Iris Bennett

Anti-Corruption/FCPA | Independent & Internal Investigations | White-Collar Defense | Fraud & False Claims Act | Monitorship

Iris Bennett has more than two decades of experience representing companies and individuals in the defense and resolution of criminal and civil investigations by the U.S. DOJ and other U.S. agencies. She has represented clients in all phases of U.S. government investigations, settlement, and post-settlement compliance before the Department of Justice Criminal and Civil Divisions and the Securities and Exchange Commission, and with respect to voluntary and mandatory disclosures before these agencies as well as the U.S. Department of Defense Office of the Inspector General.

Iris has led hundreds of cross-border and domestic internal investigations on behalf of companies and Boards of Directors into issues of legal or policy compliance. Her global cross-border experience has included numerous matters in which Iris's fluency in Spanish and knowledge of Portuguese has facilitated execution of all key aspects in those languages. Her international experience includes serving as US investigation counsel to the Independent Committee chaired by appointed by the Board of Directors of Vale S.A., with a mandate to investigate the causes and responsibilities for the 2019 rupture of the Córrego do Feijão tailings dam in Brumadinho, Brazil.

Iris maintains an active ethics and compliance counseling practice focused on providing strategic and actionable advice. She has advised Fortune 100 corporate clients and many other companies on their anti-corruption compliance programs, corporate compliance reviews and risk assessments, targeted compliance consultations to resolve ad hoc issues, and transactional and third-party due diligence.

Iris served as the Independent Compliance Monitor for SNC-Lavalin, Inc., with a mandate to review and evaluate that company's global anti-corruption compliance program on behalf of the World Bank in a matter that involved the longest-ever World Bank debarment and monitorship sanction. Under her oversight, SNC-Lavalin successfully completed its sanctions obligations to develop a robust anti-corruption compliance program and was able to obtain an early release from what had been a 10-year debarment. Iris also served as U.S. counsel to the Independent Compliance Monitor appointed by the Department of Justice and the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission for a Swedish-listed, multinational networking and telecommunications company.

Before entering private practice, Iris served as a trial attorney with the District of Columbia Federal Defender, representing criminal defendants in federal court.

Co-Chair, Foreign Training Committee, National Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers

Co-Chair, White Collar Committee, National Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers

Advisory Board, The Champion journal, National Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers

Co-Chair, Newsletter Committee, Women’s White Collar Defense Association