafter “the Act” or “the bill”) to “hold law enforcement accountable for misconduct in court, improve transparency through data collection, and reform police training and policies.”  We anticipate a House committee markup the week…
Continue Reading Analysis of the Justice in Policing Act of 2020