International law firm McDermott Will & Emery announced that Edward (Ted) Diskant has joined the Firm’s New York office as a partner in its Litigation Practice. Ted is the former head of the Public Corruption Unit in the US Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of New York, where he led a team of approximately 20 senior prosecutors conducting some of the Office’s most sensitive and high-profile matters, including the investigation of Rudolph Giuliani and the prosecutions of Lev Parnas and Igor Fruman, Stephen K. Bannon, Jeffrey Epstein, Ghislaine Maxwell and Michael Avenatti.

“As courts reopen and government enforcement activities continue to rise, Ted will provide critical counsel to clients engaged in high-impact matters and seeking to navigate risks inherent in regulated activities,” David Rosenbloom, global head of McDermott’s Litigation Practice Group, said. “Ted brings a record of noteworthy trial experience and outstanding achievements that will expand our team and our ability to defend high-stakes white-collar defense and government investigation matters.”

Ted spent nine years with the US Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of New York, where he first served as an Assistant US Attorney and then rose to Chief of the Public Corruption Unit. He led dozens of investigations into a wide variety of white-collar criminal offenses, handling matters involving the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA) and other anti-bribery laws, wire fraud, healthcare fraud, domestic and international money laundering and tax offenses, as well as matters involving violations of the Bank Secrecy Act (BSA) and US sanctions laws. While at the US Attorney’s Office, Ted successfully tried 10 jury trials to verdict and briefed or argued more than a dozen cases before the US Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit.

“McDermott has a strong tradition of counseling companies and individuals through some of the most sensitive and complex government and regulatory matters, and the Firm’s litigation practice enjoys an international reputation for excellence,” Ted said. “I am excited to become part of a team that has distinguished itself with its wise strategic counsel, strong trial skills and deep substantive knowledge across industries.”

Ted received both his BA (magna cum laude) and his JD from Yale University, where he was an Articles & Essays editor of the Yale Law Journal.

McDermott is expanding its litigation footprint across the United States and around the globe. Since the beginning of 2021, we have welcomed nine litigation partners and their supporting teams, including Kenji Price and Julian Andre in the US and Simon Airey and Michael Darowski in London.

McDermott Will & Emery partners with leaders around the world to fuel missions, knock down barriers and shape markets. Our team works seamlessly across practices and industries to deliver highly effective—and often unexpected—solutions that propel success. More than 1,200 lawyers strong, we bring our personal passion and legal prowess to bear in every matter for our clients and the people they serve.