Derik Rao

Partner at Morrison Foerster

Speaker

Derik’s practice primarily focuses on compliance, regulatory, sanctions, export control, and white-collar matters, as well as investigations under the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA) and other anti-bribery laws.

He has experience advising multinational companies in finance, healthcare, technology, telecommunications, cryptocurrency, and various other industries. Derik represents corporate clients based in the United States, China, Japan, and Europe in various FCPA and other internal investigations, including in matters relating to commercial bribery, fraud, data privacy, embezzlement, and breach of fiduciary duties. He has extensive experience representing multinational pharmaceutical and medical device companies in conducting sensitive investigations and designing systematic remediation programs. Derik has assisted leading healthcare, technology, investment portfolio, and consulting companies based in the United States and Europe in handling some of the most sensitive and impactful investigations in the APAC region, including matters that involve regulatory investigations, compliance monitorships, self-disclosures, and negotiations before the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ).

Derik also assists banks, investment funds, and other financial institutions in managing sanctions-related risks. Additionally, Derik has advised NYSE-listed companies on their defense in securities class actions, regulatory investigations, and parallel lawsuits. Derik also defends individual clients based in Mainland China, Hong Kong, and Singapore in connection with U.S. criminal and civil lawsuits, including securities class actions, regulatory investigations, and criminal lawsuits involving wire fraud, insider trading, economic espionage, and theft of intellectual property.

Prior to joining MoFo, Derik worked at a leading international law firm in Palo Alto, California, where he represented various leading technology companies in internal investigations and commercial litigations. He received his J.D. cum laude from Washington University in St. Louis. While in law school, Derik externed for a federal judge in Missouri and drafted multiple opinions. Before law school, Derik was a senior M&A consultant at a world-leading accounting firm.