Baker & Hostetler LLP issued the following announcement on Sept. 10.
BakerHostetler announced today that Shawn Cleveland has joined the firm as a partner on its White Collar, Investigations and Securities Enforcement and Litigation team. Cleveland was most recently with Winston & Strawn LLP. He is the second high-profile white collar defense litigation and investigations partner to join BakerHostetler in the past week, following the addition of the former chief of the Department of Justice’s Antitrust Division in New York, Jeffrey Martino.
Representing clients in many high-stakes corporate crisis situations over the past two decades, Cleveland has extensive experience conducting internal investigations and defending investigations by government agencies including the DOJ and SEC. These matters have included alleged securities fraud, particularly accounting and disclosure fraud, government program fraud, the False Claims Act, the Anti-Kickback Statute, the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act and immigration laws.
Cleveland successfully defends clients in state and federal courts as well as in arbitration. His experience includes numerous civil and criminal fraud cases, securities and derivatives lawsuits, and a variety of matters involving fiduciary duties, contracts, lending, M&As, insurance, trade secrets, qui tam claims and whistleblower retaliation claims.
“We are delighted to welcome Shawn to the firm. We have a strong client base in Dallas already, and having a credentialed lawyer like Shawn resident there will be advantageous as we continue to expand our reach in Texas,” said BakerHostetler Chairman, Paul M. Schmidt.
“Shawn is an exceptional trial lawyer and a strong addition to our Litigation Group’s nationwide suite of services on all coasts and in the heartland,” said W. Ray Whitman, chair of the firm’s national Litigation Group. “Shawn’s clients respect him and trust him because he has the right mix of strong litigation and investigation credentials along with a keen business-oriented approach.”
“Shawn has a long-established reputation as a respected litigator and counselor to boards and management in government and internal investigations, white collar criminal litigation and securities matters,” said Steven Dettelbach, co-leader of BakerHostetler's national White Collar, Investigations and Securities Enforcement and Litigation team. “Shawn is one of several recent top flight laterals that have bolstered our growing bench across the country.”
“BakerHostetler’s sophisticated capabilities in white collar, complex litigation, M&A and capital markets are all desirable to the North Texas business community. I look forward to extending the firm’s strong foothold in Texas and working with my new colleagues throughout its practices and offices nationwide,” said Cleveland.
Cleveland received his B.A. from the University of Texas at Austin and his J.D. from Southern Methodist University. Prior to becoming a lawyer, he was a Certified Public Accountant.