White & Case has hired Ira Raphaelson as Senior Counsel in its Washington, DC and Chicago offices.
At White & Case, Raphaelson will work in the firm’s Antitrust Practice advising on business and litigation strategy, governance, antitrust, sanctions and trade compliance, mergers and antitrust compliance, and CFIUS matters.
“Ira comes to us as one of a handful of lawyers who has been a senior executive and general counsel of public companies, independent director, law firm partner, presidential appointee, career prosecutor and academic. Ira’s extensive courtroom and boardroom experience in venues around the world make him a pragmatic and effective business and governance counselor, as well as strategic planner for bet-the-company litigation and market entry,” said J. Mark Gidley, Global Head of White & Case’s Competition Practice.
Gidley continued, “I am particularly delighted to reunite with Ira, as we have previously worked together as partners in a law firm and at the Department of Justice where I was Assistant Attorney General of the Antitrust Division and Ira was Special Counsel for Financial Institutions and Counselor to the then-Attorney General of the United States William P. Barr (who was recently re-nominated to the position).”
As General Counsel of Las Vegas Sands Corporation, Ira’s presence and governance enhancements were cited as mitigating factors in settlements with the Justice Department, the SEC, and the Nevada Gaming Commission. His work included strategic oversight of related whistleblower and shareholder derivative cases, as well as unrelated efforts to expand and defend the company’s industry-leading brand.
As General Counsel of Scientific Games Corporation, Raphaelson was responsible for governance matters and regulatory compliance in 52 countries (including manufacturing sites in the US, UK, Canada, Chile, China, and Austria), and assisted the company on its entry into China, as well as successfully defending competition challenges to its Italian lottery contract in both the Italian and EU courts.
As an international law firm partner, he co-chaired his prior firm’s white collar practice and advised numerous multinational companies on FCPA, anti-money laundering, sanctions, and competition issues, as well as defending individual senior government officials and corporate executives. Ira was part of the team that secured PRC and US government approvals for the entry of the first US investment bank into China.
As a career prosecutor, Ira tried numerous high-profile fraud and corruption matters and also served as US Attorney for nine months in Chicago. He was eventually tapped by President George H.W. Bush and confirmed by the US Senate to supervise all financial institution criminal and civil matters for the Justice Department. In that role, he personally represented the US Government in court to obtain a US$1.2 billion forfeiture against BCCI, which was used, in part, to prevent the collapse of First American Bank.
Raphaelson currently also serves as lead independent director of Nasdaq-listed Inspired Entertainment and as adjunct professor of law at Northwestern University’s Pritzker School of Law, where he teaches a graduate law course on all legal aspects of businesses entering foreign markets (e.g., competition, anti-corruption, sanctions, privacy, IP, corporate structure and governance, cybersecurity, tax, labor, corporate finance, repatriation, and real estate).
“Ira has served as a trusted adviser to the boards and c-suite executives of major corporations as part of senior management and as an outside counsel. He has served at the highest levels of government and his unparalleled judgment and experience will be of immediate benefit to our clients,” said Jack Pace, Head of White & Case’s Competition Section for the Americas. “I am confident Ira will play a valuable role in enhancing the offering of our Washington, DC and Chicago offices and more broadly across our global practices.”
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