
Veena Viswanatha
Counsel
Biography
Veena Viswanatha is Counsel in the Washington, D.C., office of Buckley LLP. Ms. Viswanatha represents corporate and individual clients in white collar and enforcement matters, and in related litigation. She has represented clients before the Department of Justice (DOJ), the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), the Federal Trade Commission (FTC), and the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB), and in federal and state courts around the country.
Noteworthy work includes:
- Represented Universal Entertainment Corp., a publicly-traded Japanese gaming manufacturer, in litigation brought by Wynn Resorts, Ltd. in Nevada state court. In 2012, when a Universal subsidiary was Wynn Resorts’ largest shareholder, Wynn Resorts forcibly redeemed Universal’s shares at a substantial discount to their market value, alleging that Universal and its now-former Chairman, Kazuo Okada, had bribed foreign government officials in violation of the FCPA and had breached their fiduciary duties to Wynn Resorts. After six years of litigation – during which the parties produced millions of documents, argued more than a dozen appeals and scores of motions, and took nearly 100 depositions – Wynn Resorts agreed to pay $2.6 billion to settle Universal’s claims one month before trial.
- Represented the Navajo Nation in a landmark lawsuit against the U.S. government. The Nation alleged that the U.S. had breached its fiduciary duties to the tribe by failing to properly manage, invest, and account for funds and resources the U.S. held in trust for the tribe. After many years of litigation involving facts, circumstances, and documents stretching back six decades, the firm secured a $554 million settlement on behalf of the tribe. It is the largest settlement obtained against the U.S. in any action by a single Native American tribe.
- Represented multiple senior executives in investigations before the SEC concerning alleged violations of the FCPA and the securities laws.
- Represented multiple financial services firms in investigations before the CFPB and state attorneys general.
Prior to joining Buckley, Ms. Viswanatha was an Associate at Cravath, Swaine & Moore LLP, where her practice focused on enforcement matters.
Ms. Viswanatha received her J.D. from the University of Pennsylvania Law School in 2009 (cum laude). During law school, she interned for the Honorable Jerome Simandle in the United States District Court for the District of New Jersey. She also served as an Articles Editor for the University of Pennsylvania Law Review, and as an Arthur Littleton and H. Clayton Louderback Legal Writing Instructor. Ms. Viswanatha received her B.A. from Rutgers University in 2003 (magna cum laude).
In The News
BuckleySandler LLP Announces Nine New Promotions for 2017
WASHINGTON, DC (January 9, 2017) – BuckleySandler LLP, a premier financial services, government enforcement, and litigation law firm, today announced the promotion of eight associates in four of its offices to counsel, and one of its regulatory attorneys to associate, effective January 1, 2017. “We...
Press ReleasesTwo Buckley Sandler Attorneys Named to Lawyers of Color's 2014 Hot List
Antonio Reynolds and Veena Viswanatha, attorneys at Buckley Sandler LLP, have been named to Lawyers of Color’s Second Annual Hot List, which recognizes early- to mid-career minority attorneys working as in-house counsel, government attorneys, and law firm associates and partners. The firm is very...
In The NewsBuckley Sandler Achieves Landmark Settlement in Navajo Nation Breach of Trust Lawsuit Against United States
WASHINGTON (June 1, 2014) — Buckley Sandler LLP is proud to announce that it has obtained a $554 million settlement on behalf of its client the Navajo Nation . The settlement resolves the Nation’s landmark lawsuit alleging that the U.S. had breached its historical fiduciary obligations by failing...
Press Releases
Articles & Special Alerts
Has the Game Changed? New Considerations for General Counsel Post-Yates
On Sept. 9, 2015, the Department of Justice (DOJ) issued a memorandum from Deputy Attorney General Sally Quillian Yates announcing that the DOJ would require a company to fully disclose all relevant facts about individuals responsible for the misconduct at issue in order to receive any cooperation...
ArticlesChallenges to the DOJ's Jurisdiction Over Extraterritorial Conduct
Part One of a Two-Part Article The United States is often criticized for trying to be the world’s policeman — for trying to prosecute wrongdoing all over the world, even when the connection to U.S. interests is, at best, tenuous. The Supreme Court has in recent years begun imposing limits on the...
ArticlesIndividual and Coordinated Prosecutors Accelerate - Along With The Challenges
For years, federal and state prosecutors have touted their willingness to charge individuals as an essential deterrent to white-collar criminal action, often responding to criticism of prosecutions of corporate entities without any accompanying prosecution of related executives. And for years,...
Articles
Awards and Recognitions
Awards & Recognitions
- Lawyers of Color 2014 Hot List
Education
- J.D., University of Pennsylvania, 2009 (cum laude)
- B.A., Rutgers University, 2003 (magna cum laude)
Admissions
- District of Columbia
- New York