Courtney is experienced in conducting internal investigations; advising clients across the globe on compliance assessment, counseling and remediation; and defending them before domestic and foreign government enforcement authorities, including the U.S. Department of Justice and the Securities and Exchange Commission. In white-collar criminal defense, she has specific expertise and experience in anti-corruption, False Claims Act, and compliance-related matters.
Prior to joining King & Spalding, Courtney served for more than three years as an Assistant U.S. Attorney in the Middle District of Tennessee, where she was part of the Criminal Division's White Collar and Corporate Fraud Unit. In that role, she was lead counsel on dozens of investigations into white-collar crime, including public corruption, money laundering and securities, bank, ERISA, mail, wire, healthcare and bankruptcy frauds, and also prosecuted counterfeiting, computer, narcotics, child exploitation and environmental crimes. On several occasions, she acted as the "first chair" for criminal trials and lead counsel on briefs and oral arguments before the Courts of Appeals for the Second and Sixth Circuits.
Before that, Courtney was a Captain in the United States Marine Corps. As a defense counsel at Camp Lejeune, she represented hundreds of Marines and sailors in criminal courts-martial and administrative proceedings. She also served as lead counsel in numerous bench and jury trials, and obtained numerous outright acquittals for her clients. For her service, she was awarded the 2005 USMC Defense Counsel of the Year Award, Eastern Region, and also received the Navy Achievement Medal.