Roscoe Howard Jr., who served as the U.S. attorney for the District of Columbia from 2001 until 2004, has joined the Washington office of Houston-based Andrews Kurth.
Howard brings with him Daniel Seikaly, who served as criminal division chief in the U.S. attorney’s office under Howard, and Meena Sinfelt. Seikaly joins as counsel, and Sinfelt joins as an associate.
All three lawyers will focus on white-collar criminal matters, corporate compliance, ethics issues, internal investigations and complex civil litigation.
Howard’s move to Andrews Kurth marks the third firm he has joined since leaving the U.S. attorney’s office in 2004. First he worked at Sheppard, Mullin, Richter & Hampton, but left after 15 months because of client conflict issues, he said. He spent the past five years at Troutman Sanders. He said he made the latest move because he was interested in joining a smaller office. Andrews Kurth has about 30 lawyers in Washington.
“When they approached me, it seemed like a great opportunity,” Howard said. “I have nothing bad to say about Troutman Sanders. This was a purely business decision as happens sometimes in this town.” Howard added that he is looking forward to helping Andrews Kurth grow its white-collar and securities litigation practice.
While in private practice, Howard has represented such clients as Scott Bloch, who is under investigation by the FBI for investigation into whether he destroyed evidence of retaliation against his own employees while leading the Justice Department’s Office of Special Counsel under President George W. Bush. Howard has also represented former Pittsburgh U.S. attorney Mary Beth Buchanan during the investigation into the U.S. attorney firing controversy and conducted an investigation for the Seneca Nation of Indians in New York state.
As U.S. attorney, Howard led several cases that garnered headlines, including the investigation of the 2001 anthrax mailings, Pacific Health Systems Inc.'s alleged overcharges to the Federal Employees Health Benefits Program, and the Washington Teachers Union embezzlement scandal.
Troutman Sanders did not immediately respond to calls for comment.
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