Debevoise & Plimpton LLP announced that Lisa Zornberg, former Chief of the Criminal Division of the United States Attorney’s office in the Southern District of New York, is joining the firm’s New York office as a partner and member of the White Collar & Regulatory Defense Group starting May 1.
As Chief of the Criminal Division from 2016 to 2018, Ms. Zornberg supervised approximately 170 federal prosecutors and oversaw the Office’s criminal investigations and prosecutions, including of corporate and securities fraud, terrorism, public corruption, cybercrime, criminal violations of U.S. sanctions, violence and drug crimes.
Ms. Zornberg first joined the U.S. Attorney’s Office in 1998, where, over the next 14 years, she served as an Assistant United States Attorney in both the Civil and Criminal Divisions, rising to supervisory ranks in each Division. From 2004 to 2005, she was Deputy Chief of Appeals in the Civil Division and from 2011 to 2012, she was Chief of the Complex Frauds Unit in the Criminal Division.
“We are extremely excited to welcome Lisa to Debevoise,” said Michael W. Blair, the firm’s Presiding Partner. “Lisa’s insights and experience will afford clients an invaluable perspective, further complementing our market-leading white collar practice.”
Debevoise’s White Collar & Regulatory Defense Group excels in complex representations for clients facing corporate crises. The Group’s depth of experience and global reach allows for effective and strategic counsel with international and domestic clients, from defending against criminal prosecutions and civil enforcement actions, to conducting internal investigations, negotiating complex global settlements, trying cases before juries, and facilitating cooperation with government regulators.
“Lisa’s successful tenure in leading the Criminal Division of the U.S. Attorney’s Office, and her vast experience as a prosecutor and defense lawyer, will be incredibly helpful to our clients,” said Andrew J. Ceresney, Co-Chair of the firm’s Litigation Department. “We’re pleased to have Lisa join the Debevoise team, as she will further bolster an already remarkably strong White Collar practice.”
“I’m thrilled to be joining Debevoise. It is an exceptional firm with an extremely talented group of lawyers whose judgment, experience and reputation, especially in white-collar practice, are unmatched,” said Ms. Zornberg. “I am excited to begin the next phase of my career at a firm that values and promotes collegiality and a team-oriented approach to client service.”
Ms. Zornberg graduated magna cum laude from Harvard College in 1991 and cum laude from Harvard Law School in 1994. Early in her legal career, Ms. Zornberg served as a law clerk to then United States District Judge for the Southern District of New York and now United States Supreme Court Justice Sonia Sotomayor.
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Debevoise & Plimpton LLP is a premier law firm with market-leading practices, a global perspective and strong New York roots. We deliver effective solutions to our clients’ most important legal challenges, applying clear commercial judgment and a distinctively collaborative approach.