Philip A.
Selden

Phil Selden most recently served as Acting U.S. Attorney and First Assistant U.S. Attorney for the District of Maryland, where he led an office of more than 200 federal prosecutors and staff, overseeing all federal criminal and civil cases for a District of more than six million people. Phil now successfully leverages more than 15 years of experience as a federal prosecutor to anticipate how the government makes decisions–and protect his clients before issues become crises. 

EXPERIENCE

Phil Selden draws upon extensive senior Department of Justice experience in representing clients with their most sensitive matters involving white collar, securities, crisis management as well as complex civil litigation and business disputes. Mr. Selden has secured numerous declinations and favorable resolutions for clients in multiple industries, including private equity, health care, construction, technology, professional services, and manufacturing, among others, as well as a select group of corporate executives.

Understanding how federal, state and international prosecutors and regulators think, what they look for, and how to achieve the best possible outcome, Mr. Selden guides clients through matters involving various venues, forums and courts, including:

• U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ)
• U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC)
• U.S. Small Business Administration – Office of Inspector General (SBA-OIG)
• U.S. Federal Trade Commission (FTC)
• Internal Revenue Service (IRS)
• State Attorneys General
• U.S. Department of the Treasury’s Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN)
• U.S. District Courts across the nation

During his 15-year career as a federal prosecutor and having served as the first chair for more than 20 jury trials, Mr. Selden investigated, prosecuted and managed a wide variety of cases, including:

• White collar
• False Claims Act violations
• National security
• Cybercrime
• Public corruption
• Money laundering matters
• Fraud by corporate entities and senior executives
• Procurement fraud
• Theft of intellectual property
• International export controls violations
• Terrorism financing
• Organized crime
• Racketeering
• False statements and obstruction of justice
• Multiple international corporate resolutions involving the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act

Before joining the Department of Justice, Mr. Selden worked at an international law firm where he handled complex commercial litigation and white collar matters on behalf of Fortune 500 companies and a select group of corporate executives.

Representative Matters

U.S. Government Enforcement Resolutions and Ongoing Engagements

• Lead counsel to CEO of a publicly traded company in a parallel SEC and DOJ investigation resulting from whistleblower allegations concerning malfeasance by corporate officers and directors.

• Lead counsel to private equity company in response to defamation and libel claim resulting in voluntary dismissal of civil complaint.
• Represent CEO and board member in SEC and state Attorney General investigations.
• Represent national construction company involved in business email compromise scheme to recover stolen assets, pursue claims against third parties and coordinating with federal law enforcement.
• Represent publicly traded AI company in securities fraud class actions and shareholder derivative lawsuit.

• Represented national law firm in FTC advertisement inquiry resulting in no action being brought against the law firm.

• Counsel to a textile manufacturer in response to U.S. Attorney’s Office trade and tariff investigation.
• Represent private equity firm in False Claims Act investigation by U.S. Attorney’s Office, FBI and Small Business Administration’s Office of Inspector General.
• Lead counsel in internal investigation involving malfeasance by the CEO of private equity portfolio company.
• Represent private equity company in developing whistleblower compliance policies.
• Secured payment for national industrial transportation and marine supply company following long-term contract dispute including non-disclosure agreement.

• Represent witnesses, and subpoena recipients in DOJ enforcement investigations, both for public companies and for individuals. Recent representations have included a witness involved in a U.S. Attorney’s Office’s Organized Crime investigation.

Networks & Affiliations

Mr. Selden is a frequent speaker on emerging legal trends and at various law schools including having served as an adjunct faculty member at Harvard Law School’s Trial Advocacy Workshop, George Washington University Law School, Howard University School of Law and the University of Maryland Francis King Carey School of Law.

EDUCATION

Mr. Selden received his undergraduate degree from Georgetown University, magna cum laude, in the Government Department’s Honors Program. He also was a member of the Georgetown varsity Track and Field Team. Mr. Selden received his Master’s Degree in Government Administration from the University of Pennsylvania and his Juris Doctor degree from Columbia Law School, where he was a Harlan Fiske Stone Scholar, a Tony Patiño Fellow, and a Paula Jewell Fellow.

Honors & Awards

Mr. Selden’s work has been recognized with awards from the Department of Justice, the Federal Bureau of Investigation, the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, the Social Security Administration, the Diplomatic Security Service, and the New York City Police Department. In 2020, he was named the Homeland Security Investigations Prosecutor of the Year award for his efforts in prosecuting domestic and international corruption.

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