Zirogiannis comes to Reed Smith from longtime client GE, where he most recently served as Executive Counsel for Litigation & Investigations, and Chief Compliance Officer for GE Digital, GE’s Industrial Internet software business, which is at the forefront of the digital industrial era. Before moving to GE Digital, he served as Managing Director of Supervisory Affairs and Chief Compliance Officer for GE Energy Financial Services, and Global Head of Anti-Corruption for GE Capital.
“We at Reed Smith have for many years known and worked with Lewis, a longtime leader at our client, GE,” said David Thompson, Office Head of Reed Smith's San Francisco office. “His exceptional credentials and experience run the full gamut of regulatory and compliance law. We couldn’t be more pleased that he is joining the firm.”
Zirogiannis has significant experience in global regulatory and compliance matters, large-scale complex litigation, government enforcements, and internal investigations across a broad spectrum of areas, including anti-corruption, data privacy and security, international trade sanctions, and securities fraud.
“Lewis will enhance our ability to provide compliance advice and counsel across borders, especially in the financial services, energy, and manufacturing sectors, as well as with international distribution matters,” said James Sanders, Co-Chair of the firm’s Global Regulatory Enforcement practice.
“I’m tremendously excited to join Reed Smith’s global regulatory and enforcement team. I’ve often partnered with the firm in solving complex business challenges,” said Zirogiannis. “Reed Smith’s global platform is ideal for my growing practice. I was particularly attracted to the firm’s focus on client value, and how that fosters an innovation-driven culture, as well as its core commitment to diversity and inclusion.”
Zirogiannis began his legal career as a federal judicial law clerk in the Southern District of New York for the Honorable Mark D. Fox, United States Magistrate Judge, and the Honorable Richard M. Berman, United States District Judge. He transitioned to private practice at Hughes, Hubbard & Reed LLP, and Wilson Sonsini, where he represented corporations and corporate executives in complex litigation, investigations, and enforcement matters. In 2009, he became associate general counsel at a Fortune 500 financial services firm with operations in more than 80 countries, where he served as Global Head of Anti-Corruption Compliance and Investigations. He joined GE in 2012.
With a J.D. from Hofstra University School of Law and a B.A. from Adelphi University’s Honor’s College, Zirogiannis is a frequent lecturer and a thought leader in the area of global compliance and investigations. Throughout his career, he has participated in a number of think tanks, benchmarking groups, and industry conferences.
Zirogiannis is also well-known to Reed Smith as a partner in championing diversity and inclusion. At GE Digital, he served as the sponsor and direct supervisor for the Bracket Denniston Fellow, which provides opportunities for diverse junior lawyers to work in-house with a GE business unit. He also helped place GE Digital’s inaugural fellow at Reed Smith’s New York office last fall.
Reed Smith is proud to partner with GE, which honored the firm with its 2017 GE Global Law & Policy Outside Counsel Diversity & Inclusion Award for its “exemplary Diversity & Inclusion program, along with its related efforts and tangible results.”
Growth in San Francisco
Reed Smith’s San Francisco office has welcomed several high-profile laterals. Lewis Zirogiannis’ arrival follows that of Jenni G. Krengel, who joined the firm last week, along with a three-person team that represents public pension funds on tax and investment matters. Other recent additions to the office include two lawyers with extensive legal experience in Asia. International transactions attorney Vivian Wong, who has practiced in Hong Kong, joined the firm’s Financial Industry Group; and Xiaoyan Zhang, who previously worked in Hong Kong. William (Bill) Veatch and Catherine Young Hagerty, who are focused on lending, leasing, financing, securitization, and new methods of AI and automation, joined the firm in June 2017.
About Reed Smith
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For further information, please visit reedsmith.com.
