James Koukios Added To Morrison & Foerster In Washington, D.C.

Morrison & Foerster has named James Koukios, who served in the Fraud Section of the Criminal Division at the U.S. Department of Justice, most recently as Senior Deputy Chief, has joined the firm’s Washington, D.C. office as a partner in the Securities Litigation, Enforcement & White-Collar Criminal Defense practice group. Koukios began his career as a federal prosecutor in Miami, where he investigated and prosecuted a wide variety of cases during his four-and-a-half years, including a defense procurement fraud case, United States v. AEY, Inc., that was featured on the front page of The New York Times and an international weapons and narcotics smuggling case, United States v. Frazier, for which he received national recognition. Mr. Koukios was named one of the Miami US Attorney’s Office’s top prosecutors in 2008. He was then recruited to join the Fraud Section at Main Justice in Washington, D.C. There, he rose to be Assistant Chief of the FCPA Unit and then Senior Deputy Chief of the Fraud Section, the third-ranking official of the 100-attorney section. During his tenure at DOJ, Mr. Koukios worked with domestic and foreign law enforcement authorities around the globe. He tried nearly two dozen jury cases, serving as a lead trial attorney in two landmark FCPA-enforcement trials: Esquenazi and Duperval. In addition to his service at DOJ, Mr. Koukios served as Special Counsel to the FBI Director, advising the Bureau’s leadership on criminal enforcement policy, congressional testimony, and interagency issues.