Eli J. Richardson is a Member of the Bass, Berry & Sims’ Compliance and Government Investigations Group. His practice focuses on white-collar crime, healthcare fraud, and Foreign Corrupt Practices Act matters. His practice in these areas involves conducting internal investigations, advising on compliance strategies and implementation, representing corporate victims of criminal activity, representing witnesses in white-collar cases, and defending clients under investigation or prosecution by the Department of Justice (DOJ), the Securities and Exchange Commission, the Department of Health and Human Services Office of Inspector General, and other federal and state regulators.
Eli has nearly 20 years of legal experience, including an extensive background in government enforcement and regulatory matters, having served in high-profile positions with DOJ, the United States Attorney’s Office in New Jersey and the Middle District of Tennessee, as well as the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI).
Prior to joining Bass, Berry & Sims, Eli was the Resident Legal Advisor to Serbia, posted to the U.S. Embassy in Belgrade as a member of DOJ’s Office of Overseas Prosecutorial Development, Assistance and Training (OPDAT). He provided training, advice, legislation-drafting assistance, and case-specific assistance to Serbian judges, police and prosecutors on matters involving organized crime, corruption, criminal procedure and war crimes. He was DOJ’s and the State Department’s liaison to lead Serbian prosecutors, judges and Justice Ministry officials. In addition, during 2010, he served as an anti-corruption expert monitor for the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD).
Eli was an Assistant U.S. Attorney in the United States Attorney’s Office for the Middle District of Tennessee from 2004 to 2009, serving in that role as Anti-terrorism Coordinator, Deputy Criminal Chief, and Criminal Chief. He was honored by DOJ in December 2009 with the Director’s Award for superior performance by an Assistant U.S. Attorney.
From 2002 to 2004, Eli served as an Assistant U.S. Attorney in the United States Attorney’s Office for the District of New Jersey. Prior to that, he spent four years as a special agent with the FBI in its Newark Field Office, where he served on the public corruption squad and was later named Weapons of Mass Destruction (WMD) Coordinator, playing a substantial role in responding to the events of 9/11 and actual and threatened anthrax attacks.
He began his legal career in private practice with law firms in Grand Rapids, Michigan, and Atlanta. In 1995, he opened his own firm, Richardson & Associates, in Conyers, Georgia, where he focused on corporate, civil litigation, employment, bankruptcy and intellectual property matters.
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