Stephen M. Byers

About Stephen M. Byers

For more than thirty years, clients have trusted Stephen Byers to help them navigate complex high-stakes government investigations, conduct sensitive internal investigations, and, when necessary, successfully litigate related disputes. In matters ranging from civil False Claims Act cases to federal grand jury investigations, clients operating in highly regulated environments such as government contracting rely on Steve to understand their business imperatives, craft thoughtful defense strategies, and rigorously execute on those strategies to achieve optimal outcomes.Steve represents individuals and business entities in all phases of white-collar criminal and related civil matters, including: internal corporate investigations; federal grand jury, inspector general, civil enforcement and congressional investigations; and trials and appeals. His practice focuses on matters involving procurement fraud, trade secrets theft, export controls, and cybercrime. Steve has extensive experience with the federal False Claims Act and qui tam litigation, the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act, the Economic Espionage Act, and the Computer Fraud and Abuse Act.In addition to defense of government investigations and prosecutions, Steve has represented corporate victims of trade secrets theft, cybercrime, and other offenses. For example, he represented a Fortune 100 U.S. company in parallel civil and criminal proceedings that resulted in a $275 million criminal restitution order against a foreign competitor upon its conviction for trade secrets theft.Steve\'s trial experience includes the acquittal of a major transportation company accused of filing false reports with a federal agency; and the acquittal of a senior executive of a major pharmaceutical company charged with conspiracy, obstruction, and other crimes.Steve\'s experience in e-discovery includes counseling clients on electronic discovery issues in the context of internal and government investigations, including the use of technology-assisted review and computer forensics as investigative tools, and negotiating with government investigators concerning the preservation, processing, and production of electronically stored information. Steve has written and spoken widely on e-discovery issues in the context of criminal investigations, and previously served as the chair of the ABA Criminal Justice Section\'s Task Force on Criminal E-Discovery.

Experience

1. Partner

   Crowell & Moring

   Jan 2002 — Present

Education

• University of Virginia School of Law

  J.D.

  1989 — 1992

• Wake Forest University

  B.A., Political Science

  1983 — 1987

Skills

• Corporate Law
• Fcpa
• Civil Litigation
• Anti-Corruption
• Fraud
• False Claims
• Trials
• Criminal Law
• Internal Investigations
• White Collar Criminal Defense
• Appeals
• Competition Law
• Litigation
• Government Procurement
• Trade Secrets
• Legal Research
• Litigation Support