Dee Spagnuolo

Dee Spagnuolo focuses on the representation of companies and individuals in all aspects of complex civil litigation, internal corporate investigations, and compliance and regulatory matters. Ms. Spagnuolo has defended clients in civil litigation and criminal investigations involving the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA), state and federal false claims acts (FCA), disadvantaged business enterprise (DBE) fraud, and environmental compliance.

Ms. Spagnuolo's practice also includes the institutional response to sexual misconduct. She was one of the lead Ballard Spahr attorneys conducting a review of cases and internal procedures for the Archdiocese of Philadelphia following a grand jury indictment of several priests accused of sexual abuse. Ms. Spagnuolo also has extensive experience managing internal investigations, communications with law enforcement, disciplinary proceedings, and the interplay between civil and criminal proceedings in the area of sexual misconduct.

As a member of Ballard Spahr's Domestic Extremism Group, Ms. Spagnuolo also represents pharmaceutical companies and financial institutions to secure injunctions and contempt orders that curtail activity directed at companies, employees, and employees' families.

Ms. Spagnuolo serves on the firm's Hiring Committee and served two years as Co-Chair of the firm's summer associate program. She also serves as a member of Ballard Spahr's Diversity Council.

Prior to law school, Ms. Spagnuolo worked as a college counselor for at-risk youth and as a research assistant for the Say Yes to Education Foundation. She also served for two years as a Peace Corps volunteer in the Dominican Republic.

Representative Matters 

• Represents a number of clients in litigation and internal investigations involving the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act, the Federal False Claims Act, antitrust matters, environmental compliance, and various business frauds
• Represents clients in front of the DOJ Fraud Section and Antitrust Division, various U.S. Attorney's Offices, the Philadelphia Office of Inspector General, State Attorney General Offices, the Securities and Exchange Commission, and the Office of Fair Trading in London 
• Represents educational institutions, health care providers, pharmaceutical companies, and financial institutions in False Claims Act litigation 
• Represents government contractors from diverse industries relating to alleged DBE fraud
• Advises corporations, nonprofits, and educational institutions on their institutional response to sexual misconduct

Pro Bono Experience

Ms. Spagnuolo has represented a wide range of pro bono clients. She successfully represented a Costa Rican woman in a Violence Against Women Act petition and participated in civil forfeiture negotiations with the Philadelphia District Attorney's Office to relocate a Philadelphia woman to her home. She has counseled and trained nonprofit organizations in the areas of child abuse reporting and criminal background policies. Ms. Spagnuolo also serves as the designee for an educational trust for a Dominican-born youth.

Judicial Clerkships

Hon. R. Barclay Surrick, U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania, 2003-2004

Professional Activities

American Bar Association
Pennsylvania Bar Association
Pennsylvania Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers

Recognition & Accomplishments

Named a Super Lawyers Pennsylvania "Rising Star" for 2008, 2010, 2011, and 2012

Named among the "Best LGBT Lawyers Under 40 – Class of 2012" by the National LGBT Bar Association

Recipient, Ballard Spahr's Alan J. Davis Award for legal representation involving the public good, 2011

Recipient, Noyes E. Leech Award, for contribution to the Journal of International Economic Law, University of Pennsylvania Law School

Publications

Co-author, "Major New Jersey Health System Pays $12.6 Million To Settle False Claims Act Suit Alleging Physician Kickback Scheme," Ballard Spahr alert, January 30, 2013

Co-author, "Look Out! They're Gonna Get YOU: DOJ Going After Individuals in FCPA Prosecutions," Corporate Counsel, March 17, 2010

Co-author, "Eastern District Hands Down Landmark Decision under False Claims Act," Ballard Spahr alert, December 8, 2009

Co-author, "Federal Appeals Court Rejects Free Speech Claims of Animal Rights Activists," Ballard Spahr alert, October 16, 2009

Co-author, "Expansion of False Claims Act Liability Signed into Law by President," Ballard Spahr alert, May 22, 2009

Co-author, "Making It a Summer to Remember," The Legal Intelligencer, June 9, 2008

Speaking Engagements

"Getting a Grip on HIPAA," Ballard Spahr webinar, February 20, 2013

"Legal Challenges: Creative Strategies that Threaten Research," part of "Security: Risks & Reality of Animal Extremism Across the Biomedical Research Community," New Jersey Association of Biomedical Research, October 3, 2012

"Market Trends in Third Party Due Diligence," Ernst & Young General Counsel Roundtable Series, June 13, 2012

"Employee Training," EducationWorks, Inc., Annual Retreat, April 4, 2012

Moderator, "A Powerful Governmental Tool: The False Claims Act," Ballard Spahr LLP and the Philadelphia Young Lawyers Division of the ABA's White Collar Crime Committee, March 23, 2011

"Bridge the Gap" CLE, February 2010

"Addressing Solutions for the Pharmaceutical Industry in Navigating Animal Rights Extremism," Symposium on Global Security, October 2007

Guest lecturer, Drexel University, Earle Mack School of Law

Community Activities

Bowdoin Alumni Schools Interviewing Committee (BASIC)

Bowdoin Club of Philadelphia

University of Pennsylvania Association of Alumnae 

Board Memberships

Bowdoin College National Alumni Council

University of Pennsylvania Law School (J.D. 2003)
Class President; Legal Writing Fellow; Editor-in-Chief, Journal of International Economic Law

Bowdoin College (A.B. 1996)

Languages

Pennsylvania

U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania

U.S. Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit