Skip to Main Content
Our Commitment to Diversity
Michael Culhane Harper

Michael Culhane Harper is a partner in the White Collar, Defense, and Investigations practice group. Michael, who recently joined the firm after seven years as a federal prosecutor in the FCPA Unit at the Department of Justice (DOJ), is an experienced trilingual white-collar lawyer with extensive global experience working on high-profile individual and corporate matters dealing with US laws with extraterritorial reach, including the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA) and federal criminal statutes pertaining to antitrust or money laundering violations and other financial frauds.

While at the DOJ, Michael spearheaded some of the most significant and complex international bribery and money laundering cases against publicly traded and privately held companies, board members and executives, finance professionals, lawyers, and high-level foreign government officials. His investigations spanned the globe and involved extensive interactions and negotiations with multiple domestic authorities, including the US Securities and Exchange Commission, as well as prosecutorial and regulatory authorities abroad, including Austria, Brazil, Colombia, Panama, Singapore, Sweden, Switzerland, and the United Kingdom. Michael’s DOJ investigations resulted in criminal charges against more than 20 individuals, four corporate resolutions, and total criminal penalties and forfeiture in excess of US$1 billion.

Michael’s practice focuses on government investigations, securities enforcement, internal investigations, and white collar defense representations. His practice also involves counseling clients on anti-corruption and anti-money laundering compliance programs. 

Prior to public service, Michael spent seven years working for a global law firm, most of which was spent in firm's São Paulo, Brazil office. He has extensive experience throughout Latin America. 

  • Speaker, “Recent DOJ Guidance: When the Department Speaks What Is It Really Saying?,” PLI’s The Foreign Corrupt Practices Act and International Anti-Corruption Developments 2024
Additional Thought Leadership Pages
Additional News & Event Pages
Return to top of page

Email Disclaimer

We welcome your email, but please understand that if you are not already a client of K&L Gates LLP, we cannot represent you until we confirm that doing so would not create a conflict of interest and is otherwise consistent with the policies of our firm. Accordingly, please do not include any confidential information until we verify that the firm is in a position to represent you and our engagement is confirmed in a letter. Prior to that time, there is no assurance that information you send us will be maintained as confidential. Thank you for your consideration.

Accept Cancel