Taft, one of the fastest-growing law firms in the country, announced today that Jaimie Nawaday has joined the firm’s recently launched New York office as partner in the Compliance, Investigations, & White Collar Defense practice. Nawaday, a former federal prosecutor in the Southern District of New York, joins from a New York-based law firm where she was chair of the Government Enforcement & Investigations practice.

With extensive public and private sector experience, Nawaday provides strategic counsel to companies and executives navigating high-stakes government investigations and regulatory matters. During her tenure as an Assistant United States Attorney in the Southern District of New York, she led numerous high-profile investigations involving securities fraud and other financial crimes. In private practice, she has advised clients on internal and government investigations, regulatory compliance, and crisis management matters.

“Jaimie is a trial-tested litigator from SDNY with deep experience navigating sophisticated enforcement and regulatory matters. Her arrival signals what Taft’s New York practice is going to look like,” said Ralph Kohnen, chair of Taft’s Compliance, Investigations, and White Collar Defense practice. “She anchors our growing presence in New York and enhances our ability to serve clients facing increasingly complex compliance and investigative challenges across the country, joining our bench of former AUSAs, other DOJ veterans, and former state court prosecutors .”

“I’m excited to join Taft at such a dynamic time for the firm, as it presents a compelling opportunity to deliver strategic, client-focused counsel on critical enforcement and compliance issues,” said Nawaday. “Taft is building something unique in New York, and I wanted to be a part of that from the ground floor. The firm’s platform—and its ambitions—line up directly with what my clients need.”

Nawaday focuses her practice on advising public and private companies, boards of directors, and senior executives in federal criminal and civil cases involving securities, tax, and accounting fraud, market manipulation, obstruction, the False Claims Act, and fraud-related civil litigation.

Earlier in her career at the Southern District of New York, Nawaday successfully led a variety of major civil and criminal jury trials. As a member of the Civil Division’s Civil Fraud Unit, she led the landmark fraud trial against Bank of America, the first trial against a major financial institution in the wake of the 2008 housing crisis. In 2015, Jaimie received the Attorney General’s Distinguished Service Award for negotiating a global settlement of federal and state civil fraud actions.

Complementing its many former government enforcement officials, Taft’s Compliance, Investigations, and White Collar Defense practice is home to a national team of experienced legal advisors and litigators who help respond to investigations and defend criminal charges and parallel proceedings, both foreign and domestic. Taft’s clients benefit from the firm’s extensive expertise defending companies and individuals against allegations relating to federal and state governmental oversight and other areas of white collar crime.

Nawaday is among the first partners in Taft’s New York office, which opened in April with an energy, infrastructure, and project finance team from Steptoe LLP. Taft plans to scale its New York presence to more than 100 lawyers over the next five years, consistent with its size in existing primary markets.

By combining strategic lateral hires with targeted geographic mergers, Taft has grown into one of the nation’s fastest-growing law firms today with more than 1,250 attorneys across 25 offices and revenues exceeding $1 billion.