Wade Weems

wade@mcgovernweems.com | (646) 876-8416
Wade Weems

About Wade

In a legal career spanning more than 20 years, Wade Weems has worked at two premier law firms, served as a U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) prosecutor on sensitive national security matters and led teams in conflict zones as a U.S. State Department official and a U.S. Marine officer. Most recently, Wade was a partner at the global law firm Kobre & Kim LLP. During his five years there, he opened and developed the firm’s Shanghai office.

At McGovern | Weems, Wade relies on his experience as a federal prosecutor to counsel and defend corporations and individuals in Asia and beyond against U.S. government investigations and enforcement actions such as alleged bribery, theft, fraud, money laundering or other Foreign Corrupt Practices Act violations. He also offers strategic advice on how U.S. foreign policy priorities impact high-value transactions under U.S. jurisdiction.

With extensive prosecutorial experience in the DOJ’s Criminal Fraud Section and National Security Division, Wade brings unique insights as to how U.S. regulatory agencies and international organizations, such as the World Bank Group and other multilateral development banks, pursue enforcement actions. He crafts strong arguments to negotiate favorable settlements on behalf of clients. Wade has served as World Bank Group Monitor (including for Chinese companies) and has represented Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), Internal Revenue Service (IRS) and Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA) whistleblowers.

In addition, Wade regularly advises clients facing issues raised by U.S. national security laws, including economic sanctions, export enforcement actions, the Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States (CFIUS) and other U.S. national security tools. He also advocates for clients in cases where related enforcement actions are brought by the U.S. Department of the Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) and the U.S. Department of Commerce.

Prior to his legal career, Wade served as a U.S. Marine Corps officer.

“Prowess in handling complex and truly international investigations.” — Global Investigation Review’s GIR 100

