Dee Spagnuolo is Ballard Spahr's Partner in Charge of Attorney Career Advancement and a member of the Executive Team of the firm's Management Committee. Dee's practice focuses on the representation of companies and individuals in a wide range of internal investigations in educational and corporate settings, and compliance and regulatory matters. Dee has defended clients in civil litigation and criminal investigations involving the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA), state and federal false claims acts (FCA), and regulatory compliance and ethics.
Dee's practice also includes the institutional response to sexual misconduct. She was one of the lead Ballard Spahr attorneys conducting a review of cases and internal procedures for the Archdiocese of Philadelphia following a grand jury indictment of several priests accused of sexual abuse. Dee also has extensive experience managing internal investigations, communications with law enforcement, disciplinary proceedings, and the interplay between civil and criminal proceedings in the area of sexual misconduct. Domestic and international clients have included educational institutions, corporations, nonprofit organizations, and religious institutions.
Dee also counsels corporate, educational, and non-profit clients with respect to their internal and external diversity and inclusion policies and practices.
As the Partner in Charge of Attorney Career Advancement, Dee is responsible for the recruitment, professional development, compensation, evaluation and promotion of approximately 350 non-partner lawyers across the firm's 15 offices. She also serves as a member of Ballard Spahr's Diversity and Inclusion Council.
Prior to law school, Dee worked as a college counselor for at-risk youth and as a research assistant for the Say Yes to Education Foundation. She also served for two years as a Peace Corps volunteer in the Dominican Republic.
Representative Matters
- Conducts internal investigations of alleged civil rights violations, child abuse, and sexual misconduct in educational settings
- Represents a number of clients in litigation and internal investigations involving the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act, the Federal False Claims Act, regulatory and ethics compliance, and various business frauds
- Represents clients in front of the DOJ Fraud Section and Antitrust Division, various U.S. Attorney's Offices, the Philadelphia Office of Inspector General, State Attorney General Offices, the Securities and Exchange Commission, and the Office of Fair Trading in London
- Represents educational institutions, health care providers, pharmaceutical companies, and financial institutions in False Claims Act litigation
- Advises corporations on their diversity and inclusion policies and practices
Pro Bono Experience
Dee has represented a wide range of pro bono clients. She represents players on the Women's National Hockey Team as they seek gender equity with USA Hockey. Dee has also counseled and trained nonprofit organizations in the areas of child abuse reporting and criminal background policies.
Judicial Clerkships
Hon. R. Barclay Surrick, U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania, 2003-2004
Professional Activities
American Bar Association
Pennsylvania Bar Association
National Association of College and University Attorneys
Recognition & Accomplishments
Named a Diverse Attorney of the Year, The Legal Intelligencer, 2015
Named a Pennsylvania Super Lawyers "Rising Star," 2008, 2010-2014
Recipient, The Legal Intelligencer's 2013 "Lawyers on the Fast Track" award, given to select young Pennsylvania lawyers whose achievements have distinguished them among their peers
Named among the "Best LGBT Lawyers Under 40 - Class of 2012" by the National LGBT Bar Association
Recipient, Ballard Spahr's Alan J. Davis Award for legal representation involving the public good, 2011
Recipient, Noyes E. Leech Award, for contribution to the Journal of International Economic Law, University of Pennsylvania Law School
Publications
Co-author, "DOE Changes Student Borrower Defense Rules," Ballard Spahr Alert, September 19, 2019
Co-author, "Complying with the Diversity & Inclusion Standards of Section 342 of Dodd-Frank Through Sponsorship Programs: Key Considerations for Development and Implementation," Mortgage Compliance Magazine, November 16, 2017
Co-author, "Getting with the Program: Tackling Section 342," Mortgage Compliance Magazine, November 1, 2016
Co-author, "Recent Developments under Dodd-Frank's Diversity Standards," Ballard Spahr alert, November 11, 2015
