After spending years in Washington, D.C., as a government official and then a partner at Hogan Lovells, white-collar litigator Christopher Casey is back in his home state of Pennsylvania, now working for Duane Morris.

Casey has joined Duane Morris’ Philadelphia office as a partner, the firm announced Thursday. Before joining Hogan Lovells, he was a deputy associate attorney general at the U.S. Department of Justice from 2014 to 2016. Casey has also worked at the Federal Trade Commission and the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Middle District of Pennsylvania, and previously chaired the corporate investigations and white-collar practice group at Dilworth Paxson.

Casey also has family members who are well known in federal and Pennsylvania government. His brother, Bob Casey, has been a U.S. senator for Pennsylvania since 2007, and his father, Robert Casey, was a Pennsylvania governor.

While Hogan Lovells has a Philadelphia location, Casey said he wanted to be at a firm headquartered in Pennsylvania.

“After almost four years of weekly commuting back and forth between my home in Wayne and Washington, I was anxious to join a Pennsylvania-based firm,” he said. “Duane Morris was a natural fit because of its strong Pennsylvania base and its international presence.”

In his practice, Casey focuses on white-collar defense, criminal and civil antitrust litigation and matters within the telecommunications, chemical, energy and food industries.

At the Justice Department, Casey worked on cases that ended in multibillion-dollar settlements [with numerous banks]. He also worked on the Yates Memo on Individual Accountability for Corporate Wrongdoing.

“Private practice these days is more demanding [than government work] in some ways because of the increasing business demands of law firms. That’s certainly a difference,” Casey said. “As government enforcement increases, businesses are continually looking for folks who have been on the other side to navigate the complex issues.”

Duane Morris CEO Matthew Taylor said Casey significantly “beefs up” the white-collar and government investigations practice, which is an area the firm has prioritized. The firm focuses that work on financial institutions and banking, he said, and Casey’s Justice Department experience dovetails well with that.

“When you have that kind of talent, plus the fact that he’s a home-grown Pennsylvanian, it’s great to have him come back home,” Taylor said. “It’s a real shot in the arm for us.”

Duane Morris also recently hired Damon Vocke, whose practice includes investigations and white-collar defense, and the other members of his insurance litigation boutique, Vocke Law Group. Also this year, the firm made additions to its Austin office and brought on  [a group of] California lawyers from shuttered law firm Sedgwick. ...

Reprinted with permission from The Legal Intelligencer, © ALM Media Properties LLC. All rights reserved.