Bruce E Yannett

Practice Areas

Bruce Yannett is Chair of Debevoise & Plimpton's White Collar & Regulatory Defense Group and also served as Deputy Presiding Partner of the firm from July 2011 until June 2022. His practice focuses on white collar criminal defense, regulatory enforcement and internal investigations. He represents a broad range of companies, financial institutions and their executives in matters involving securities fraud, accounting fraud, foreign bribery, cybersecurity, insider trading and money laundering. He has extensive experience representing corporations and individuals outside the United States in responding to inquiries and investigations.

Mr. Yannett’s practice also encompasses complex litigation, including derivative cases, shareholder actions and commercial disputes.

Mr. Yannett joined Debevoise in 1986. In 1987 and 1988, he served on the team of lawyers selected by Lawrence Walsh to investigate the Iran/Contra matter, acting as an Associate Counsel in the Office of Independent Counsel. From 1988 to 1992, he served as an Assistant U.S. Attorney for the District of Columbia, where he was lead trial counsel in 20 jury trials ranging from bribery to murder. He also served in the Transnational and Major Crimes Unit, where he conducted investigations related to international terrorism, money laundering and sanctions violations. Mr. Yannett returned to Debevoise in 1992.

He is a member of the American Law Institute. Mr. Yannett is on the Board of Advisors for the New York University Program on Corporate Compliance and Enforcement. He previously served as Co-Chair of the ABA Litigation Section’s Task Force on Attorney-Client Privilege and as Co-Chair of the ABA’s Criminal Litigation Committee. He is admitted to appear before the Second, Fifth, Tenth and D.C. Circuits; the Southern and Eastern Districts of New York; and the District of Columbia.

Mr. Yannett has written and lectured extensively on issues relating to white collar criminal defense and regulatory enforcement. He is an editor of the firm’s monthly FCPA Update and a current member of the Editorial Board of Global Investigations Review.