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After majoring in history with a focus on comparative colonialism, Daniel (Dan or Danny) Patrick Wendt moved to Washington, DC in 1998 to explore the practice of international trade law, interested in learning more about the recently concluded NAFTA and WTO Agreements. He returned in 2003 after finishing law school, finding an evolving trade landscape after China's admission to the WTO. In 2005, the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) issued its first two corporate deferred prosecution agreements for the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA), both requiring monitorships. Miller & Chevalier had a role in both agreements, and by 2006 Mr. Wendt was heading to Africa for a related FCPA due diligence review, his first FCPA project. Since that time, his practice has focused on the FCPA, corporate investigations, and United States trade laws.

This work has led him across the world, as he has traveled for investigations, audits, trainings, or other client work in Algeria, Armenia, Brazil, Canada, China (including Macau), Japan, the Netherlands, Nigeria, Russia, Singapore, South Africa, Spain, the United Arab Emirates, the United Kingdom, Uzbekistan, and Venezuela. He has also had a substantial role in investigations, audits, or due diligence reviews in other countries as well, notably Bangladesh, Egypt, Georgia, India, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Malaysia, Mexico, Pakistan, Tajikistan, and Ukraine. He has led hundreds of on-site investigation or due diligence interviews, from CEOs and board members to entry-level personnel.

Mr. Wendt's clients have included private and public companies in the United States, as well as international development banks, companies registered and headquartered outside the United States, and government agencies. Pro bono clients have included a grape farmer from his home state of Michigan, Central American children seeking refuge in the United States, and an organization working to stop reckless wildlife poisonings on federal lands. He has experience with a wide range of sectors, including oil and gas, renewable energy, telecommunications, insurance, gaming, forestry and agriculture, financial services, food products, consumer products, automotive, and transportation. 

He represents clients before the DOJ (FCPA Unit, Fraud Section, Criminal Division) and the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) (FCPA Unit, Division of Enforcement), as well as other regulators in the U.S. and other jurisdictions. He has made numerous presentations to boards of directors, audit committees, corporate senior management, and external auditors. As an associate, he was entrusted to argue cases before the Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit, and he has continued to pursue numerous other trade disputes before other federal courts and agencies in DC, New York, and elsewhere. 

Regarding FCPA compliance and enforcement, Mr. Wendt assists corporations with internal investigations, compliance program design, and implementation of compliance program policies and procedures, including third party due diligence reviews and M&A-related due diligence reviews. Mr. Wendt has assisted companies in the disclosure of violations before the DOJ and SEC, and he has managed internal investigations large and small. He was a central part of the Miller & Chevalier team in 2016 that concluded one of the ten largest FCPA resolutions (including a 45 percent reduction to the criminal fine). Mr. Wendt has participated in several FCPA due diligence projects of mergers and acquisitions for companies worth several billion dollars. He has assisted companies looking to add or improve anti-corruption compliance policies and programs.

Mr. Wendt has been active in the American Bar Association (ABA) and the Society of Corporate Compliance and Ethics (SCCE). For the ABA, Mr. Wendt has been Co-Chair of the International Anti-Corruption Committee from 2020 until the present, leading various online and in-person events. Prior to that, he served as Vice Chair for Programs from 2019-2020. For the SCCE, he is frequently a speaker at annual Compliance and Ethics Institutes in the United States and the Netherlands, as well as webinars. Mr. Wendt has also been Co-Editor of the Firm's FCPA Review, publishing quarterly summaries and analysis regarding FCPA developments, regularly followed by related webinars. Mr. Wendt was also a member of the Law360.com Compliance Editorial Advisory Board in 2023, and he frequently appears in the press as an author or contributor. 

In law school, Mr. Wendt was also a research assistant for Professor Tim Fort, a leading authority on business ethics, and a Graduate Student Instructor in the University of Michigan School of Literature, Science, and the Arts, teaching classical and American history classes. As an undergraduate at Cornell, he played varsity basketball for the Big Red his freshman and sophomore years, starting 36 games as a small forward, before deciding to focus on academics after changes to the coaching staff. Prior to that, Mr. Wendt played basketball and football at Okemos High School near East Lansing, Michigan, with his team playing in the first televised high school basketball game since Earvin "Magic" Johnson had played at Lansing Everett High School. His basketball and legal careers converged when he passed the Michigan Bar Examination on the floor of Michigan State University's Breslin Arena in 2003.

 

Representative Engagements
  • Organized team for dedicated compliance operations support and secondments to assist large multinational company subject to FCPA monitorship while the company expanded its internal resources and capabilities. 

  • Advised large global company on its M&A and joint venture portfolio, both in developing templates for M&A acquisitions and related integration efforts, as well as advising on the execution of transactions and the ongoing risk management for joint ventures in high-risk jurisdictions. 

  • Led team with more than 10 attorneys, compliance professionals, and dedicated due diligence professionals to review and advise on company's highest risk third party engagements, reviewing more than 800 entities.

  • Developed and implemented policy and processes to mitigate risk in areas with security concerns, including mitigation of for corruption, financing terrorism, and other reputational concerns. 

  • Advised global multinational corporation on security and corruption risks from operations in highest risk jurisdictions, via global risk assessment process.   

  • Contributed in leadership position for a large FCPA internal investigation, collection of relevant data across range of nations in Europe and the former Soviet Union, disclosures to the relevant government agencies and external auditor, related remediation efforts, coordination with counsel for board and other jurisdictions, and eventual multi-lateral resolution including a 45 percent reduction from Sentencing Guidelines fine range. 

  • Conducted internal investigation for U.S. headquartered company on FCPA issues in Southeast Asia, reporting to Audit Committee of the Board of Directors, with related disclosure to the U.S. Department of Justice, resulting in full declination (prior to the DOJ's current declination policy). 

  • Jointly led investigation into accounting and internal governance/compliance issues into non-U.S. headquartered company and its U.S. subsidiary, reporting results to external auditor. 

  • Participated in multiple large FCPA due diligence reviews as part of company mergers during FCPA monitorships for one of the entities involved in each transaction.

  • Advised clients on multiple due diligence reviews in high-risk jurisdictions, often including interviews of business partner(s) on behalf of the client. 

  • Assisted large publicly-listed client with overhaul of compliance-related policies and procedures, in particular the client's third party due diligence policies, procedures, and implementation. 

  • Advised company on Lacey Act compliance, including a review of historical transactions involving multiple jurisdictions. 

Affiliations
  • Co-Chair, International Anti-Corruption Committee, International Law Section, American Bar Association, 2020 – present
  • Vice Chair – Programs, International Anti-Corruption Committee, International Law Section, American Bar Association, 2020 – 2024
  • Co-Editor, FCPA Review (Miller & Chevalier's Quarterly Publications), 2019 – present 
  • Member, Society of Corporate Compliance and Ethics, 2019 – present 
  • Member, Law360 Compliance Editorial Advisory Board, 2023 
Admissions
State Admissions
  • District of Columbia
  • Michigan
Court Admissions
  • United States Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit
  • United States Court of International Trade
News and Events
Publications