John J. Durham

/My focus

I bring a depth of experience handling and supervising criminal and civil cases at all levels of complexity across a wide range of practice areas and industries, at every stage from investigation through litigation. These include matters in connection with FBI, DHS, DEA, ATF, IRS, SEC, and USMS; other cabinet-level agencies: the Departments of Treasury/OFAC, State, Defense, Commerce and Health and Human Services; the National Security Council; and the intelligence community.

In January 2025, I was appointed by the Attorney General to serve as the interim United States Attorney for the Eastern District of New York (EDNY), where I led one of the nation’s largest and most sophisticated federal prosecutor’s offices, managing more than 300 employees, a $40 million budget, and thousands of high-profile criminal and civil matters. As United States Attorney, I interacted extensively with the current DOJ leaders in the Office of the Deputy Attorney General, including the Deputy Attorney General, the leaders of the Criminal and National Security Divisions, United States Attorneys from key districts across the country, and the leadership of US government regulatory and enforcement agencies, such as SEC, FBI, DHS, Department of Commerce, and Treasury Department. Moreover, I developed a deep understanding of the priorities and policies of the current administration and, having served under multiple political leadership teams over the last twenty years, I am adaptable at adjusting to administration policies that take shape in the future.

In addition to being United States Attorney, I have held sensitive leadership positions at Main Justice, where I have led hand-picked teams of lawyers and investigators from around the country to conduct cross-border investigations involving US national security, corruption, financial crimes, money laundering, terrorism financing, sanctions violations, and cybercrime. I have directed inter-agency teams, dismantled transnational criminal organizations, advised senior DOJ leadership, including multiple Attorneys General, the White House, and the intelligence community, and led crisis response efforts involving some of the most significant threats to public safety and national security in recent years. For example, I was appointed by Attorneys General to serve as Director of Joint Task Force Vulcan (JTFV) and Chair of the Transnational Organized Crime Task Force (TOCTF), where I led multi-agency teams, spearheaded cross-border investigations, and disrupted the unlawful trafficking of money, material, and people that was supporting criminal networks inside the United States. I also have supervised significant defensive and affirmative civil matters, including False Claims Act (FCA), environmental and civil rights cases, as litigated by the EDNY Civil Division. In addition, I have investigated and supervised investigations into violations of US tax laws and unlawful exports of controlled technologies.

Before joining DOJ, I also handled highly complex matters while working at two significant law firms in New York City, clerking in the Southern District of New York, and serving as Deputy Counsel to the Independent Inquiry Committee into the United Nations Oil-for-Food Program.

With my extensive experience (including managing large teams and building coalitions), I am well-positioned to help clients navigate significant and evolving challenges involving:

• Government investigations and litigation, with an emphasis on:
  • corporate, securities, healthcare, federal program and procurement, and cryptocurrency fraud
  • FCA enforcement
  • national security and resilience 
  • terrorism financing
  • Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA), Foreign Agents Registration Act (FARA), International Emergency Economic Powers Act (IEEPA), and money laundering
  • international trade compliance and enforcement
  • environmental, immigration, civil rights
  • regulatory enforcement and affirmative litigation
• Global compliance and investigations: conducting investigations to detect and prevent fraud, corruption, and misconduct
• Cross-border/global investigations with multiple legal partners around the US and the world 
• Cybersecurity, economic espionage, and crisis and risk management
• Complex commercial disputes

/Looking ahead

In addition to traditional white-collar enforcement areas, companies are encountering evolving enforcement priorities from the current administration, which have been announced through a series of executive orders and DOJ Memoranda. These enforcement priorities create significant risks for companies and executives in a number of specific practice areas, including: (1) international trade compliance and enforcement: export control, customs, sanctions, and tariffs; (2) national security and terrorism financing; and (3) FCA enforcement. In each of these enforcement areas, government investigations will create civil, regulatory, and/or criminal risk for companies and individuals.

/Prior Government Experience

United States Department of Justice (2005–2026)

• United States Attorney, US Attorney’s Office, Eastern District of New York (January 2025–May 2025)
• Chief, Long Island Division, USAO-EDNY (May 2025–March 2026; June 2024–January 2025)
• Director, Joint Task Force Vulcan (2019–2022)
• Chair, Attorney General’s Transnational Organized Crime Task Force, MS-13 Subcommittee (2018–2019)
• Chief, Long Island Criminal Section, USAO-EDNY (May 2025–March 2026; June 2024–January 2025)
• Deputy Chief, Long Island Criminal Section, USAO-EDNY (2011–June 2024)
• Assistant United States Attorney, USAO-EDNY (2005–2026)

Independent Inquiry Committee into the United Nations Oil-for-Food Program (2004-2005)

/Clerkship

• Judicial law clerk for the Honorable Stephen C. Robinson, United States District Judge, Southern District of New York (2003-2004)