Lessons from the Theranos Trial: Navigating Ethical Decisions in the Boardroom

Global Co-Chair, Investigations + White Collar Defense Practice Group, Co-Chair, State + Local Government Enforcement Team, Workplace Misconduct Investigations Task Force, Morrison Foerster

Carrie Cohen

Carrie H. Cohen is global co-chair of the Investigations + White Collar Defense practice group as well as co-chair of the firm’s State + Local Government Enforcement team and Workplace Misconduct Investigations Task Force. Prior to joining the firm, Carrie served as an Assistant U.S. Attorney in the Southern District of New York (SDNY) and as Chief of the Public Integrity Bureau of the New York State Attorney General’s Office.

As a former federal and state prosecutor, Carrie routinely advises and represents corporations, boards, and c-suite executives in government-facing investigative and regulatory matters with a particular focus on state and local government matters. Carrie’s extensive trial experience and distinguished record of success in high-stakes, white collar defense and securities matters cement her position as a leading lawyer in these practice areas and she is often called upon as trial counsel for particularly sensitive matters. Carrie’s trial and white collar expertise have been recognized by a variety of organizations including Chambers USA, which describes her as “. . . a terrific trial lawyer with great judgment and timing, [who] knows how to present complex cases in a digestible way.” Carrie also routinely prepares clients who are called to testify before Congress and state and city legislatures and works on matters that involve multijurisdictional investigations, legislative oversight and significant media attention.

Carrie is a recognized industry expert in public corruption and state and local government actions. Among other appointments, she has served as Special Counsel to the New York City Council, Special Independent Counsel to the City of Rochester, and on the Monitorship team appointed by the U.S. Department of Justice for the global Odebrecht corruption matter, as well as having been appointed by the Chief Judge of the United States District Court for the Eastern District of New York as Counsel to the Court’s Grievance Committee. Carrie also is an Adjunct Professor at the University of Pennsylvania Law School, where she teaches a seminar on Public Corruption and the Law.

Carrie serves on multiple bar committees and task forces as part of her effort to promote the public interest through criminal justice reform. She was appointed Chair of the New York State Bar Association’s Task Force on Domestic Terrorism and Hate Crimes, whose report was adopted by the House of Delegates in June 2020 and as a member of the New York State Bar Association’s Task Force on Racial Injustice and Police Reform and Task Force on Wrongful Convictions. As a leader of the bar, Carrie serves as a Vice President and Trustee of the Federal Bar Council and Treasurer of its Inn of Court and was appointed to the Federal-State Judicial Advisory Council as well as prior service as a Vice President of the New York City Bar, Chair of its Executive Committee, and member of its Nominating Committee. Carrie also is a member of the board of directors of Volunteers of Legal Service, an organization that provides pro bono legal services to the New York community.

Carrie has long been dedicated to advancing women in the legal profession, both in the United States and globally. She co-chairs Morrison Foerster’s Women’s Strategy Committee, a group that works with firm leaders to ensure the advancement of women remains a strategic priority, and serves as a member of the New York City Bar’s Cyrus R. Vance Center for International Justice, where she spearheads a professional development program for women attorneys in Latin America and South Africa.

Carrie co-authored the acclaimed New York State Bar Association report adopted by the American Bar Association “If Not Now, When? Achieving Equality for Women Attorneys in the Courtroom and in ADR” and the recent follow-up report adopted by the House of Delegates “The Time is Now: Achieving Equality for Women Attorneys in the Courtroom and in ADR.” She serves on the Steering Committee of the When There Are Nine Scholarship Project, which she founded with other alumnae from the United States Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of New York to honor the late Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg by providing law school scholarships and mentorship to the next generation of women leaders.

Of Counsel, Investigations + White Collar Defense Practice Group, Morrison Foerster

Kate Driscoll

Katherine (Kate) Driscoll is a member of the firm’s Investigations + White Collar Defense Practice Group, who focuses her practice on investigations and enforcement actions related to white collar crime, as well as complex commercial litigation.

