Carolyn McNiven is a hard-nosed, savvy white collar defense attorney who applies her over 25 years of experience to obtain optimal results for her clients. A lead attorney in over 20 jury trials and appeals, Carolyn knows how to argue persuasively to juries and judges alike. Carolyn is well-known for her effective and creative behind-the-scenes negotiations and has had particular success convincing prosecutors not to bring charges against her clients.
As a federal criminal prosecutor, Carolyn led several high-profile prosecutions, including those of sitting state and federal officials. Specializing in the most complex white collar cases, Carolyn established the U.S. Attorney's Office healthcare fraud enforcement team (HEAT) in Chicago. Since returning to private criminal defense practice in 2010, she has focused on healthcare enforcement defense, federal and state False Claims Act matters, regulatory counseling, cybersecurity, and anti-corruption (FCPA) compliance.
Carolyn’s discretion and ability to assess evidence quickly and formulate persuasive defenses has lead clients to entrust her with their most sensitive problems and issues. Since 2011, she has persuaded federal prosecutors to dismiss three separate criminal indictments, and and convinced others not to bring charges (including multiple recipients of target letters). She has had similar success with state and local authorities, including recently convincing a district attorney to drop a criminal charge against a healthcare professional.
She routinely represents public companies and individuals under DOJ investigation and defends civil enforcement matters triggered by qui tam (whistleblower) complaints. In 2013 - 2014 Carolyn lead a team overseeing anti-corruption compliance in India for a Fortune 50 company.
Carolyn has also negotiated multiple favorable False Claims Act settlements with federal and state authorities for large and small businesses, including multiple cases where the government was originally seeking in excess of $100 million in damages and fines.
Carolyn is committed to pro bono work and received the State Bar of California's Wiley W. Manuel Certificate for Pro Bono Legal Services.
Carolyn has a reputation for impeccable integrity. Clients report that she has a warm no-nonsense manner and is easy to approach.