Government investigations and congressional oversight are no longer isolated legal events—they are enterprise-wide risk inflection points. They carry immediate and long-term business, reputational, political, and personal consequences that can disrupt transactions, expose executives, erode enterprise value, and shape public narratives well before a company has the opportunity to respond.
Today’s enforcement and oversight environment is more aggressive, more public, and less predictable than ever before. DOJ issued its first-ever department-wide corporate enforcement policy in 2026, extending criminal exposure standards across every U.S. Attorney's office in the country. Congressional committees, operating in an era of narrow majorities, intense media scrutiny, and election-cycle pressure, are increasingly using subpoenas, document production demands, public hearings, contempt threats, and referrals as tools of institutional and political leverage. State attorney generals and Ethics Commissions are also being very aggressive in formal investigations, inquiries, and compliance audits.
The targets of this type of rapidly growing scrutiny now extend well beyond large public companies. Private equity firms, portfolio companies, executives, trade associations, regulated businesses, government contractors, technology platforms, financial institutions, and current and former government officials are all increasingly exposed.
Congressional scrutiny of M&A, private equity, drug pricing, data privacy, national security supply chains, AI, and politically sensitive business activity has expanded from targeted probes into a standard feature of the deal and business planning environment. At the same time, enforcement authorities and Congressional committees are operating with unprecedented coordination, speed, and public visibility, creating simultaneous legal, political, and reputational exposure that traditional legal defense models are not designed to manage.
Holtzman Vogel’s Government and Congressional Investigations Practice is purpose-built for this environment—combining senior experience from DOJ, Congress, the White House, state Attorneys General offices, and in-house political compliance with an unparalleled approach to integrated legal, strategic, and reputational defense.
Why Holtzman Vogel
Most firms bring former prosecutors structured solely to reactively defend against investigations. We are built to anticipate, shape, and resolve them, often before they formally commence. Holtzman Vogel brings lawyers who have served inside the institutions driving today’s enforcement and oversight environment, including DOJ, the White House, Congress, State Attorneys General offices, ICE, DEA, U.S. Attorney’s Offices, and federal enforcement agencies.
We do not merely understand how investigations unfold from the outside. Our lawyers have sat inside the rooms where investigative priorities are set, subpoenas are issued, enforcement theories are developed, congressional records are built, witnesses are prepared, and high-stakes institutional decisions are made. That experience gives clients a meaningful advantage. We understand how prosecutors, congressional committees, State AGs, ethics officials, and political decision-makers think, what they are likely to demand, where they are likely to apply pressure, and how to position clients before a matter escalates.
- Our team has held a variety of senior positions in government, including DOJ Deputy Assistant Attorney General, Acting ICE Director, White House General Counsel, Assistant U.S. Attorneys in E.D.Va., E.D.N.Y., and S.D.Fl., DEA Chief of Staff, Senate Committee Counsel, House Judiciary Committee Investigative Counsel, and Assistant Attorney General in several states.
- We have served as decision-makers at the highest levels of the DOJ, Congress, state AGs and the White House, giving us direct insight into how investigations are initiated, escalated, and resolved.
- Early engagement lets us close vulnerabilities, shape the record and put clients in the strongest possible position if scrutiny follows. We act before the subpoena arrives, positioning clients to control the trajectory of any inquiry.
- We align legal defense with political and reputational strategy, ensuring that engagement with Congress, regulators, and the public is coordinated and maximally effective.
The result is a defense model that is proactive, integrated, and designed to protect legal position, business objectives, and public standing simultaneously.
Who We Represent
We represent corporations, private equity firms, boards, senior executives, trade associations, partnerships, and current and former government officials at every stage of federal and state government scrutiny. Our clients are often facing high-stakes exposure where legal risk intersects with political scrutiny, market impact, and reputational consequences.
What We Do
We provide end-to-end representation across the full life-cycle of government scrutiny—from pre-enforcement risk mitigation through investigation defense, congressional engagement, and resolution.
DOJ and Federal Investigations
We represent clients in high-stakes federal investigations, including matters involving parallel civil, criminal, and regulatory exposure.
- Grand jury subpoenas, target, and subject letters
- Criminal and civil DOJ investigations, including parallel proceedings
- U.S. Attorney's Office matters across all major districts
- National security, FARA, sanctions and export control investigations
- Public corruption, campaign finance and FEC enforcement matters
- Multi-agency enforcement and SEC, FCC and CFPB coordination
Congressional Investigations and Oversight
We are particularly differentiated in congressional investigations—where legal strategy must be tightly integrated with political, procedural, and reputational considerations.
- House and Senate committee document subpoenas and requests for information
- Witness preparation and congressional testimony
- Executive privilege, accommodation process and committee negotiation strategy
- Reputation and communications strategy coordinated with legal defense
- Congressional investigation risk assessment in M&A and deal diligence
- Evaluation of a target company's prior congressional exposure and open inquiries
- Post-acquisition congressional risk, including private equity portfolio company scrutiny
- Real-time engagement strategy with committee staff, members, and leadership to shape the trajectory and scope of investigations
- Defense against congressional referrals to DOJ and other enforcement authorities
Internal Investigations and Board Defense
We conduct independent, privileged internal investigations for boards and senior leadership facing potential government scrutiny.
- Independent internal investigations for boards and audit committees
- Independent internal investigations or reviews regarding political compliance matters, including but not limited to, lobbying, gifts, political contributions, and political action committees
- DOJ cooperation decisions and voluntary disclosure strategy
- Privilege review, waiver analysis and document hold protocols
- Remediation planning and compliance program audits and evaluation
- Fact development in anticipation of government inquiry
Individual and Executive Defense, Including Government Officials
We represent individuals whose legal exposure is heightened by public scrutiny and political context.
- Current and former government officials and political appointees facing investigation or congressional inquiries
- Subjects, targets and witnesses in federal criminal and civil investigations
- Senior executives and directors under government scrutiny
- Proffer agreements, immunity negotiations and cooperation strategy
- Congressional testimony and deposition preparation
State Attorney General Investigations
- State AG investigations with federal nexus
- Multi-state enforcement coordination and coalition defense strategy
- Investigations triggered by congressional referrals or federal agency coordination
Ethics Commission inquiries, audits and investigations
Our multidisciplinary team that includes current and former lobbyists, government affairs executives, in-house senior compliance officials, and numerous former government officials is adept at handling state and local political compliance inquires, audits, and investigations targeting individual lobbyists, lobbying firms, law firms, companies, and consulting firms from state and local ethics commissions and other state and local officials.
Pre-Enforcement Advisory and Deal Diligence
Increasingly, the most effective defense occurs before an investigation begins. We advise clients proactively to identify and mitigate risk before government engagement. Our goal is to prevent investigations where possible—and to control their trajectory where they cannot be avoided.
- Congressional and regulatory risk assessment before a transaction closes or a product launches
- Privileged internal investigations to identify and close vulnerabilities before government contact
- Voluntary disclosure analysis and compliance program review
- Due diligence on mergers, acquisitions and joint ventures with government or political exposure
- Crisis preparedness and response protocol development
- Integration of congressional risk into transaction diligence and deal structuring
- Foreign Agents Registration Act (FARA) risk assessments, registration analysis, and diligence for cross-border transactions, lobbying, public affairs, investor activity, and other engagements that may trigger scrutiny from the Department of Justice or Congress
Facing a government investigation, congressional inquiry or a transaction with government risk? Contact co-chairs Kellen Dwyer or Jonathan Fahey for a confidential consultation.