Sonali D. Patel
Partner, Litigation
Sonali D. Patel is a partner in Willkie’s Litigation Department. She is based in the Firm’s Washington, DC office.
Sonali represents clients in cross-border investigations involving foreign corruption, fraud, money laundering, tax evasion and national security matters. She brings extensive experience handling white-collar investigations related to the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA) to her work, having served in government roles as a former DOJ FCPA Unit assistant chief and federal prosecutor, and in private practice.
* Admitted only to the New York Bar. Practicing under the supervision of members of the DC Bar.
Sonali represents clients in cross-border investigations involving foreign corruption, fraud, money laundering, tax evasion and national security matters. She brings extensive experience handling white-collar investigations related to the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA) to her work, having served in government roles as a former DOJ FCPA Unit assistant chief and federal prosecutor, and in private practice.
Experience
Sonali served at the Department of Justice for 10 years, most recently holding the title of assistant chief of the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA) Unit, and prior to that as a trial attorney in the division. While there, she led more than 50 FCPA-related investigations, working on some of the unit’s most significant individual prosecutions. She also served as Assistant U.S. Attorney for the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Columbia, focusing on fraud, public corruption, cybercrime and violent crime investigations. Prior to her work as a prosecutor, Sonali clerked for the Honorable Emmet G. Sullivan of the United States District Court for the District of Columbia from 2013 to 2014.
- Speaker, “An FCPA Update – Recent Developments and Recurring Compliance ‘Blind Spots,’” Securities Docket Webinar, December 16, 2024
- Speaker, “Current Fraud Landscape,” Anti-Fraud Collaboration Fraud Forum, November 20, 2024
Credentials
Education
University of Pennsylvania Law School, J.D., 2009 Columbia University, B.A., 2003
Bar Admissions
Court Admissions
United States District Court, District of Columbia