Darden to Patton Boggs

Last month, it was Mark Mendelsohn who left his DOJ FCPA prosecutor job for a lucrative FCPA private practice career (see here and here).

This month, it is John "Jay" Darden, the lead DOJ prosecutor in the recent Daimler enforcement action (see here). Earlier this week, Darden (here) began at Patton Boggs (see here).

While at DOJ, Darden was an active speaker on the FCPA circuit (see here and here and here).

As noted in Patton Boggs' press release (titled "Patton Boggs Snares Senior Justice Fraud Prosecutor"), Darden, who has government health-care fraud experience as well, will play a "key role" in the firm's FCPA practice.

In the release, the managing partner of Patton Boggs states that Darden's "keen strategic insight and deep knowledge of how the Justice Department approaches investigations in different areas of the criminal law will help a diverse range of clients overcome allegations of wrongdoing" and that the firm is "delighted to have such a talented and experienced prosecutor join our ranks." Darden noted that he "look[s] forward to using my expertise to assist clients with their compliance needs and to defend them against criminal allegations."

A few weeks ago, Nathan Vardi's Forbes article (see here) generated much coverage (see here, here, here and here).

If you found Vardi's points about a revolving door (and all the questions that may arise from this) valid and legitimate, you have another recent example to cite.

If you found Vardi's article a "low blow," "unbalanced and "unhinged," you may be asking, what's the big deal, DOJ prosecutors leave the agency all the time for private practice careers ... that's just how Washington works.