Michael R. Bromwich is a litigation partner in the Washington, DC
and New York offices of Fried Frank. He heads the firm's Internal
Investigations, Compliance and Monitoring practice group. Mr.
Bromwich concentrates his practice on conducting internal
investigations for private companies and other organizations;
providing monitoring and oversight services in connection with
public and private litigation and government enforcement actions;
and representing institutions and individuals in white-collar
criminal and regulatory matters. He also provides crisis management
assistance and counseling.
Since joining the firm in 1999, Mr. Bromwich has conducted many major
internal investigations for companies, both publicly traded and privately
held, in the energy, pharmaceuticals, public accounting, and private
security industries, among others; reviewed the compliance programs and
policies of major companies in a variety of industries, conducted extensive
field reviews of such programs and made recommendations for their
improvement; and represented companies and individuals in state and federal
criminal investigations. In 2002, Mr. Bromwich was selected by the
Department of Justice and the District of Columbia to serve as the
Independent Monitor for the District of Columbia’s Metropolitan Police
Department (MPD), focusing on use of force, civil rights integrity, internal
misconduct, and training issues. He served in that position until 2008 when
MPD was determined to have achieved substantial compliance. In 2007, Mr.
Bromwich was selected by the City of Houston to undertake a comprehensive
investigation of the Houston Police Department Crime Lab; the investigation
was widely praised for identifying serious problems in some of the Crime
Lab’s operations and providing recommendations for the Lab’s improvement.
From 1994 to 1999, Mr. Bromwich served as Inspector General for the
Department of Justice. As Inspector General, he headed the law enforcement
agency principally responsible for conducting criminal and administrative
investigations into allegations of corruption and misconduct involving the
120,000 employees of the Department of Justice. He was also responsible for
conducting independent audits of the Department's programs and operations.
As
Inspector General, Mr. Bromwich was best known for conducting special
investigations into allegations of misconduct, defective procedures and
incompetence in the FBI Laboratory; the FBI's conduct and activities
regarding the Aldrich Ames matter; the handling of classified information by
the FBI and the Department of Justice in the campaign finance investigation;
the alleged deception of a Congressional delegation by high-ranking
officials of the Immigration and Naturalization Service; and the Justice
Department's role in the CIA crack cocaine controversy. During his tenure as
Inspector General, Mr. Bromwich testified before Congressional committees on
about 20 occasions.
Before his appointment as Inspector General, Mr. Bromwich served as a
federal prosecutor in the 1980s. From 1987 through 1989, he served as
Associate Counsel in the Office of Independent Counsel for Iran-Contra. In
January-May 1989, he was one of three courtroom lawyers for the government
in the case of United States v. Oliver L. North. Mr. Bromwich's other
responsibilities in that office included supervising a team of prosecutors
and law enforcement agents that investigated allegations of criminal
misconduct against government officials and private citizens in connection
with provision of aid to the Contras in Nicaragua and serving as overall
coordinator of the Iran-Contra grand jury.
From 1983 to 1987, Mr. Bromwich served as an Assistant U.S. Attorney in the
U.S. Attorney's Office for the Southern District of New York. During his
tenure, he tried many lengthy and complex cases and argued many appellate
matters before the Second Circuit. Mr. Bromwich served as Deputy Chief and
Chief of the Office's Narcotics Unit.
In
addition to his government service, Mr. Bromwich spent about seven years as
a lawyer in private practice. From 1989 through 1993, he was a partner in
the Washington, DC office of Mayer, Brown & Platt, where he specialized in
white-collar criminal defense. Mr. Bromwich represented individual and
corporate clients in state and federal administrative and judicial
proceedings, conducted and supervised numerous complex investigations on
behalf of individual and corporate clients and tried two cases to verdict,
including the acquittal of a defendant charged with export violations that
was the subject of national press attention. Earlier, from 1980 to 1983, he
was an associate in the Washington, DC office of Foley & Lardner.
Mr.
Bromwich has published articles in law reviews and other publications on
conducting and managing complex investigations. He is also a frequent
speaker and panelist on law enforcement, oversight and criminal law issues.
Since leaving government in 1999, he has published articles on law
enforcement, criminal justice and oversight issues in The New York
Times, Washington Post, Los Angeles Times, the Boston
Globe, and Legal Times. During his career, he has also
participated in nationally televised symposia on the Independent Counsel
Act, the operation of the jury system in high-profile cases and the changing
role of federal prosecutors. He has also been the subject of profiles
published by The American Lawyer, and the Associated Press
and since leaving government has made appearances on a wide variety of
nationally televised news and public affairs programs.
Mr.
Bromwich received his law degree from the Harvard Law School in 1980 and a
master's degree in Public Policy from Harvard's John F. Kennedy School of
Government the same year. He received his undergraduate degree, summa cum
laude, from Harvard College in 1976. Mr. Bromwich is admitted to the
District of Columbia Bar.
