Past Committee Spotlight - Partnerships & Special Projects

Welcome to the Women's White Collar Defense Association (WWCDA) blog post series profiling its diverse, talented membership. A global group of more than 3,000 accomplished women attorneys and other professionals, members are from 48 chapters who specialize in the representation of clients facing criminal or civil enforcement, regulatory, and administrative actions, and in need of internal investigations and compliance counselling.

WWCDA spotlights Brooke Hopkins and Jennifer Windom, Co-Chairs of the WWCDA Partnerships & Special Projects Committee. They share the path that led to their leadership within WWCDA, the importance of their work and WWCDA's role in their journey.

Jennifer Windom

WWCDA Partnerships & Special Projects Committee Co-Chair

Washington DC Chapter Member

Partner, Kramer Levin Naftalis & Frankel LLP (Washington DC)

Brooke Hopkins

WWCDA Partnerships & Special Projects Committee Co-Chair

Dallas Chapter Member

AlixPartners, LLP (Dallas, TX)

Can you tell us the story of your path to becoming a leader of the WWCDA Partnerships & Special Projects Committee?

Brooke: I initially became involved with WWCDA through my local Dallas Chapter and was tapped to help on our advisory board for planning events and outreach. My colleague, Susan Markel, was part of the DC Chapter and has served as Treasurer for WWCDA, invited me to a few of the DC events as well. I was impressed by the members at both chapters – exceptional experience but also a diversity in backgrounds and firms. I got to know Karen Popp through a couple of the DC chapter events and the GIR Women in Investigations conference in which WWCDA hosted a reception. I expressed my desire to get more involved with WWCDA to Karen and she proposed working with Jen on Branding & Marketing and later to grow the third-party partnerships with WWCDA as a natural development from our marketing efforts.

Jen: I became involved in WWCDA after speaking with other WWCDA leaders during the annual ABA white collar conference several years ago. I initially assisted Karen and Michelle by promoting in-person events in DC, my local chapter. My involvement expanded to assisting with marketing WWCDA events and third-party partnerships across other chapters. As Karen has grown the third-party partnership relationships, she encouraged Brooke and me to take more of a leadership role.

How has being a WWCDA leader of the Partnerships & Special Projects Committee helped or advanced your career?

Brooke: Having the opportunity to be in a leadership position has given me direct contact with the women with whom I want to network and work. The ability to speak with our members, a partnership provides a natural platform to also talk about our practices. It also facilitates insight into all the amazing events that are going on focused on the white-collar world with opportunities to attend and meet professionals outside of WWCDA.

Jen: It has certainly given me broader exposure to the global WWCDA membership and kept me in-the-know on interesting white collar-related networking events, conferences, and panels. I’ve made new connections and grown existing relationships with others in the white-collar bar through my involvement.

What can you tell us about the WWCDA Partnerships & Special Projects Committee and its members?

Our committee is focused on growing and maintaining relationships with third-party organizations such as ABA, GIR, and others to give WWCDA and its members visibility within those organizations and at their events. We work with Karen and Michelle, the outside marketing team, and other WWCDA committees to place WWCDA speakers at third-party conferences, promote WWCDA at those conferences, and ensure that non-members understand what WWCDA is and the depth of our members’ experience. Our committee members practice from coast-to-coast and are always looking for ways to promote the WWCDA brand, both internally and externally.

What do you consider the biggest successes of the WWCDA Partnerships & Special Projects Committee and why?

Along with the Monitorships committee, we created a branded brochure highlighting our members’ deep experience in monitorships and receiverships and profiled individuals on WWCDA’s social media channels. We received a lot of positive feedback from general white-collar practitioners on that effort. We also helped to promote the Global Enforcement series and a DEI Committee panel that received a lot of interest and participation.

What are the immediate goals of the WWCDA Partnerships & Special Projects Committee?

We hope to continue to grow our third-party partnerships, increase WWCDA’s visibility at returning in-person events, and along with the Speakers Committee, get WWCDA members more speaking roles at partner conferences.

Does the WWCDA Partnerships & Special Projects Committee have any stories about its successes or the success of its members that you can share?

Yes. We recently worked with Karen and the Speakers Committee to promote and secure speaking slots at an ABA white collar conference in South America. WWCDA member attendees have told us that the conference was very worthwhile and introduced them to new contacts that they wouldn’t otherwise have met.

Tell us a little about yourself and your practice.

Brooke: I am Partner & Managing Director at AlixPartners based in Dallas, Texas. Our firm is a global consultancy, and my practice focuses on regulatory investigations including FCPA, UK Bribery Act, and SEC disclosures, compliance monitorships, accounting processes and internal controls assessments, and risk management. I lead our ESG Steering Committee at the firm and have helped build out our Scope 3 Carbon Emissions Reduction Tool as well as our framework for helping our clients address the EU’s Corporate Sustainability Reporting Directive (CSRD).

Jen: I am co-managing partner of the Washington office of Kramer Levin, where I specialize in representing companies and individuals in matters involving parallel civil, regulatory, and criminal risks. I have significant experience handling healthcare fraud matters, primarily on behalf of providers, and securities fraud matters, on behalf of publicly-traded companies, their officers and directors, and public-company auditors.

If you could go back and give your younger self any advice, what would it be?

Brooke: Don’t hesitate to speak out about your expertise and achievements. Being humble only goes so far in this business and being candid about how I have helped my clients helps my future clients have the credentials they are often seeking.

Jen: Trust your own judgment and speak up. If you know your client and their business well, and you’ve done your diligence on the facts, you’ll be well positioned to effectively defend your client’s position, whether inside or outside of the courtroom.