John F. Wood

Partner

Washington, D.C., Kansas City

P: (202) 721-4720

F: (202) 721-4646

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John F. Wood is a partner in the litigation department who focuses on anti-corruption and internal investigations, corporate governance, securities litigation, homeland security, and appellate matters.

John has served in numerous high-level government positions, including U.S. Attorney for the Western District of Missouri. As U.S. Attorney, John was the chief federal law enforcement official for the Western District of Missouri. He supervised a staff of 128 employees, including 68 attorneys and 60 non-attorney support personnel, and oversaw a broad range of federal criminal prosecutions and civil litigation. He personally led the largest corporate fraud and securities investigation in the history of the district, resulting in guilty pleas by the former CEO and CFO of a publicly traded company and a multi-million dollar corporate fine for accounting fraud. He has also supervised numerous other high-profile cases, including cases involving allegations of importation of tainted pet food ingredients from China, funding to benefit a Specially Designated Global Terrorist in Pakistan, money laundering by a former U.S. congressman, an international tax fraud ring, steroid trafficking, the hiring of illegal aliens by several companies, and violations of the False Claims Act by a large health care provider. While serving as U.S. Attorney, John argued before the U.S. Court of Appeals and tried cases before juries.

John previously served as Chief of Staff for the U.S. Department of Homeland Security, the third largest department of the federal government with approximately 180,000 employees and an annual budget of over $40 billion. As Chief of Staff, he assisted and advised the Secretary of Homeland Security on a broad range of matters, including terrorism, intelligence, preparedness, border security, immigration, law enforcement, and management issues.

John previously held several high-level positions at the Department of Justice, including Deputy Associate Attorney General and Counselor to Attorney General John D. Ashcroft. In those positions, he advised the Attorney General, worked on the Department’s most important civil litigation, and helped oversee the Department’s Civil, Civil Rights, Antitrust, Tax, and Environment & Natural Resources Divisions.

John also worked at the White House as Deputy General Counsel for the Office of Management & Budget, where he participated in the development of the federal government’s major legislative, regulatory, management, and appropriations initiatives. As Deputy General Counsel, he supervised attorneys and provided legal advice to senior White House officials.

John practiced commercial and appellate litigation from 1998 to 2001 at the Washington, D.C. office of a national law firm. He also clerked at the Supreme Court of the United States for Justice Clarence Thomas and at the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit for Judge J. Michael Luttig. Prior to law school, he worked on the staff of U.S. Senator John C. Danforth of Missouri.

Court Admissions

United States Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit
United States Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit
United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit
United States District Court for the Western District of Missouri
District of Columbia Court of Appeals
Supreme Court of Missouri

Professional Activities

U.S. Attorney, Western District of Missouri, 2007–2009
Chief of Staff, U.S. Department of Homeland Security, 2005–2006
Counselor to the Attorney General, U.S. Department of Justice, 2003–2005
Deputy General Counsel in the Office of Management and Budget, Executive Office to the President, 2002–2003
Deputy Associate Attorney General & Counsel to the Associate Attorney General, U.S. Department of Justice, 2001–2002
Associate, Kirkland & Ellis, 1998–2001
Law Clerk, The Honorable Clarence Thomas, Supreme Court of the United States, 1997–1998
Law Clerk, The Honorable J. Michael Luttig, United States Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit, 1996–1997
Legislative Correspondent, Senator John C. Danforth, 1992–1993

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Internal Investigations & Compliance

Practice Groups and Other Information

Education Information

Harvard Law School, J.D., 1996, magna cum laude,
- Harvard Law Review, Articles Chair
University of Virginia, B.A., 1992, with Honors,
- Major in Government & Foreign Affairs; Minor in Economics
- Phi Beta Kappa

Bar Admissions

District of Columbia, 1999
Missouri, 1998