Preston Pugh

Preston Pugh helps companies, board committees, and large organizations conduct internal investigations and respond to government investigations often stemming from high stakes whistleblower complaints. He is a partner at Crowell & Moring and co-leads its False Claims Act Practice. For more than 20 years, he has helped clients navigate many different types of crises, including commercial and government contract fraud investigations; C-suite corporate ethics concerns; whistleblower retaliation claims; broad-based harassment and discrimination complaints; investigations by Congress; and related litigation. He has been recognized by the Legal 500 for his work in investigations.

Preston is skilled in governance, risk management, and compliance. He is frequently called by clients to navigate reputational concerns. He has gained critical perspective from his service as an assistant U.S. attorney, working on both civil and criminal cases at the U.S. Attorney’s Office in Chicago; at GE Healthcare, where he was the senior counsel for investigations and litigation and led global investigations; and as a compliance monitor appointed multiple times in cases throughout the country. He is also skilled in trial and appellate advocacy. He has served as a FINRA arbitrator, successfully tried a wide variety of federal cases, and has argued civil appeals in the majority of the U.S. Courts of Appeals. He has succeeded in two cases of first impression: one in the U.S. Court of Appeals for the First Circuit and another, as amicus counsel, in the Illinois Supreme Court.

Contributing to the legal profession and mentoring are important parts of Preston’s work. He is currently a member of the ABA Criminal Justice Section Council, which advises on criminal justice policy issues, both federal and state. He is also a co-chair of the ABA CJS Qui Tam Subcommittee, a co-chair of the ABA Global Anticorruption Committee, and served as a member of the ABA task force that drafted the first-ever ABA standards for corporate monitors. He is active in the National Bar Association, as well. For 10 years, he served as a member of the national faculty for the National Institute for Trial Advocacy, teaching trial advocacy throughout the country. He currently serves on several nonprofit boards of directors and has served as a mentor in the Washington, D.C.-based Abramson Foundation, as well as informally as a mentor to several junior attorneys.