Ms. Harris to co-lead expanding global Anti-Corruption & FCPA practice
Washington DC, 24 October 2018 – Mayer Brown announced today that Audrey Harris has rejoined the firm in Washington DC as a partner and co-leader of its global Anti-Corruption & FCPA practice. Ms. Harris rejoins Mayer Brown after serving as the chief compliance officer for global resources company BHP. Based in Melbourne, Australia, she led a global Ethics & Compliance function providing expertise in anti-corruption, trade sanctions, export controls, competition, ethics & investigations, state & commercial secrets, and market conduct compliance, with a team of professionals and attorneys across four continents.
“Audrey’s sophisticated understanding of corporate compliance and global regulatory enforcement issues, which she has developed through her senior in-house role at a major multinational and extensive private practice experience, will be invaluable to clients,” said Larry Urgenson, a co-leader of the firm’s global Anti-Corruption & FCPA practice. “In this increasingly aggressive enforcement environment, the need for companies to operate globally in proactively assessing corruption risks has never been greater. Audrey augments our risk mitigation capabilities and continues the expansion of our global anti-corruption capabilities across the US, UK, Brazil, France and China.”
A veteran Foreign Corruption Practices Act (FCPA) and white collar practitioner, Ms. Harris has over a decade of experience handling multi-year, multinational investigations, with a comprehensive investigations, counseling and defense capability.
In 2015, Ms. Harris joined BHP to serve as the company’s first chief compliance officer. Her team was accountable for safeguarding integrity by preventing, mitigating, and investigating compliance risks and setting ethical standards. Her role also involved work with NGOs, international governing bodies and enforcement agencies as part of the promotion of global anti-corruption, transparency and integrity.
Previously, Ms. Harris was a partner at Mayer Brown, where she conducted investigations, counseled corporations and individuals in a variety of enforcement matters, and regularly appeared before enforcement authorities. Her areas of experience include US Securities and Exchange Commission enforcement actions, false claim/statements, FCPA and other fraud investigations, as well as anti-terrorism and money laundering defense. Before joining Mayer Brown, Ms. Harris was a partner at another leading global law firm.
“Mayer Brown’s global platform and ability to provide clients practical approaches and holistic advice, drove my decision to rejoin the firm.” said Ms. Harris. “Countries across the globe are enhancing legislative regimes and building enforcement capabilities. Increasingly, successful defense depends on effective compliance programs, credible internal investigations and coordination across jurisdictions. Leveraging a company’s existing systems and experience to target the next emerging risk can be a market differentiator. Mayer Brown is uniquely positioned to partner with clients in this space — providing risk-basedapproaches tailored to clients’ business models, along with global investigations and enforcement experience.”
Daniel Masur, partner-in-charge of Mayer Brown’s Washington DC office, added, “Audrey is an important addition to our growing DC office and overall firm, which includes high-ranking former government prosecutors and compliance officials, as we continue to expand our international footprint while helping clients prioritize and manage complex and interconnected risks.”
