Wilson Sonsini Goodrich & Rosati, the premier provider of legal services to technology, life sciences, and growth enterprises worldwide, announced today that the firm is launching a Strategic Risk and Crisis Management group, which will be led by Beth George and bolstered with the addition of Andrew (Andy) Dockham and Janet Hyojeong Kim, who have joined the firm as partners in the Washington, D.C., office.
Technology and life sciences companies are increasingly facing bet-the-company scrutiny on multiple fronts, often facing simultaneous globe-spanning regulatory inquiries, high-stakes litigation, and congressional inquiries. In introducing its strategic risk and crisis management group, Wilson Sonsini aims to help clients manage major controversies while building upon its client-centric model of service. The group will help companies address a wide range of issues, such as highly publicized data breaches, supply chain failures, corporate malfeasance allegations, executive misconduct, and technology’s role in disinformation campaigns. Such controversies can lead to serious business disruptions, damage corporate standing, lose consumer trust, and erode shareholder value.
“In forming our group, we’re leveraging multidisciplinary experience and talents to help clients facing increasingly complex and multi-dimensional problems,” said Doug Clark, Wilson Sonsini’s managing partner. “The group will benefit from the leadership of Beth George, who is well versed in crisis management, and its introduction also coincides with the arrival of Andy Dockham and Janet Kim—both of whom have substantial experience in high-profile congressional investigations and credibility on both sides of the aisle.”
“With so much at stake for technology and life sciences companies confronting fast-developing situations, they need a firm that understands their business models and can help them react immediately, to mitigate the damage and minimize further risk,” said Beth George, who returned to Wilson Sonsini in late 2021 after serving as acting general counsel of the U.S. Department of Defense. “Our multidisciplinary group has substantial and highly relevant experience to help clients prepare, respond, and react quickly with global response strategies. Our team draws upon decades of experience in and out of government, working on some of the most high-profile issues of the day.”
Prior to joining Wilson Sonsini, Dockham served as Chief Counsel and Deputy Staff Director for retiring U.S. Senator Rob Portman (R-OH), the Ranking Member for the Committee on Homeland Security and Government Affairs (HSGAC). In that role, he led Sen. Portman’s team in producing a bipartisan report on the security and intelligence failures that led to the January 6 attack on the U.S. Capitol. From 2017 to 2021, he served as Chief Counsel and Staff Director for then-Chairman Portman on the U.S. Senate’s Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations (PSI), the Senate’s premier investigative entity. Under his leadership, PSI issued a number of bipartisan reports and held hearings, tackling important issues facing the country, including prescription drug prices; research and IP theft by foreign adversaries; private sector data breaches; the opioid crisis; and international money laundering and sanctions evasion. Dockham also served as General Counsel for the U.S. House of Representatives’ Committee on Oversight and Government Reform from 2015 to 2017. He began his career on Capitol Hill working for Senator Tom Coburn (R-OK) as Counsel on PSI from 2010 to 2012, and later as Chief Counsel for Sen. Coburn on HSGAC from 2013 to 2014. In that role, Dockham led a bipartisan investigation that uncovered $550 million in fraudulently awarded healthcare benefits, which led to the indictment of two administrative law judges, an attorney, and a doctor. Dockham’s investigative reports were routinely covered by high-profile print and broadcast media, including three investigations featured on 60 Minutes.
“Returning to private practice at Wilson Sonsini gives me an excellent opportunity to draw on my 10-plus years of experience leading complex, high-profile bipartisan congressional investigations. That background, combined with Janet’s expertise and the firm’s crisis management experience, will build on the firm’s ability to provide top-notch service to clients navigating both internal investigations and all aspects of investigations by Capitol Hill,” said Dockham. “I look forward to working with Wilson Sonsini’s impressive base of innovative technology and life sciences clients that are increasingly drawing the attention of lawmakers.”
Kim served as Associate Counsel to the President in the Office of the White House Counsel since January 2021, providing White House officials and senior Executive Branch officials with strategic and legal counsel on litigation and risk matters, including congressional oversight investigations. Her portfolio included managing high-profile litigation, oversight, and investigative matters; negotiating with congressional and government investigators regarding requests for documents and testimony directed at the Executive Branch; and providing compliance and risk mitigation advice to White House officials. From 2017 to 2020, she served on the staff of the House Committee on Oversight and Reform, the primary investigative committee of the House of Representatives. First serving as Investigative Counsel and then Chief Counsel for Investigations, Kim led multiple high-profile investigations and staffed congressional hearings on a wide variety of matters, including topics related to the financial sector, environment, energy, national security, technology, the coronavirus pandemic, health care, personnel practices, ethics, and consumer products.
“I’m excited to continue my practice of helping clients manage high-profile crises strategically and comprehensively, and advising them alongside Andy as part of an experienced, bipartisan congressional investigations team,” said Kim. “I have known Beth for many years and hold her brand of client service—clear-eyed, nimble, and effective—in the highest regard. I hope to provide similarly critical assistance to the innovative and disruptive companies in Wilson Sonsini’s client base as they manage formidable threats. I also look forward to leveraging Wilson Sonsini’s deep and impressive expertise in risk management, compliance, and investigations.”
Dockham received his J.D. from the University of Virginia School of Law in 2003. He earned a B.A. from Wake Forest University in 1998. He is admitted to practice in the District of Columbia and Virginia.
Kim received her J.D. from Harvard Law School in 2012, and a B.A. from Stanford University in 2009. She is admitted to practice in California and the District of Columbia.