Business Advisory
  • Representation of PRC-based clients in assessing, addressing and mitigating risk of changing U.S. export-control regulations.
Regulatory Enforcement + Investigations
  • Representation of a Chinese state-owned enterprise in the technology sector in challenging regulatory action by the U.S. Department of Commerce.
  • Represent client in addressing U.S. sanctions issues arising from the purchase of a Russian-owned aircraft.
  • Represent Hong Kong client in advocating before the U.S. Department of the Treasury for the release of funds blocked pursuant to Iran sanctions regulations.
Internal Investigations
  • Conduct internal investigation into data exportation allegations on behalf of a major U.S. corporation operating in China.
  • Service as World Bank Group-appointed Investigator for China’s largest state-owned construction company in connection to its debarment by the World Bank in connection with misconduct on a China “Belt & Road” project.
  • Under the Puerto Rico Oversight, Management and Economic Stability Act of 2016 (“PROMESA”), service as independent investigator to the Special Investigation Committee of the Financial Oversight and Management Board for Puerto Rico to perform a comprehensive review of the factors contributing to Puerto Rico’s fiscal crisis.
  • Advise Middle East sovereign government on investigating alleged sanctions and money-laundering violations and executing a global strategy to prosecute and recover assets from multiple jurisdictions.
Monitorships
  • Service as independent integrity compliance monitor for a major listed Chinese technology corporation in connection with its debarment by the World Bank Group.
  • Service as independent integrity compliance monitor for a major Chinese state-owned engineering and construction corporation in connection with its debarment by the World Bank Group.
White-Collar Criminal Matters
  • Representation of a China-based business executive in a U.S. investigation involving allegations of corporate accounting fraud.
  • Representation of an executive at a Southeast Asian subsidiary of a multinational pharmaceutical company in responding to inquiries from the U.S. Department of Justice about alleged Foreign Corrupt Practices Act violations, arising from payments allegedly made to physicians and the accounting treatment of those payments.
  • Representation of Asia-based business executive in a multi-jurisdictional investigation involving allegations of fraud, bribery and money laundering.
  • Representation of an executive at a Southeast Asian subsidiary of a multinational pharmaceutical company in responding to inquiries from the U.S. Department of Justice about alleged Foreign Corrupt Practices Act violations, arising from payments allegedly made to physicians and the accounting treatment of those payments.
  • Represented South American sovereign government in forming legal strategy to recover historical antiquities held by a major U.S. university.
  • Fought U.S. attempts to extradite a foreign former head of state and a U.S. corporate executive.
  • Defended U.S. defense contractor against civil allegations of trade secret theft.
Government Matters
  • Prosecuted numerous federal criminal matters including:
    • U.S. Navy admiral convicted of involvement in the Glenn Marine Navy bribery scandal
    • Numerous individuals and entities for criminal violations of U.S. economic sanctions and export control laws, including Iranian and Russian sanctions, and ITAR and CCL violations
    • Numerous individuals and companies facing criminal charges for corruption and fraud schemes in Iraq and Afghanistan
    • Criminal matters involving violations of U.S. espionage laws
News
  • Wade Weems, Chang Liu and Kairu Huang on U.S. Enforcement After the China Initiative in Caixin Global
  • Wade Weems Discusses U.S. Department of Justice’s Broadening National Security Policy Against Russia and China in Guidepost Webinar
  • Wade Weems to the Anti-Corruption Report: Expect More Compliance Monitors Under Biden Administration
  • U.S., Korea Antitrust Enforcers on Watch for Bid-Rigging in USFK Defense Contracts
  • Wade Weems and Joshua Huang in Caixin Global: Here’s How Chinese Targets Should Respond to U.S. Subpoenas
  • Wade Weems Looks Back at 2021 U.S. Anti-Corruption Enforcement Trends with The Anti-Corruption Report
  • Martin De Luca, Wade Weems and Scott Nielson on Growing U.S. Enforcement Against Central America
  • Kobre & Kim Placed in GIR 100 2021
  • Wade Weems and Chang Liu Investigate the Possible Limits of China’s New Anti-Foreign Sanctions Law
  • Wade Weems Analyzes the Uyghur Forced Labor Prevention Act for the Anti-Corruption Report
  • Wade Weems Discusses Enduring U.S.-China Conflict Over TikTok in the South China Morning Post
  • Wade Weems and Calvin Koo Look at the First Few Months of Hong Kong’s National Security Law in China Business Review
  • Wade Weems Weighs in on Prospects of a “Probable” TikTok Deal in Politico
  • Wade Weems, Chang Liu and Nan Wang on U.S. Enforcement Risks to Wealthy Chinese Individuals
  • John Han, Evelyn Sheehan and Wade Weems on the Risks of Wealthy Hong Kong Individuals’ Moving Assets Abroad
  • Wade Weems Analyzes Herbalife FCPA Settlement with Anti-Corruption Report
  • Wade Weems Looks at Next Steps after TikTok’s Oracle Deal with South China Morning Post
  • Wealth Talk: Wade Weems on U.S.-China Trade War and Risks to Chinese Individuals
  • Wade Weems Analyzes World Bank Investigations from a Chinese Perspective
  • Wade Weems Assesses TikTok’s Legal Options in the U.S. for the South China Morning Post
  • Wade Weems, Nathan Park and Beau Barnes on How the U.S. Government Can Hurt Chinese Social Media App “TikTok”
  • Wade Weems and John Han on Hong Kong’s Loss of U.S. Preferential Trading Status
  • Clearing Your Name: Fending Off Trade Secret Theft Judgment Claims
  • Clearing Your Name: When Trade Secret Disputes Become a National Security Issue
  • Clearing Your Name Against U.S. Civil Trade Secret Theft Claims
  • China’s Belt and Road Initiative Could Lead to a Trail of Global Corruption Investigations
  • Kobre & Kim in Foreign Policy: Chinese Banks Are the Next Frontline of the U.S.-China Trade War
  • Wade Weems with South China Morning Post on Chinese Banks’ Possible Breach of U.S.-North Korea Sanctions
  • Extradition & Due Process: U.S. Asylum Seekers Are on “Notice” Too
  • Wade Weems Quoted in New York Times Investigation on Corruption Within China’s Healthcare Industry
  • John Han and Wade Weems Lead Seminar on Unfair Competition Practices in the PRC, Southeast Asia
  • Wade Weems Teams Up with Heywon Shin to Present on Voluntary Disclosure
  • U.S. Increasingly Enforcing Against India
  • U.S. Enforcement Against the PRC: Preparing for the Next Wave
  • A New Door to Obtaining Business Intelligence in Offshore Cases
  • Kobre & Kim Explains the Global Reach of U.S. Sanctions in the New York Law Journal
  • Beware the Reach of U.S. Sanctions
  • 5 Ways to Plan Ahead as the U.S. Moves to Curb Foreign Investment
  • Global Government Enforcement Defense Team Offers Strategies on Filing Whistleblower Claims for Those Outside the U.S.
  • Kobre & Kim is the Latest Am Law 200 Firm to Launch in Shanghai
Publications

Quoted in the following:

Recent Speaking Engagements
  • Speaker, Townhall: The End of the China Initiative, March 17, 2022
  • Moderator, The US Competitive Response to the BRI – Pushback Too Little, Too Late? (ABA and American Society of Int’l Law, December 2020)
  • Speaker, Partnering with Governments to Deter and Monetize IP Theft and Counterfeiting in Greater China and SE Asia (Association of Corporate Counsel, Hong Kong (ACCHK), June 2019)
  • Speaker, Voluntary Disclosures: How to Meet Government Requirements When, and What to Disclose (ACI Annual Hong Kong Summit on Economic Sanctions Compliance and Enforcement, May 2019)
Admissions
  • District of Columbia
  • California
  • Texas
  • U.S. Court of Appeals for the Tenth Circuit
  • U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia

Education
  • Georgetown University Law Center, J.D. magna cum laude
    (Georgetown Law Journal)
    (Order of the Coif)
  • Georgetown University School of Foreign Service, MSFS
  • Yale University, B.A.

Clerkships
  • The Honorable Paul J. Kelly Jr., U.S. Court of Appeals for the Tenth Circuit

Accolades
  • Investigations Award for Excellence, Council of Inspectors General for Integrity and Efficiency
  • Superior Honor Award, U.S. Department of State
  • Bronze Star, Defense Meritorious Service, and Joint Service Commendation Medals, U.S. Marine Corps
  • U.S. Marine Corps Reserve, Lieutenant Colonel (Ret.)