Baker & McKenzie Taps Williams & Connolly in 'Operation Carwash' Malpractice Suit

Baker & McKenzie has turned to Williams & Connolly to defend the firm against claims that its Brazilian affiliate's hiring of a former government prosecutor jeopardized a client's $3.18 billion settlement from that country's "Operation Carwash" corruption scandal. An investment entity that is parent to Brazil's largest producer of meat and poultry and is controlled by two billionaire brothers said in an April lawsuit that Baker & McKenzie's Brazilian affiliate, Trench Rossi e Watanabe Advogados, hired a government prosecutor as a partner while both firms were helping the investment company fight off government probes in Brazil and the U.S. In the lawsuit, filed in Superior Court of the District of Columbia, J&F Investimentos says that Trench Rossi's move to bring on board senior prosecutor Marcello Miller ultimately prompted the Brazilian government to try to rescind a 10.3 billion real ($3.18 billion) "leniency agreement" with the company. J&F controls agribusiness giant JBS, which also has operations in Australia and the U.S., where it owns poultry purveyor Pilgrims Pride. "At no time did the responsible attorneys from Trench Rossi or Baker advise J&F that Mr. Miller's participation in the company's legal team, while he was still working as a lawyer, was problematic," the complaint said. "Defendants provided no indication that they had failed to take appropriate measures to ensure that Mr. Miller's participation as counsel to J&F would not be deemed improper and would not otherwise jeopardize J&F's interests." In the complaint, Quinn Emanuel partner Michael Carlinsky contends that brothers Joesley and Wesley Batista, who control J&F, and two other officers of the company face the prospect of prison if the government succeeds in voiding the deal. Carlinsky declined to comment on the case shortly after the complaint was filed. The complaint also says that Miller participated for several weeks in strategy sessions with Trench Rossi and Baker & McKenzie attorneys representing J&F while he was still employed as a prosecutor. A day after he left public service, he was in Washington D.C. alongside lawyers from both firms, delivering a presentation to U.S. Department of Justice officials. The complaint takes pains to draw a direct line between Baker & McKenzie and Trench Rossi, pointing to the engagement letter with J&F, which purportedly states that the firm operates on a "global scale" and would be "working in cooperation with" Baker attorneys, who would be available as part of J&F's legal "team." Brazil's nine largest construction companies and JBS were caught up in the Operation Carwash scandal, which spotlighted illegal bribes paid to the country's leading politicians. In the settlement that is now in question, JBS acknowledged paying out $150 million to scores of officeholders. Baker & McKenzie highlighted this admission when responding to an inquiry about the suit in April. "In our thorough review of the complaint, we find no legal basis for the claims that are being asserted and view this as J&F's attempt to deflect its culpability," the firm said. The four-lawyer team from Williams Connolly that is defending the firm will be led by partner John Villa, co-chair of its financial services and banking practice group. The parties are due in court for the first time on July 13 for an initial scheduling conference.