Ralph M. Levene

Education
- Duke University, B.A. 1983, magna cum laude
- University of Pennsylvania Law School, J.D. 1987, magna cum laude, Order of the Coif (Associate Editor and Articles Editor, University of Pennsylvania Law Review)
Clerkships
Honorable James Dickson Phillips, Jr., United States Court of Appeals, Fourth Circuit, 1987 – 1988
Ralph M. Levene
Ralph M. Levene joined Wachtell, Lipton, Rosen & Katz in 1988 and has been a partner in the Litigation Department since 1994. His practice includes the representation of major U.S. and foreign financial institutions and multinational companies in connection with the defense of complex and high-profile white-collar criminal, and regulatory enforcement matters and related civil litigation proceedings. He also advises clients on the development and implementation of compliance programs and the conduct of internal investigations. His extensive experience includes major investigations concerning accounting fraud, securities fraud, insider trading, commodities fraud and manipulation, transfer pricing, criminal cross-border tax, criminal antitrust, the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act, health care fraud and the Economic Espionage Act.
Mr. Levene received his bachelor’s degree in Philosophy magna cum laude from Duke University in 1983. He received his law degree magna cum laude from the University of Pennsylvania School of Law where he was elected to the Order of the Coif and served as an associate editor and articles editor for the University of Pennsylvania Law Review. Following law school, Mr. Levene served as a law clerk to the Honorable James Dickson Phillips, Jr. of the United States Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit.
Mr. Levene is a frequent writer and speaker on white-collar and regulatory enforcement topics. Recent publications include: White Collar and Regulatory Enforcement: What to Expect in 2017 (Harvard Law School Forum on Corporate Governance, January 24, 2017); FCPA and Compliance: A Board and Senior Management Perspective (NYSE Corporate Governance Guide 2014); The Long Arm of Cooperation: U.S. Enforcement Policy and Foreign Corporations (Harvard Law School Forum on Corporate Governance and Financial Regulation, September 2015). Recent programs include: Multi-Jurisdictional Issues in Handling White-Collar Criminal and Regulatory Investigations (ABA Section of International Law 2013 Spring Meeting); Assessing the Risk: Closing the Deal in the Face of Compliance Issues or Uncertainties (ABA Section of International Law 2014 Spring Meeting); Tax Offenses, Money Laundering and International Exchange of Information: Multijurisdictional Highlights and Perspectives (ABA Section of International Law 2014 Spring Meeting); and What’s New/What’s Next: An Update on the U.S. Government’s Criminal and Civil Offshore Tax and Related Enforcement Efforts (The 29th Annual Forum on International Tax Withholding and Information Reporting, June 2017).
Mr. Levene is a member of the Association of the Bar of the City of New York, a member of the American Bar Association and a Fellow of the American Bar Foundation. Mr. Levene has been listed as one of the 500 leading lawyers in the United States and as one of the 500 leading global litigators by Lawdragon. He has also been recognized as one of the leadings practitioners in the field of Business Crime Defence by Who’s Who Legal. He served as co-chair of the American Bar Association’s International Criminal Law Committee (2012-2014).
Select Publications
- White-Collar and Regulatory Enforcement: What Mattered in 2022 and What to Expect in 2023,
in NYU Law School’s Blog on Compliance and Enforcement, March 2, 2023.
- DOJ Delivers Stark Message About Corporate Cooperation,
in Harvard Law School Forum on Corporate Governance, March 8, 2022.
- White-Collar and Regulatory Enforcement: What Mattered in 2021 and What to Expect in 2022,
in Harvard Law School Forum on Corporate Governance, February 2, 2022 and Columbia Law School’s Blog on Corporations and the Capital Markets, February 10, 2022.
- Revisiting Whistleblower Response Procedures in Light of SEC’s Whistleblower Bounty Payments Milestone,
in Harvard Law School Forum on Corporate Governance, September 21, 2021.
- White-Collar and Regulatory Enforcement: What Mattered in 2020 and What to Expect in 2021,
in NYU Law School’s Blog on Compliance and Enforcement, February 4, 2021.
- Remaining Attuned to Internal Whistleblower Reports,
in Harvard Law School Forum on Corporate Governance, May 16, 2020.
- White Collar and Regulatory Enforcement in the Era of Covid-19,
in NYU Law School’s Blog on Compliance and Enforcement, April 7, 2020.
- White-Collar and Regulatory Enforcement: What Mattered in 2019 and What to Expect in 2020,
in Harvard Law School Forum on Corporate Governance and Financial Regulation, February 4, 2020.
- Why Compliance (Still) Matters,
in Harvard Law School Forum on Corporate Governance and Financial Regulation, July 28, 2019.
- DOJ Issues Updated Guidance on Corporate Compliance Programs,
in Harvard Law School Forum on Corporate Governance and Financial Regulation, May 14, 2019.
- DOJ Extends FCPA Corporate Enforcement Policy Principles to Non-FCPA Misconduct Discovered in the M&A Context,
in NYU Law School’s Blog on Compliance and Enforcement, October 5, 2018.
- White Collar and Regulatory Enforcement: What to Expect in 2018,
in Columbia Law School’s Blog on Corporations and the Capital Markets, January 31, 2018.
- Second Circuit Limits Judicial Scrutiny of Deferred Prosecution Agreements,
in NYU Law School’s Blog on Compliance and Enforcement, July 20, 2017.
- FCPA Declination Highlights the Importance of Pre-Acquisition Due Diligence and Post-Acquisition Compliance Integration,
in NYU Law School’s Blog on Compliance and Enforcement, June 29, 2017.
- The Long Arm of Cooperation: U.S. Enforcement Policy and Foreign Corporations,
in Harvard Law School Forum on Corporate Governance and Financial Regulation, September 24, 2015.
- DOJ Adopts New Requirements for Corporations Seeking Credit for Cooperation,
in Harvard Law School Forum on Corporate Governance and Financial Regulation, September 14, 2015.