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John S. Ghose

Special Counsel

John Ghose draws from his prior experience as a federal prosecutor and in-house compliance attorney to zealously defend corporate and individual clients in government investigations and enforcement actions. He also advises clients on privacy and cybersecurity matters.

Professional Biography


John Ghose is a government investigations and enforcement attorney with 19 years of experience, including as a cybercrime and fraud prosecutor for the United States Department of Justice in Washington, Atlanta, and Philadelphia; as an in-house business and regulatory investigations attorney for Microsoft; and as a technology-focused compliance and litigation attorney at multiple law and consulting firms. John draws from his diverse experience in the private and public sectors to provide practical and valuable advice to his corporate and individual clients.

John is an experienced trial attorney who has first-chaired eight federal jury trials, second-chaired three federal jury trials, and defended those verdicts before federal appellate courts on the briefs and during oral argument. He is also well-versed in novel technologies, such as cryptocurrency, blockchain, and artificial intelligence, and he has presented to government and private sector audiences on these topics in over 50 countries.

As a member of the Firm's Government Enforcement and Investigations Group in the Atlanta office, John primarily focuses his practice on representing corporate and individual clients before regulatory agencies, such as the Department of Justice, Securities and Exchange Commission, and state attorneys general. However, John also assists clients with privacy and cybersecurity compliance projects centered on domestic and international privacy laws, including the CCPA, HIPAA, GLBA, GDPR, PIPEDA, LGPD, PIPL, and POPIA. John also represents clients during data security incidents, such as ransomware and network intrusion attacks.

  • Representative Prior Experience

  • Managed business and regulatory investigations for a large technology company, including high-risk compliance investigations concerning violations of law and violations of company policy.

  • Advised dozens of companies across various industries during cybersecurity incidents, including ransomware and network intrusion attacks.

  • Represented an investment firm in an SEC insider trading investigation of the firm's former employee.

  • Represented a paper manufacturer in successfully reversing a bench trial decision in an asbestos insurance coverage action.

  • Represented a biotech company in successfully defending the denial of a patient's request for early access to an experimental drug.

  • Represented a venture capital firm in successfully defending the dismissal of a securities fraud action.

  • Represented a pharmaceutical company in a contract dispute involving a co-promotion agreement with a competitor that culminated in a three-week arbitration trial.

  • Represented the former CEO of an apparel retailer in the defense of a securities fraud derivative action.

  • Represented a cardboard manufacturer in the defense of antitrust price-fixing litigation.

  • Represented investment banks in the defense of fraud claims by the trustee of a bankrupt sub-prime mortgage company.

  • Represented a pharmaceutical company in the defense of consumer fraud actions alleging improper handling of clinical study results.

  • Advised dozens of publicly traded and venture-backed technology and life science clients worldwide on privacy and cybersecurity compliance issues.

  • Representative Government Experience

  • Served as lead counsel in over 200 federal investigations and prosecutions involving cybercrime, public corruption, fraud, economic crime, national security, child exploitation, and violent crime.

  • First-chaired eight jury trials and second-chaired three jury trials, all resulting in convictions.

  • Argued three times before the Eleventh Circuit successfully and defended dozens of other cases on appeal.

  • Served as lead counsel in the successful prosecution of 25 former prison guards; first-chaired the jury trial of four defendants who did not plead guilty, secured convictions on all counts, and defended convictions and sentences on appeal.

  • Served as lead counsel in the successful prosecution of the operators of a fraudulent job-staffing company; first-chaired the trial of a defendant who did not plead guilty and secured conviction on a wire fraud charge.

  • Served as co-counsel in the successful prosecution of operators of an auto financing company for a multimillion-dollar auto loan conversion fraud scheme; second-chaired the trial of two defendants who did not plead guilty and secured convictions on all counts for both.

  • Delivered training, technical assistance, and case-based mentoring to foreign law enforcement from over 50 countries on techniques for cybercrime investigations.

  • Certified Anti-Money Laundering Specialist (CAMLS), Association of Certified Anti-Money Laundering Specialists (2022 – 2024)
  • Certified Information Privacy Professional/United States (CIPP/US), International Association of Privacy Professionals (2021 – 2024)
  • Certificate – Cybersecurity for Managers, Massachusetts Institute of Technology Sloan School of Management (2021)
  • Certificate – Cryptocurrency Fundamentals, Chainalysis (2020)
  • Recipient – Director's Award, Executive Office of United States Attorneys, United States Department of Justice (2018)
  • Senior Advisor – Atlantic Council, Scowcroft Center for Strategy and Security, Forward Defense Program, Gray Zone Task Force (2022 – 2023)
  • Board Member – East Atlanta Kids Club (2022 – 2024)
  • Board Member – Waldorf School of Atlanta (2023 – 2024)
  • Member – South Asian Bar Association of North America (2021 – 2024)
  • Member – South Asian Bar Association of Georgia (2021 – 2024)
  • Guest Lecturer – Emory University Law School (2019 – 2024)
  • Guest Lecturer – Georgia State University Law School (2019 – 2020)
  • Adjunct Lecturer-in-Law – Civil Practice Clinic, University of Pennsylvania Law School (2009)
  • ICHIP Attorney (International Computer Hacking & Intellectual Property), Computer Crimes & Intellectual Property Section, Criminal Division, United States Department of Justice (2019 – 2021)
  • Assistant United States Attorney, United States Attorney's Office for the Northern District of Georgia (2012 – 2019)
  • Special Assistant United States Attorney, United States Attorney's Office for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania (2011 – 2012)
  • Law Clerk, Judge Jane R. Roth, United States Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit (2006 – 2007)
  • Law Clerk, Judge Norma L. Shapiro, United States District Court for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania (2005 – 2006)
  • "Social Media Regulations to Protect Minors: Increasing Safety or Limiting Access & Freedoms?," American Bar Association, Business Law Section Spring Meeting (April 2024)
  • "Protecting Children's Data," Nashville/Cape Town IAPP KnowledgeNet Meeting (April 2024)
  • "Cryptocurrency, Crypto Fraud, and the Sam Bankman-Fried Trial," Emory Law School's Cooper Inn of Court (January 2024)
  • "One Technology, Many Perspectives: Global Approaches to Regulating AI," Confederation of European Data Protection Organisations Meeting (January 2024)
  • "AI Regulatory Update for the EU and US Markets," Atlanta Bar Association Fall CLE (November 2023)
  • "Cybersecurity Legal Updates," 24th Annual UNC-Charlotte Cybersecurity Symposium (October 2023)
  • "Somebody's Watching Me: Surveillance in the Face of Rapidly Accelerating AI," Pan-Southeastern IAPP KnowledgeNet Meeting (August 2023)
  • "Developing Law Enforcement Guidelines for Cryptocurrency Seizure," Georgia Attorney General's Office Cyber Fraud Task Force Meeting (May 2023)
  • "Concerted Efforts to Fortify Cybersecurity Worldwide," Penn Law School's Future of Cybersecurity Symposium (February 2023)
  • "Building Out a Data Privacy & Data Security Program," South Asian Bar Association of North America (SABA-NA) Corporate Counsel Retreat (February 2023)
  • "Keeping Yourself Clean: Navigating Government and Internal Investigations," SABA-NA Annual Conference (July 2022)
  • "Crypto 3.0: What's Next in Regulation, Litigation, and Trade," Association of Corporate Counsel/Pro Bono Partnership of Atlanta CLE Challenge (March 2022)
  • "Cybersecurity for Lawyers, Accountants, and Other Professionals: Understanding Your Risks and Obligations," Professional Liability Attorney Network Meeting (May 2021)
  • "Anatomy of a Health Care Data Breach," Georgia Academy of Healthcare Attorneys Annual Conference (May 2019)
  • "What Do You Do If You See a Sign of a Cyber Attack?," Innovative Payment Conference: The Power of Prepaid (April 2019)

Education

  • University of Pennsylvania Carey Law School, J.D., 2005
    • Senior Editor, Penn Law Review
  • University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, B.A., 1999
    • Honor's College, English

Admissions

  • Georgia, 2014
  • U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Georgia
  • U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania
  • U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit
  • U.S. Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit

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