Profile

Barbara Van Gelder

Senior Counsel,
Cozen OConnor

My Contact Information

Cozen OConnor
Washington, DC
Work: (202) 463-2516

Social Links

Chapter Location

Washington DC

Bio

​In naming her one of DC’s top criminal defense lawyers, Washingtonian magazine described Ms. Van Gelder as someone to call if “you find yourself drawn into an awkward congressional investigation, or worse, a grand-jury investigation by the Justice Department or the U.S. Attorney’s office.”

Biz focuses on white-collar defense, Congressional investigations as well as qui tam, Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA), False Claims Act (FCA), Procurement Fraud and civil litigation. Biz also has represented numerous companies and individuals in suspension and debarment matters, IG and Congressional investigations.

Chambers USA noted that Biz “is praised for her ability to be "really creative on behalf of her clients," and one source enthused: "Her representation is worth its weight in gold.”

Biz is in a small pool of FCA defense attorneys who have had jury trial and appellate experience in qui tam matters. She has had over 100 jury trials and counseled clients on the pros/cons of Government plea arrangements, Deferred Prosecution Agreements (DPAs), Non-Prosecution Agreements (NPAs), and voluntary disclosures.

She has been named as one of the Best Lawyers in America® by U.S. News & World Report (Metropolitan Tier 1 – Criminal Defense: White-Collar Litigation) .

Biz has also advised clients—including boards, audit committees, and management—on the development and implementation of internal compliance and ethics programs, the conduct of internal investigations, and Sarbanes-Oxley issues.

She has also developed internal Codes of Conduct and Anti-Corruption compliance training for multi-national corporations.

Main Justice awarded her with a Distinguished Service Award in the Zealous Advocates category for FCPA lawyers. ... see more

Practice Areas

  • Congressional Investigations
  • Corporate Crime
  • Corporate Governance
  • Crisis Management
  • Government Contracting, Bid Protests and the False Claims Act
  • Government Investigations
  • Healthcare
  • Insider Trading
  • Qui Tam; Whistleblower Defense
  • SEC Enforcement
  • State Attorney Generals
  • Trials
  • White Collar Crime