Ashwin J. Ram Email & Phone Number

An experienced first-chair trial lawyer and former federal prosecutor, Ashwin has 18 years of experience representing corporate and individual clients in both criminal and civil matters, including white-collar criminal investigations and prosecutions, securities and shareholder litigation, class action litigation, state and federal False Claims Act litigation, as well as insurance and reinsurance disputes. Ashwin has also briefed and successfully argued numerous cases to state and federal appellate courts, including the US Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit.Between private practice at Sidley Austin LLP (Chicago) and Steptoe & Johnson LLP, Ashwin spent more than seven years as a federal prosecutor, including as an assistant US attorney in the Major Frauds Section of the US Attorney's Office in Los Angeles (DOJ). Ashwin has extensive experience in all aspects of federal criminal practice, from investigations through trial, sentencing, and appeal. As a defense attorney and former federal prosecutor, Ashwin has handled more than a dozen trials and negotiated and successfully resolved more than 100 criminal matters involving cumulative alleged losses exceeding $1.5 billion and involving allegations of kickbacks, money laundering, bribery, insider trading, and investment fraud, as well as purported violations of the mail, wire, bank, and tax fraud statutes. Ashwin's strength in the courtroom and strategic approach have also led to successful outcomes for clients in commercial disputes. He has handled several putative class actions, many of which were dismissed on the pleadings, denied at the certification stage, or resolved on summary judgement. Ashwin has also successfully defended corporate and individual clients in private securities litigation, arbitrations, and qui tam lawsuits. These commercial disputes have involved countless statutory, contractual, and tort-based claims in state and federal courts. Proactively managing these representations, Ashwin has successfully advanced positions for clients in diverse contexts ranging from corporate transactions and stock offerings to asset purchase agreements and restrictive covenants to insurance coverage matters and director and officer liability issues.Demonstrating his simultaneously broad and deep subject matter experience in criminal and civil matters – and the intersection of the two practice areas – Ashwin has written and spoken extensively on relevant matters affecting corporate and individual clients. He has also been called upon to offer related insights to other counsel and the media.

Listed skills include Team Building, Litigation, Social Media, Public Speaking, and 20 others.