Co-author, "Final Diversity and Inclusion Standards Issued Jointly by Six Federal Agencies," Ballard Spahr alert, June 9, 2015
Co-author, "Laying the Groundwork: Creating a Complaint Section 342 Program," Mortgage Compliance Magazine, February 4, 2015
Co-author, "White House Task Force on Sexual Assault Releases First Report; OCR Issues Long-Awaited FAQs," Ballard Spahr Higher Education alert, April 29, 2014
Co-author, "Federal Negotiators Allow Lawyers, Other Advisers To Participate in Campus Sexual Assault Hearings," Ballard Spahr Higher Education alert, April 3, 2014
Co-author, "New Campus SaVE Act Requirements Effective Today," Ballard Spahr Higher Education alert, March 7, 2014
Co-author, "President Obama Establishes Task Force To Focus on Campus Sexual Assaults," Ballard Spahr Higher Education alert, January 24, 2014
Co-author, "OCR Investigations of Educational Institutions Find Violations of Title IX, Section 504, ADA," Ballard Spahr Higher Education alert, November 8, 2013
Co-author, "HHS Says Qualified Health Plans Are Not ‘Federal Health Care Programs'," Ballard Spahr alert, November 7, 2013
Co-author, "Major New Jersey Health System Pays $12.6 Million To Settle False Claims Act Suit Alleging Physician Kickback Scheme," Ballard Spahr alert, January 30, 2013
Speaking Engagements
"Diversity and Inclusion: An Update for Financial Institutions," Ballard Spahr podcast, March 14, 2019
"The In-House Counsel Perspective," Perrin Diversity & Inclusion Conference, November 2, 2017
"Foul!: Gender Equality in Sport — An Oxymoron?" American Bar Association, Business Law Section Annual Meeting, Sports Law Committee, September 15, 2017
"Free Money! What Could Possibly Go Wrong?" Ballard Spahr webinar, July 26, 2017
"Diversity and Inclusion Programs in the Financial Services Industry," American Bankers Association, January 23, 2017
"Developing a Diversity and Inclusion Strategy," Ballard Spahr CLE, Philadelphia, January 12, 2017
"Diversity and Dodd-Frank Section 342," ABA Business Law Section Annual Meeting, September 8, 2016
"Diversity Issues in Higher Education," Ballard Spahr webinar, April 19, 2016
"Complying with the Dodd-Frank Diversity and Inclusion Standards," Association of Corporate Counsel, Arizona Chapter, Phoenix, November 17, 2015
"The New Diversity Standards: What's a Banker to Do?" American Bankers Association CLE, September 29, 2015
"Dodd Frank: Implications for Your Diversity and Inclusion Program," American Bar Association webinar, August 12, 2015
"Complying with the Final Diversity and Inclusion Standards," Ballard Spahr webinar, July 15, 2015
"What Organizations Need to Know about Pennsylvania's Amendments to the Child Protective Services Law", Ballard Spahr CLE, Philadelphia, July 9, 2015
"Roundtable: Diversity and Inclusion as Components of Compliance Management," MBA's Strategic Markets & Diversity Summit, Washington, D.C., June 25, 2015
"Attention Publicly Traded Companies: Dodd-Frank's Diversity & Inclusion Standards Want You! (More Than Just Financial Institutions)," Philadelphia Bar Institute, 21st Annual Employment Law Institute, April 28, 2015
"Diversity — Complying with Dodd-Frank Section 342," Mortgage Bankers Association, Regulatory Compliance Conference, Washington, D.C., September 30, 2014
"LGBT Roundtable," Philadelphia Diversity Council, Fifth Annual Philadelphia Diversity & Leadership Conference: Imagine Inclusion!, September 4, 2014
"Advanced Topics in Title IX Compliance and Beyond: A Thoughtful Discussion of Critical Issues in the Institutional Approach and Response to Sexual Violence on Campus,"Part II of a Ballard Spahr webinar, March 18, 2014, and Part I, February 27, 2014
"Internal Investigations - Lessons Learned from the Rutgers Basketball Case," Ballard Spahr webinar, June 26, 2013
"Getting a Grip on HIPAA," Ballard Spahr webinar, February 20, 2013
Guest lecturer, University of Pennsylvania Law School, and Drexel University, Earle Mack School of Law
Community Activities
Bowdoin College Board of Trustees
University of Pennsylvania Association of Alumnae
Education
University of Pennsylvania Law School (J.D. 2003) Class President; Legal Writing Fellow; Editor-in-Chief, Journal of International Economic Law
Bowdoin College (A.B. 1996) Captain of the varsity Field Hockey, Women's Ice Hockey, and Softball teams; All-American Honors in Field Hockey
Languages
Fluent in Spanish; conversational in Italian
Admissions
Pennsylvania
U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania
U.S. Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit