Jay Schleppenbach focuses his practice on white collar litigation and has worked on a wide variety of internal investigations, including matters involving complex accounting issues, public corruption, cryptocurrency, environmental regulations, and alleged violations of U.S. securities laws and the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act.

He has experience advising corporations, boards of directors and their various committees, and individual executives and employees, responding to inquiries from a range of federal agencies, including the Securities and Exchange Commission, the Department of Justice Antitrust Division, the Environmental Protection Agency, the Illinois Inspector General and numerous United States Attorneys’ Offices nationwide. Mr. Schleppenbach has been successful in obtaining declinations of charges, favorable plea agreements, and non-custodial sentences for clients facing charges of corporate misconduct.

Mr. Schleppenbach is highly experienced in handling every phase of litigated matters, including complex discovery disputes, motions practice, jury selection, witness examination, and legal argument. His practice has included federal and state jury and bench trials, as well as domestic and international arbitrations. As an Assistant Illinois Attorney General’s Office, he briefed and argued dozens of criminal appeals, including six before the Illinois Supreme Court.

In addition to private practice, Mr. Schleppenbach is an active member of the Illinois State Bar Association, where he has served as Chair of the Business & Securities Law and Alternative Dispute Resolution Section Councils. He has also written and performed for the Chicago Bar Association’s annual show and served for more than a decade as a coach to the International Arbitration Moot Court Team at Northwestern Pritzker School of Law.

Mr. Schleppenbach has published more than a hundred articles on emerging legal issues, with a focus on white collar and arbitration developments. His work has appeared in numerous publications, including Florida A&M University Law Review, The National Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers’ The Champion magazine, The American Bar Association Criminal Justice magazine, and Bloomberg Law White Collar Crime Report.

  • As a white collar practitioner, Mr. Schleppenbach and his colleagues have represented:

    • A special committee of a public company conducting an internal investigation of allegations of bribery and internal control failures.
    • The Chief Technology Officer of a public company in an investigation by the EPA and DOJ of compliance with environmental regulations.
    • The Chair of the board of a public company in an SEC and DOJ investigation.
    • The Audit Committee of a public company in an SEC investigation and internal investigation.
    • One of the world’s largest telecommunications companies in litigation and a multi-week civil trial involving theft of trade secrets, among other claims.
    • A public company in a cross-border internal investigation into potential books and records and internal controls violations.
    • A corporation and its principals in a criminal antitrust investigation being conducted by DOJ Antitrust Division and FBI.
    • A software company in a public corruption investigation being conducted by the United States Attorney’s Office and FBI.
    • A government contractor in a public corruption investigation being conducted by the United States Attorney’s Office, FBI and Inspector General.
    • A former controller of a publicly traded company in SEC and Special Litigation Committee investigations relating to revenue recognition issues and earnings restatement.

    Includes matters handled at Dechert or prior to joining the firm.

  • Mr. Schleppenbach’s most recent external publications include the following:

    • “Alternative Dispute Resolution in Intellectual Property Cases,” ISBA Chicago Regional Office (February 5, 2019)
    • “Criminal Trade Secret Theft: What You Need to Know,” Webinar (November 14, 2018)
    • “ISBA Arbitration Roundtable,” ISBA Chicago Regional Office (May 8, 2018)
    • “ISBA Mediation Roundtable,” ISBA Chicago Regional Office (October 17, 2017)
    • Illinois State Bar Association: Chair, Business & Securities Law Section Council; Newsletter Editor and former Chair, Alternative Dispute Resolution Section Council
    • Chicago Bar Association: Writer & Performer, Entertainment Committee
    • American Bar Association
    • United States Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit, Commissioner Maureen K. Ohlhausen