Heather J. Pellegrino focuses her practice on white collar criminal defense and civil litigation. Ms. Pellegrino has represented corporations and individuals in federal and state criminal investigations and has defended clients against allegations of money laundering, false statements, honest services fraud, conspiracy, and violations of the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act. She has also conducted internal investigations for private and public companies and counseled clients regarding compliance with economic sanctions programs, the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act, the Bank Secrecy Act and associated U.S. Treasury regulations.
Ms. Pellegrino has represented clients in investigations conducted by the U.S. government under the Mutual Legal Assistance Treaty and has coordinated parallel foreign proceedings under the treaty. She has also negotiated plea agreements and secured a significant reduction of sentence under the federal sentencing guidelines for an individual client. Ms. Pellegrino has taken a substantial role in a capital murder trial and the pro bono representation of a former senior official of the U.S. government.
Ms. Pellegrino has also represented individuals and companies in civil matters before federal and state courts and the U.S. Department of Interior’s Office of Hearings and Appeals. Other civil litigation matters that Ms. Pellegrino has handled involved breach of contract, defamation, breach of fiduciary duty, fraudulent misrepresentation, trademark and copyright infringement, misappropriate of trade secrets, and unfair competition.
In addition, Ms. Pellegrino represents religious institutes and congregations in the United States, Canada and Europe. Her practice includes advising clients on the civil reconfiguration of religious orders as well as managing civil litigation throughout the country. Ms. Pellegrino has been a speaker and contributor at programs sponsored by the Legal Resource Center for Religious.
Ms. Pellegrino previously worked as a trade analyst in capital markets/foreign exchange at Itochu International, Inc. She received her B.S. in Foreign Service from Georgetown University in 1996 and her J.D. in 2000 from Cornell Law School, where she was chancellor of the Moot Court Board, won the 1999 Winter Cup Moot Court Competition and received the International Academy of Trial Lawyers Award for achievement in Trial Advocacy. Ms. Pellegrino is a member of the New York and District of Columbia Bars. She is also a contributing author of “Commerce & Compliance: Law Enforcement Beyond U.S. Borders,” February 2005.