Valecia M. McDowell

Valecia McDowell is a thought leader in the areas of conduct risk management and internal investigations, as reflected in her rankings in Chambers USA and Best Lawyers, as well as her inclusion in national publications such as Bloomberg, American Banker, Corporate Compliance Insights, and Inside Counsel. She also serves on the firm's Management Committee and serves as co-chair of the firm's Diversity Committee.

For more than 20 years Valecia has brought her candor, pragmaticism, and diligence to bear on behalf of her clients, establishing herself as the go-to attorney in the investigations arena. Valecia has experience conducting internal and governmental investigations across the United States, Europe, Asia, and South America, with specific knowledge and experience in the areas of consumer finance and employee conduct risk, including practice and company-wide reviews and racial equity assessments.

She has represented clients in disputes, investigations, and negotiations involving domestic authorities, such as the Federal Reserve Board, OCC, CFPB, DOJ, SEC, HUD, FINRA, CFTC, DOA, OIG, Congress, State Attorneys General in the United States, and international authorities, such as, the U.K. Financial Conduct Authority (FCA), the Japanese Financial Services Agency (JFSA), and the Comissão de Valores Mobiliarios (the Brazilian Securities Commission). She frequently leads sensitive, confidential internal investigations and reviews for Fortune 100 companies and recently led the team that published a racial equity audit report for CoreCivic, the largest private operator of corrections and detention facilities in the US.

Valecia has served as a guest instructor at the Duke University School of Law, teaching a course on internal investigations, and has twice been invited to speak regarding conduct risk management at the SIFMA C&L Annual Seminar. Valecia has also written or been featured in articles published by Bloomberg, American Banker, Corporate Compliance Insights, and Inside Counsel on the topics of internal investigations and risk management.