Bruce H. Searby
Bruce H. Searby is a litigator with broad white-collar criminal experience, and has successfully prosecuted and defended some of the most high-profile foreign and domestic bribery cases pursued by the federal government. He won one of the few Foreign Corrupt Practices Act cases that has been tried to verdict before a jury. His background also includes high-stakes civil securities fraud and general commercial litigation. Bruce’s litigation experience has spanned from East Coast to West Coast, and from leading private law firms to the Department of Justice. Through his 25-year career, Bruce has won cases at all procedural stages from the pleadings through to trial and appeals. On June 2022, Bruce was ranked by Chambers and Partners for 2022 in White-Collar Crime & Government Investigations. He has also recently obtained a full dismissal of a variety of serious federal criminal charges against an individual client. Specific matters are listed in the representative experience section for each practice area.
Hayne Yoon
Of Counsel
Hayne Yoon served as a Biden Administration appointee and Senior Policy Advisor in the Office of the Assistant Attorney General for the Office of Justice Programs (OJP) at the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) from 2021 to 2025. OJP is DOJ’s principal funding, research and statistical component, overseeing about $5 billion annually in grants and other resources for state, local and tribal criminal and juvenile justice activities and victim service programs. She oversaw OJP’s investments in hate crimes and domestic terrorism, gun violence, as well as innovative approaches to public safety, access to justice, and homelessness, among other issues.
Prior OJP, Hayne was the Director of Federal Policy at the Vera Institute of Justice where she built a team and developed and executed strategies to shape national policy. She played a leadership role both internally within the organization, and externally among a wide range of coalitions, partner organizations, and stakeholders in federal lobbying and advocacy campaigns that achieved landmark, bipartisan victories.
Hayne has also previously served as a counsel for two different U.S. Senators, where she advised both Senators on a range of issues under the jurisdiction of the Judiciary and Health, Education, Labor & Pensions Committees. Earlier in her career, she was a deputy public defender and trial attorney at the Los Angeles County Public Defender’s Office and later at the Office of the Federal Public Defender for the Central District of California.
Nicole Ledesma
Associate Attorney
Nicole Ledesma is a US attorney with over seven years of legal and investigative experience. Ms. Ledesma’s career in the legal field began as a contractor for the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA) Unit at the U.S. Department of Justice and continued through a variety of roles including as a Law Clerk for the General Counsel’s Office for the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) and the U.S. Office of the Inspector General (OIG) for USAID. Ms. Ledesma has coordinated investigations and led strategic litigation techniques in Latin America and the Caribbean, Asia, and the U.S. In 2017, Ms. Ledesma was awarded the Assistant Attorney General’s Award for Distinguished Service for her contributions to one of the largest foreign bribery resolutions by the FCPA Unit at the Department of Justice. In 2021, Ms. Ledesma was selected as a Squire Patton Boggs Fellow in recognition of her commitment to public interest work.
Ms. Ledesma is fluent in English and Spanish and proficient in Portuguese.
Maria Laura Barrera
International Counsel
Maria Laura is an international lawyer licensed to practice law in Ecuador, with a business mindset and interest. She has experience in international law, Corporate Due Diligence, Anticorruption, and International Anti- Bribery Law & Compliance Practices, and business development and strategies. She is highly organized, focused, and an efficient project manager and problem solver. Thorough experience working in multicultural environments and markets, with high communication and research skills.
Maria Laura graduated with an IMBA from IE University in Madrid, concentrating in Sustainability. She is also pursuing an ESG Investing Program Certificate from CFA Institute.