Alston & Bird has expanded its white collar defense and government investigations capabilities with the addition of former high-ranking U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) official and accomplished federal prosecutor Albert (BJ) Stieglitz as a partner in the firm’s Washington, D.C. office.

Stieglitz, who served in several prominent positions in the Justice Department, has spent more than a decade in complex financial criminal enforcement and was most recently the acting principal deputy chief of the Fraud Section of the DOJ’s Criminal Division. As the second-most-senior official in the section, he led and supervised high-profile white collar investigations and prosecutions, including matters initiated by the section’s Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA), Securities & Financial Fraud, and Health Care Fraud units.

As part of his DOJ service, Stieglitz served as the first-ever U.S. prosecutor detailed to the United Kingdom’s Serious Fraud Office (SFO) and Financial Conduct Authority (FCA). In that role, he worked side by side with SFO and FCA personnel investigating complex fraud, market abuse, and other violations of UK law and played a leading role in obtaining the SFO’s deferred prosecution agreements with two large UK government contractors.

“We are proud to have an attorney of BJ’s exceptional talent, experience, and stature join our firm,” said Alston & Bird Chairman and Managing Partner Richard Hays. “With companies facing a rise in government enforcement and investigations worldwide, the need has never been greater for senior lawyers who can not only help direct U.S. legal responses but also navigate at high levels of law enforcement and diplomatic channels across borders.”

Before serving as acting principal deputy chief of the DOJ’s Fraud Section, Stieglitz was the section’s senior deputy chief. He also has served as an assistant chief in the section’s Securities & Financial Fraud and FCPA units. He is a two-time recipient of the Attorney General’s Distinguished Service Award, in 2011 and 2016.

“BJ is a dynamic and formidable litigator with an impressive record of recent government leadership experience that clients seek,” said Brett Jaffe, Alston & Bird partner and co-chair of the firm’s Litigation & Trial Practice Group. “His trial experience, his years of experience leading and supervising complex, cross-border financial fraud and FCPA cases, and his significant enforcement experience in the UK give him deep insight and expertise with many of the most challenging and sophisticated types of investigations that clients can face.”

“BJ’s arrival continues the expansion of our white collar and internal investigations team and our ability to serve companies in international and cross-border investigations, both of which are strategic priorities for us,” said Ted Kang, Alston & Bird partner and co-leader of the firm’s White Collar, Government & Internal Investigations Team. “BJ’s inside-the-government perspective, strong global contacts in law enforcement, and the extraordinarily high esteem in which he is held in the white collar community will make him particularly attractive to companies as they confront a step-up in white collar investigations and enforcement in the U.S. and elsewhere around the world.”

Stieglitz is the latest addition to Alston & Bird’s growing white collar and internal investigations capabilities. Since 2020, the firm has added senior counsel Jody Hunt and partner BJay Pak, both former prominent DOJ officials and prosecutors, as well as partners Isabelle De Smedt and Joanna Hendon.