Kate has extensive experience in a wide range of criminal and civil cases, particularly healthcare fraud and cases involving pharmaceutical and life science companies, healthcare providers, and other stakeholders in the provision of healthcare services. Prior to joining Morrison & Foerster, Kate served as an Assistant United States Attorney in the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania. Kate has significant trial experience, obtaining multiple jury and bench trial verdicts. As a federal prosecutor, Kate ran large-scale white collar investigations, including complex wiretap and forensic financial investigations, involving healthcare fraud, illegal distribution of prescription drugs, money laundering, wire fraud, bank fraud, and tax fraud. Kate conducted parallel investigations with the Civil Division related to potential False Claims Act violations, and the SEC for potential violations of securities laws. Among her experience, Kate led the criminal prosecution of one of the largest theft of trade secrets cases in United States history involving a leading multinational pharmaceutical company, and also led COVID-19-related government fraud investigations, involving the CARES Act and the Paycheck Protection Program.

Kate received the 2019 Inspector General’s Award for Excellence in Fighting Fraud, Waste and Abuse for the successful prosecution and conviction of healthcare professionals who illegally distributed millions of dollars in prescription drugs. She was also part of the prosecution team that was awarded the Prosecutor of the Year Award for 2021 from the Coalition Against Insurance Fraud regarding work on a significant arson, healthcare fraud, and tax fraud prosecution that impacted hundreds of victims and caused significant damage to the City of Philadelphia. Kate has advised and worked closely with a variety of federal and local law enforcement agencies, including: Federal Bureau of Investigation, Office of Inspector General Health and Human Services, Drug Enforcement Administration, Office of International Affairs, Internal Revenue Service, Homeland Security Investigations, Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, U.S. Postal Service, as well as local agency partners.

Prior to serving as a federal prosecutor, Kate was a litigator at a large international law firm where she represented clients in a range of industries, including healthcare, financial services, technology, and automotive, in government investigations and related civil litigation. Kate has handled matters globally, including those in Europe, Africa, and Latin America. Earlier in her career, Kate clerked for the Honorable Pamela K. Chen of the U.S. District Court Eastern District of New York.

Kate earned her J.D. from the University of Pennsylvania and her A.B., summa cum laude, from Bryn Mawr College.

Director, Topgolf Callaway Brands, Inc., T-Mobile US, Inc. and TPI Composites Inc.

Bavan Holloway

Bavan has over 30 years of broad finance and audit experience in complex and highly regulated business environments. She previously served as Vice President of Corporate Audit for The Boeing Company, among other senior finance roles, until her retirement in April 2020. Prior to joining Boeing in May 2002, Bavan spent 16 years at KPMG LLP primarily serving financial clients in Chicago and New York. She currently serves on the boards of directors of Topgolf Callaway Brands, Inc, T-Mobile US, Inc. and TPI Composites Inc. In October 2021, Bavan also received her CERT Certificate in Cybersecurity Oversight from the Carnegie Mellon University Software Engineering Institute. Bavan is a CPA, licensed in the state of Washington and prior to her retirement she was a Certified Internal Auditor, Chartered Global Management Accountant, and certified in Risk-Management Assurance. She holds a bachelor’s degree in business administration from the University of Tulsa and a master’s degree in financial markets and trading from the Illinois Institute of Technology.

Global Co-Chair, Litigation Department, Morrison Foerster

Christine Wong

Christine Wong, Global Co-Chair of Morrison Foerster’s Litigation Department, focuses her practice on investigations, white collar criminal defense, and cross-border compliance matters.

Christine draws on her unique background as an internal advisor and as a federal prosecutor in advising companies, boards and executives in a variety of matters that present significant legal and reputational risk — including white collar criminal and regulatory enforcement, internal investigations and related civil litigation. She also provides ongoing compliance advice (for example, antitrust, anti-bribery and corruption, conflicts of interest, etc.) to corporate clients.

Christine served as a federal prosecutor for the Southern District of New York and the Northern District of California, where she investigated a wide range of matters including public corruption, fraud, and organized crime, and served as lead counsel in over a dozen jury trials. She briefed criminal appeals before the United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit and the United States Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit.

Before joining MoFo, Christine led the development and implementation of the global compliance program for a Fortune 500 multinational corporation, where she served as vice president, head of international compliance. In that capacity, she conducted risk assessments for dozens of entities, which resulted in enacting necessary amendments to business workflows and policies. She was responsible for managing investigations and related litigation, reviewing policies and procedures, developing and delivering training modules, and ultimately reporting to the board of directors.

Christine speaks conversational Mandarin and Cantonese.