Sara M. Lord

Partner

Direct: 202.677.4054
Fax: 202.677.4055
Washington
2100 Pennsylvania Avenue NW
Suite 350S
Washington, District of Columbia 20037

Biography

Sara is a partner in the Litigation, Government Investigations, and Healthcare practice groups, and serves on the firm’s Diversity and Hiring Committees. She is also a member of the Life Sciences industry team. An award-winning former federal prosecutor, she handles internal corporate investigations, responses to government audits and investigations, grand jury representations, white-collar criminal defense, and appellate matters. She has particular experience dealing with healthcare, public corruption, bank fraud, pension fraud, mortgage fraud, and international investigative demands.

Before joining AGG, Sara served as an Assistant United States Attorney (AUSA) in the Northern District of New York, where she was, variously, the Financial Institutions Fraud Attorney, the Healthcare Fraud Coordinator, and the Professional Responsibility Officer. From 2007-2009, Sara was one of several attorneys detailed by the Department of Justice to Ukraine, where she worked closely with representatives of the Ukrainian Government on an anti-corruption program that included (1) drafting a comprehensive code of professional ethics and conflicts of interest for public servants; (2) developing an effective system for financial declarations; and (3) establishing internal investigation units within selected government ministries. Before joining the U.S. Attorney’s Office, Sara served as a trial attorney and senior litigation counsel in the Public Integrity Section of the Criminal Division in the Department of Justice. Following her graduation from law school, she was a judicial law clerk to the Honorable Bruce M. Selya in the District of Rhode Island.

Experience

  • Defended a pharmaceutical company in a False Claims Act investigation where the Government ultimately elected not to intervene.

  • Defended and negotiated the favorable settlement of a pharmaceutical False Claims Act case involving allegations of kickbacks regarding patient assistance plans.

  • Represented a nursing home company in a state False Claims Act investigation, which was settled on favorable terms.

  • Represented witnesses in a nationally significant matter involving several congressional committees.

  • Reviewed and revised compliance programs for a national nursing home company.

  • Successfully represented clients in various bid protests filled with various agencies and at the Government Accountability Office (“GAO”).

Credentials

  • Harvard Law School, Juris Doctor
  • University of Oxford, Master of Arts
    • Rhodes Scholar
  • University of Oxford, Bachelor of Arts
  • Yale University, Bachelor of Arts,
    with Distinction, summa cum laude
    • Phi Beta Kappa
  • Commonwealth of Massachusetts
  • District of Columbia
    • AHLA Fraud and Abuse Practice Group Enforcement Committee, Co-Chair
    • Equinox, Board of Directors, 2006-07
    • Yale Center for Parliamentary History, Board of Directors, 2003-07
    • Homeless “Overflow” Shelter, Volunteer
  • French ( Proficient )

Recognition

  • Attorney General’s Distinguished Service Award, 1999. This recognition stemmed from Sara’s work leading the investigation and prosecution of a large-scale alien smuggling network that operated from China through Hong Kong, Thailand and Canada into the United States.
  • John Marshall Award for Outstanding Legal Achievement in Litigation, 1992

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