Ivonne Mena King is a partner and litigation lawyer with Foley & Lardner LLP. She regularly represents multinational corporations and their executives in white collar criminal cases and internal investigations, especially in connection with the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA) and government contracts. She is a member of the firm’s Government Enforcement Defense & Investigations and Latin America Practices and Life Sciences Industry Team. She is also a member of the firm’s Partner Selection Committee.
Ivonne has served as the lead lawyer on over 15 internal investigations spanning 46 countries throughout the Middle East, Europe, Asia and Latin America. As a fluent Spanish speaker, Ivonne has led a team of Spanish-speaking lawyers in six FCPA investigations in Latin America alone, garnering recognition by Chambers USA (2014), which reported that the firm is “[p]articularly noted for its presence in providing counsel on FCPA matters to Latin American clients.” Ivonne represents clients from a wide variety of industries, including pharmaceutical, medical devices, defense, technology, consumer, oil, energy, and entertainment.
With government enforcement matters, the biggest victories are the ones where the company ultimately resolves the inquiry without a published settlement involving fines or penalties. On many matters, with many different agencies, Ivonne has served as lead lawyer and obtained such a result.
Representative Experience
- Successfully defending a Fortune 500 pharmaceutical company in a 33-country FCPA investigation before the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission.
- Successfully defending a Fortune 500 defense contractor in a False Claims Act investigation with a strategy that included a legislative solution to revise the complex specialty metals regulations, resulting in the company’s continued production and delivery of weapons without incurring any False Claims Act liability.
- Successfully defending a leading defense contractor in FCPA and False Claims Act investigations by U.S. authorities, including the Department of Justice, the U.S. Attorney’s Office, the Defense Criminal Investigative Service, and the Naval Criminal Investigative Service.
- Successfully defending a major health care company in a fraud investigation by the U.S. Attorney’s Office.
Presentations and Publications
Ivonne regularly presents at seminars and publishes on a variety of Foreign Corrupt Practices Act and investigation-related topics including the following:
- “The Foreign Corrupt Practices Act 2011” (Co-Chair and Moderator, hosted by the Practising Law Institute, May 2011)
- Co-Author, “UK Bribery Act: Raising the Bar for Anti-Corruption Programs” (written for Practising Law Institute program, May 5, 2011)
- “Developing a Compliant Gift, Travel, Entertainment and Hospitality Policy” (Panelist, American Conference Institute’s FCPA Boot Camp, September 27-28, 2010)
- “FCPA & Anti-Corruption Compliance: Moving Beyond FCPA and Establishing An Anti-Corruption Program” (Panelist, Emerging from an FCPA Investigation and Prosecution – An in-depth Look at Anti-Corruption Cases hosted by Marcus Evans Conferences, September 15-16, 2010)
- “High Tech – High Risk 2009: Foreign Corrupt Practices Act Implications for Technology Companies” (Co-Chair and Panelist, the Practising Law Institute, September 17, 2009)
- “Practical Day-To-Day Operational Challenges (Do Sweat the Small Stuff)” (Panelist, The Foreign Corrupt Practices Act 2009: Coping with Heightened Enforcement Risks hosted by the Practising Law Institute, June 26, 2009)
- “Advanced Securities Law Workshop 2008: Enforcement Update” (Panelist, Practising Law Institute conference, August 2008)
- “Foreign Corrupt Practices Act: Preventing & Enforcing Anti-Corruption Through Effective Multinational Compliance Programs” (Chair and Panelist, IQPC conference, June 17 and 18, 2008)
- “The Foreign Corrupt Practices Act: Developing a Compliance Program” (Panelist, Webcast sponsored by WestLegalEdcenter, May 5, 2008)
- “The Foreign Corrupt Practices Act: Know Your Risks and Minimize Your Exposure” (Chair and Panelist, Conference sponsored by KPMG and Foley & Lardner LLP, April 29, 2008)
- “Implementing a Compliance Program in the Real World” (Panelist, The Foreign Corrupt Practices Act: Coping with Heightened Enforcement Risks conference hosted by the Practising Law Institute, April 16, 2008)
- “Ethical Issues in FCPA Investigations” (Moderator, 5th Annual General Counsel West Coast Conference, November 15-16, 2007)
- “Establishing an Effective Anti-Corruption Compliance Program and Creating a Successful Compliance Culture” (Panelist, The Foreign Corrupt Practice Act: Coping with Heightened Enforcement Risks conference hosted by the Practising Law Institute, September 17, 2007)
- “How to Conduct an Internal Investigation” (Web Conference sponsored by InsideCounsel and Foley & Lardner LLP, September 12, 2007)
- “Corrupt Practices Act Developments” (Panelist, Foley & Lardner Sixth Annual National Directors Institute, March 8, 2007)
- “Compliance Challenges for Defense Industry Suppliers” (Web Conference hosted by Foley & Lardner, December 20, 2006)
- “So, You Want the Business? Strategies for a Successful Beauty Contest” (Panelist, California Minority Counsel Program 17th Annual Business Development Conference, September 13, 2006)
- Co-Author: “Getting the Upjohn Warning Right in Internal Investigations” (The Practical Litigator, March 2006)
- “Avoiding Pitfalls When Responding to Electronic Evidence Requests” (Legalworks, Volume 2, Number 4, December 31, 2005)
- “Emerging Ethical Issues With the Attorney-Client Privilege” (Panelist, 2005 Business Litigation Conference: Is Your Litigation Management Strategy in Focus?, December 4-6, 2005)
- “Conducting an Effective Due Diligence Review to Reduce Risks of Liability: A Step-by-Step Guide” (American Conference Institute’s 14th National Conference on Foreign Corrupt Practices Act, November 17, 2005)
- “White Collar & Compliance Q&A: False Claim Act Issues” (AskFoley Article, October 31, 2005)
- “Best Practices for Law Firm Diversity Programs” (Panelist, California Minority Counsel Program 16th Annual Business Development Conference, October 5, 2005)
- “Preserving, Collecting and Producing Documents in the Electronic Age” (Best Practices Article, June 22, 2005)
- “The Pitfalls and Pratfalls of Responding to Electronic Evidence Requests: Avoiding Sanctions (and Punitive Damages) When Responding to Requests for Electronic Evidence” (Web Conference for Foley & Lardner Counsel, June 21, 2005)
- “How to Respond to Securities Litigation” (Panelist, Minority Corporate Counsel Association CLE Expo, March 16, 2005)
- “Maximizing the Protection of Privileged Communications” (Panelist, 2004 Business Litigation Conference: Your Ticket to Enhanced Litigation Management, December 5-7, 2004)