A former federal prosecutor with a focus on national security and public corruption, Lauren Goddard is part of Akerman’s Litigation, White Collar Crime and Government Investigations, and International Practices. Lauren has extensive experience conducting complex investigations and litigating matters in U.S. district courts throughout the country and has tried more than 30 jury trials to verdict.

Lauren defends companies and individuals in criminal and civil enforcement actions covering a wide variety of issues. Lauren has helped clients respond to allegations concerning market manipulation, securities fraud, accounting fraud, wire/mail fraud, healthcare fraud, the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act, money laundering, sanctions, export controls, false statements, conspiracy, and the False Claims Act. Lauren represents companies and individuals in securities and consumer class actions and other forms of complex civil litigation. Lauren also advises boards of directors and audit committees on the most effective ways to respond to allegations of illegal conduct, and conducts independent investigations on their behalf. Using her experience in government enforcement actions to anticipate potential problems in compliance programs, Lauren focuses on providing the most practical and effective advice that can be implemented to effectively address problems.  

Before joining Akerman, Lauren served as an assistant U.S. attorney for the District of Columbia and, later, as a trial attorney with the National Security Division of the Department of Justice (DOJ) where she handled federal grand jury, trial, and appellate matters. Before that, Lauren served as an assistant state’s attorney for Cook County in Chicago, Illinois, where she litigated both criminal and civil matters in state and appellate court. During her tenure as a prosecutor, Lauren handled hundreds of investigations, prosecutions, and appeals of complex criminal cases involving fraud, corruption, money laundering, drug trafficking, violent crime, obstruction of justice, and terrorism. While at the National Security Division, Lauren also served as a subject matter expert on counterterrorism prosecutions and trained and advised federal prosecutors throughout the country on complex grand jury and trial matters. Through her work with the DOJ, Lauren developed strong, collaborative relationships with stakeholders across the government, law enforcement, and the intelligence community.