Jonathan C. Drimmer, Esq.
Jonathan C. Drimmer is a partner in the Investigations and White Collar Defense practice and is based in the firm’s Washington, D.C. office. He resolves complex cross-border problems with the benefit of having sat in every chair at the table: senior legal officer for a global 500 company, federal prosecutor, and seasoned advocate. He is a recognized international expert on anticorruption and business and human rights, and is a frequent speaker, author, and commentator on issues related to both topics.
Before joining Paul Hastings, he was Deputy General Counsel and Chief Compliance Officer of Barrick Gold, one of the world’s largest mining companies, with operations on five continents. The compliance program he built at Barrick has served as an industry standard, and elements of it have largely been duplicated by numerous other companies inside and outside of the extractive sector. Aspects of the program are the subject of a 2016 Harvard Business School Case Study.
Mr. Drimmer has directed hundreds of investigations around the world related to anti-corruption, human rights, AML and export controls, tax controversies, environmental incidents, public disclosures, fatalities and health and safety injuries, sexual harassment and discrimination, and other areas. He has represented companies and individuals in numerous government enforcement proceedings in the U.S. and overseas, in relation to FCPA and bribery claims, human rights issues, and a wide array of other matters. He has participated in dozens of major disputes in the U.S., Canada, and abroad, including transnational torts, anti-corruption claims, environmental cases, international arbitrations, tax disputes, construction claims, and land controversies.
Mr. Drimmer also has wide-ranging experience in helping companies manage multi-faceted dilemmas in overseas activities, developing and managing solutions that may encompass civil, criminal, regulatory, and political dimensions. He has designed a variety of human rights remedy programs, and has particular experience in representing companies in non-judicial and quasi-judicial legal proceedings involving human rights and transnational torts, including OECD National Contact Point disputes, claims before international human rights commissions, and inquiries by UN offices and agencies.
He previously served in the Justice Department as Deputy Director of the Criminal Division’s Office of Special Investigations, where he led cross-border investigations, first-chaired numerous prosecutions, and argued federal appeals. He was a partner at an Am Law 100 law firm in Washington, D.C., a former Bristow Fellow in the Office of the U.S. Solicitor General, and a judicial clerk on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit.
Mr. Drimmer served on the board of directors of the Voluntary Principles on Security and Human Rights Initiative from 2012-2014, and again from 2015-2017. He served on the board of TRACE International from 2012 until 2018, and currently sits on the board of the TRACE Foundation. He has also taught international law courses at Georgetown University Law Center for nearly 20 years.