Kara Brockmeyer is a litigation partner based in the Debevoise & Plimpton’s Washington D.C. office. She is a member of the White Collar & Regulatory Defense and Strategic Crisis Response and Solutions Groups, where her practice focuses on representing companies and individuals in anti-corruption, fraud and related government investigations and internal investigations, as well as advising on deal due diligence and compliance matters. Ms. Brockmeyer is ranked as a leading lawyer by Chambers USA (2020) where she is praised for her “enviable experience in major anticorruption investigations” and “expertise counseling clients on FCPA compliance programs.”
Prior to joining Debevoise in 2017, Ms. Brockmeyer served as the Chief of the SEC Enforcement Division’s Foreign Corrupt Practices Act Unit and directed a nationwide team of attorneys and forensic accountants investigating violations of the FCPA. During her tenure as chief of the unit, she oversaw many of the agency’s largest and most complex FCPA investigations. She was also one of the principal authors of the SEC-DOJ Resource Guide to the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act, which is widely considered the definitive government-issued guide on the FCPA.
Over a seventeen-year career at the SEC, including five years as an assistant director, Ms. Brockmeyer led and personally conducted major investigations in all areas of SEC enforcement, including financial reporting, broker-dealer and investment adviser violations, and insider trading. She was also the founder and co-head of the division’s Cross-Border Working Group, an interdisciplinary group focused on addressing accounting fraud by companies based overseas.
Before joining the SEC in 2000, Ms. Brockmeyer was in private practice in Chicago, primarily focused on securities and complex commercial litigation.
Ms. Brockmeyer earned her J.D. from the University of Michigan Law School, magna cum laude, where she was also note editor of the Michigan Law Review. She received her B.A. from Williams College, cum laude.
Ms. Brockmeyer is a frequent speaker and commentator on anti-corruption and cross-border issues. She is co-editor-in-chief of the firm’s monthly FCPA Update newsletter, and is currently vice-chair of the Structured Criminal Settlements Subcommittee of the IBA’s Anti-Corruption Committee. She is also co-chair of the DC Bar Association’s Broker-Dealer Regulation and SEC Enforcement Committee.