joshua-a-levy

Education

Columbia University

B.A. 1994

University of Michigan Law School

J.D. 1999

Columbia University

Masters of International Affairs 1999

Professional Associations

Georgetown University Law Center
Adjunct Professor (2007–Present)

Washington Lawyer’s Committee on Civil Rights and Urban Affairs
Board (2019-Present)

Tzedek DC
Board (2023-Present)
Advisory Committee (2019-Present)

DC. Bar Litigation Section
Steering Committee (2009–2012)

ABA Standing Committee on Law & National Security
(2001–2005)

Young National Security Lawyers Group
(2001–2005)

Admissions

District of Columbia

New York

Featured IN

Mr. Levy’s practice encompasses commercial litigation and complex white-collar matters with a specialty in the representation of clients under investigation by the Justice Department, grand juries, Congress, government enforcement agencies, inspector generals, and internal corporate inquiries.

For over two decades, Mr. Levy’s specialized services and guidance have proven invaluable for clients caught in the middle of parallel proceedings. He has led major investigations and has created strategic defenses for high-profile, high-stakes matters by managing legal, professional, political and reputational threats to achieve successful outcomes.

Mr. Levy served as a former counsel to the U.S. Senate Committee on Homeland Security and Government Affairs (investigating government failures in Hurricane Katrina) and, prior to that, as counsel to U.S. Senator Charles E. Schumer of New York. Mr. Levy has been a member of the Georgetown Law adjunct faculty for over 15 years.

Large-Scale Investigations on Behalf of Clients:

While in private practice, Mr. Levy has helped conduct large scale investigations on behalf of clients. Representative matters include:

On behalf of the Government of Rwanda, Mr. Levy helped lead an investigation into the role of the French government in connection with the Genocide against the Tutsi, in Rwanda, resulting in a 600-page report.

In conjunction with the Washington Lawyers’ Committee for Civil Rights and Urban Affairs and Latham & Watkins LLP, Mr. Levy investigated the human rights and civil rights abuses of men incarcerated at the Special Management Unit (SMU) at USP Thomson, in Thomson, Illinois, resulting in the Federal Bureau of Prisons’ shuttering the SMU at USP Thomson, in February 2023.

On behalf of the Major League Baseball Players Association, Mr. Levy co-led an investigation into the conduct of certain agents arising out of the Biogenesis scandal.

Representation of Clients under Criminal, Congressional and Enforcement Investigations:

Mr. Levy has also represented companies, non-profits and individuals under investigation. For example:

Mr. Levy has represented dozens of other companies and individuals in congressional investigations, including inquiries into the January 6, 2021 attack on the US Capitol, the Covid-19 pandemic, Russia’s interference in the 2016 U.S. election, Burisma, Benghazi, Operation Fast & Furious, private security contracting in Afghanistan, and many other subject matters. Since 2007, Mr. Levy has co-taught a seminar on “Congressional Investigations” at Georgetown Law.

He represented Paula Broadwell, biographer to General David Petraeus, in Justice Department criminal investigations that resulted in no charges for her.

He represented Ray Curry, President of the United Auto Workers (UAW), in Justice Department criminal investigations that resulted in no charges for him. The UAW Ethics Ombudsman also cleared President Curry of any ethics violations.

He represented the New Venture Fund, the Sixteen Thirty Fund and the North Fund in a civil investigation by the Office of the DC Attorney General resulting in no action against them.

Health Care Fraud:

A specialist in healthcare fraud law, Mr. Levy teaches “Healthcare Fraud and Abuse” at Georgetown Law.  He has been involved in matters relating to pharmaceutical and medical device claims, hospital over-billing claims, Anti-Kickback Statute violations and Stark Law abuses. Mr. Levy’s experience with healthcare fraud matters have included complex negotiations with U.S. Attorneys Offices, the Department of Justice, the Department of Health and Human Services Office of Inspector General, and state agencies, and as well as the FDA and foreign regulatory agencies. For example:

He worked with a team of attorneys on behalf of Dinesh Thakur, in his landmark False Claims Act case against Ranbaxy, producing the largest drug safety settlement against a generic drug company, in U.S. history.

He has represented several hospital, pharmaceutical and medical device company executives in Justice Department criminal investigations resulting in no charges for those clients.

Civil Litigation:

As a litigator, Mr. Levy represented Fusion GPS and its principals in four RICO suits filed against them, all of which the courts have dismissed. See Trump v. Clinton, Case No. 22-cv-14102-DMM (SDFL Order on Motions to Dismiss Sept. 8, 2022); Nunes v. Fusion GPS, Case No. 1:19-cv-01148-RDA-TCB (EDVA Order of Dismissal with Prejudice Mar. 31, 2021); Nunes v. Fusion GPS, Case No. 1:19-cv-1148-LO-TCB (E.D.VA. Order of Dismissal Feb. 21, 2020); Halvorssen v. Simpson, Case No. 2:18-cv-2684 (ENV) (RLM) (E.D.N.Y. Order of Dismissal with Prejudice Aug. 26, 2019), affirmed by the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit (Mar. 18, 2020).

Mr. Levy also represented Fusion GPS and one of its principals, Glenn Simpson, in a defamation case filed against them by Russian oligarchs, Mikhail Fridman, Petr Aven and German Khan. That case is dismissedFridman v. Bean LLC, Case No. 1:17-cv-2041-RJL (D.D.C. Stipulation of Dismissal with Prejudice Mar. 18, 2022).

In a civil action alleging violations of the Federal Advisory Committee Act, Mr. Levy successfully moved to quash subpoenas served by a Canadian mining consortium on its political rivals, who fought for the protection of the Bristol Bay, Alaska watershed (home to the world’s largest wild sockeye salmon fishery) and against the “Pebble Mine” that would destroy it. See, e.g., Pebble Limited Partnership v. EPA, 310 F.R.D. 575 (D.Alaska  2015).

In 2015, Mr. Levy represented a summa cum laude graduate of Howard University in a lawsuit against the Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority whose police officers unlawfully arrested and assaulted Mr. Levy’s client while he was filming the police arrest another woman on a public street corner, in Washington, DC. The lawsuit resulted in a favorable settlement for Mr. Levy’s client, and the court ordered the sealing of young man’s arrest records on grounds of actual innocence.

In 2008, Mr. Levy represented the Pennsylvania Jersey Maryland (PJM) Market Monitor in disputes regarding his independence pending before the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC), resulting in a settlement among over 50 parties of which Mr. Levy was a lead negotiator. The settlement created an independent LLC to serve the required market monitoring function for PJM.

Compliance:

Mr. Levy has expertise in the False Claims Act, the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act and the Freedom of Information Act. He has conducted dozens of internal investigations, created compliance programs, trained employees and helped perform due diligence with regard to a company’s potential exposure under these statutes.

Background:

Before co-founding Levy Firestone Muse LLP in 2014, Mr. Levy practiced in the litigation and white collar defense groups at Arnold & Porter LLP and Stein, Mitchell & Muse LLP. He is ranked by Chambers and, from 2013-2024, has been named a Super Lawyer for White Collar in Washington, DC. Prior to practicing law, he served as as a judicial law clerk to the Honorable Joan A. Lenard, U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Florida (1999-2001).