Biz Van Gelder is the leader of Dickstein Shapiro’s Congressional Investigations Practice and co-leader of its White Collar Criminal Defense & Investigations Practice where she focuses on white-collar defense and healthcare cases. Ms. Van Gelder regularly represents clients in congressional and criminal fraud investigations as well as qui tam, Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA), False Claims Act (FCA), civil RICO, and employment litigation. She has counseled clients—including boards, audit committees, and management—on the development and implementation of internal compliance and ethics programs, the conduct of internal investigations, and Sarbanes-Oxley issues.

FCPA/Antibribery

Ms. Van Gelder’s extensive FCPA compliance experience includes leading numerous internal investigations in the United States as well as India, China and Israel. Ms. Van Gelder’s practice also includes clients who have been the targets of DOJ search warrants and grand jury investigations as well as parallel SEC investigations. She has counseled clients on the pros/cons of Government plea arrangements, Deferred Prosecution Agreements (DPAs), Non-Prosecution Agreements (NPAs), and voluntary disclosures.

Ms. Van Gelder has also developed internal Codes of Conduct and Anti-Corruption compliance training for multi-national corporations. She has spoken at various conferences on the FCPA as well as the new UK Bribery Act.

In naming her one of DC’s top criminal defense lawyers, Washingtonian magazine described Ms. Van Gelder as someone to call if “you find yourself drawn into an awkward congressional investigation, or worse, a grand-jury investigation by the Justice Department or the U.S. Attorney’s office.” Main Justice honored Ms. Van Gelder with its Distinguished Service Award in the Zealous Advocates category in the first annual Main Justice Best FCPA Lawyers Client Service Awards.

PROFESSIONAL ACTIVITIES

Ms. Van Gelder is admitted to practice in the District of Columbia; before the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit; before the U.S. District Courts for the Northern District of Georgia, Central District of Illinois, and the District of Columbia; and before the U.S. Court of Federal Claims.

Ms. Van Gelder has taught evidence and trial practice as an adjunct professor at Georgetown University Law Center. She also has taught at NITA trial and deposition workshops and at the Attorney General’s Advocacy Institute. In addition, she is a frequent speaker at the ABA Healthcare Fraud and Qui Tam institutes.

Since 2000, Ms. Van Gelder has served as vice-chair of the Procurement Fraud Committee of the American Bar Association, where she is currently a member of the Section on Public Contract Law. She is also a member of the National Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers and the Assistant United States Attorney Association. She previously has been a partner at Wiley, Rein, and Fielding and Morgan Lewis & Bockius.

EDUCATION

Ms. Van Gelder earned her J.D. from Emory University School of Law (1976) and her B.A. from Boston University (1972).