Joe D. Whitley

While other firms are now just starting to define this problem in order to address the complexity of business crimes today, Greenberg Traurig has wide-ranging experience protecting companies through coordinated planning as well as a coordinated defense. With a wide-range of experts, Greenberg has experience protecting our clients interests in cases that have received national attention; A team comprised of former prosecutors who served at the highest level of federal and state government and have tried hundreds of federal criminal and civil cases; Demonstrated ability to develop and implement integrated global strategies by drawing on our substantive knowledge of health care, securities, banking, international trade, and other regulated industries; Vast experience in structuring internal investigations, developing guidelines and implementing compliance programs and addressing issues of voluntary disclosure. Defense Capabilities: Securities fraud, Health care/pharmaceutical fraud, Money laundering, Financial institution fraud, Internal investigations/compliance issues, Public corruption/campaign finance, Sentencing guidelines, Defense contracting, Bankruptcy fraud. Other related areas of expertise include: Appellate, Corporate and Securities, eDiscovery & eRetention, Environmental & Toxic Tort Litigation, Global Recovery, Litigation and Securities.

District of Columbia

Joe Whitley Chairs the White Collar Practice Group of Greenberg Traurig LLP (GT) in Atlanta, Georgia. He also has a White Collar practice in the GT Washington, DC office. Joe had a wide-ranging career in the Department of Justice. In the George H.W. Bush administration, Joe served as the Acting Associate Attorney General, the third-ranking position in the Department of Justice. He was appointed by Presidents Reagan and Bush, respectively, to serve as U.S. Attorney in the Middle and Northern Federal Districts of Georgia. Throughout his career, Joe served under five United States Attorneys General in a number of key operational and policy positions. Earlier in his career, he served as an Assistant Attorney in the Chattahoochee Judicial Circuit in Columbus, Georgia.

In 2003, Joe was appointed by President George W. Bush as the first General Counsel of the United States Department of Homeland Security (DHS), the highest ranking legal official in DHS. He held that position for two years before his departure and return to private practice.

Joe has represented numerous individuals and corporations in major government investigations throughout the United States and internationally. He is a frequent speaker and lecturer on white-collar, compliance, and corporate governance issues.

District of Columbia Bar
Georgia Bar
Best Lawyers in America, 2001-2011
"Georgia's Legal Elite," Georgia Trend, 2008-2010
Federal Bar Association
Federal Bar Association, Atlanta Chapter
American Bar Association
Vice-Chair, American Bar Association Administrative Law and Regulatory Practice Section