Hunton Andrews Kurth has appointed Laura Colombell Marshall to lead its white collar defense and internal investigations practice.

“White collar matters pose significant risks for businesses and individuals, and each case requires a tailored strategy to achieve an optimal outcome,” said Marshall, who is based in Washington and Richmond. “I’m excited to lead the team with this approach, and to continue expanding the important work we are doing for our clients.”

In an interview with Corporate Crime Reporter in 2016, Marshall said she comes from a law enforcement family.

“I’m the daughter of an FBI agent,” Marshall told Corporate Crime Reporter in the 2016 interview. “My grandfather was a New Haven police officer. When I went to law school, I knew I wanted to be in public service. And I had hoped that I would get an opportunity to be a federal prosecutor. My grandfather came to this country from Germany. We had a short but significant tradition in public service in this country.”

“My dad is in fact a lawyer. He joined the FBI at a time when you were either a lawyer or an accountant. His younger brother was an accountant and became a career FBI agent as well.”

“The importance of being in law enforcement was instilled in me at an early age. My husband is also in law enforcement as well.”

Marshall spent fifteen years as a federal prosecutor before joining Hunton & Williams’ white collar criminal defense practice in 2013.

“When I’m asked to come in and do an internal investigation – and I was doing one this week – my marching orders from my clients are – we want to get to the truth, we want to get to the bottom of this and we want an independent investigation,” Marshall said. “When I get that task, it’s very natural for me to do an investigation, develop evidence, identify what the key issues are. I feel very comfortable doing that. I tell my clients that this is the kind of thing that I enjoy the most. It’s not necessarily a new challenge to me. These are skills that I have honed over a long period of time. I have been fortunate enough to work with companies that value that kind of tailored and independent investigation. And they seem to understand that that is what the Department of Justice is looking for.”

“When you start these investigations for companies, you never know exactly what you are going to find. I always make sure at the outset that I have the directive to conduct an independent and thorough investigation. Ultimately, if you need to make a disclosure, you need to have the credibility behind the work that you have done in order for the government to even consider relying on the findings that you have reached. It goes a long way towards cooperation and how the government views the company.”

[For the complete 2016 q/a format Interview with Laura Colombell Marshall, see 30 Corporate Crime Reporter 23(13), June 6, 2016, print edition only.]