Byung J. “BJay” Pak

• Lead trial and appellate counsel to the CEO of a technology company indicted by a grand jury and accused by the state attorney general’s office of a multimillion-dollar criminal tax fraud. After vigorous pretrial litigation, obtained a dismissal with prejudice of all charges from the trial court. On appeal by the government, obtained affirmance of the dismissal in a published opinion by the state Court of Appeals.
• Regulatory counsel to numerous blockchain (crypto, NFTs, and crypto-adjacent) companies with respect to compliance with securities, Bank Secrecy Act, and other state and federal laws.
• Co-lead attorney for the special litigation committee of a Fortune 500 company, conducting an internal investigation of a shareholder derivative suit alleging accounting malfeasance by company officers and directors.
• Served as lead trial counsel, representing the senior director of global marketing for a multibillion-dollar pharmaceutical company in a parallel criminal and civil investigation of the company’s off-label marketing practices conducted by the U.S. Department of Justice and Department of Health and Human Services. Obtained a result of no criminal charges filed, nor civil judgments entered, against the client.
• Co-lead trial attorney for a publicly traded asset management company in pursuing a $122 million fraudulent transfer suit against a major real estate developer. Negotiated a very favorable settlement for the client.
• Lead trial attorney for an international money remittance company related to Anti-Money Laundering/Bank Secrecy Act compliance investigation conducted by the U.S. Department of Justice’s Money Laundering and Asset Recovery Section and the U.S. Attorney’s Office. Through BJay’s advocacy, the government declined to bring any charges.
• Served as the lead investigative attorney for the special task force of a national organization of mayors and conducted an internal investigation into misconduct by the organization’s former executive director.
• Lead trial attorney for a multimillion-dollar medical practice in a criminal and civil health care fraud investigation by the U.S. Attorney’s Office, the Internal Revenue Service, the Department of Health and Human Services, and the Office of the Inspector General.
• Lead trial lawyer for the CEO of a wealth management company in a joint criminal and civil fraud investigation by the U.S. Department of Justice and the Securities and Exchange Commission into allegations of a $25+ million fraud. The client received highly favorable plea terms and reduced his ultimate sentence by over 75 percent from the government’s recommendation.
• Represented numerous C-suite and high-ranking executives of hospitals and health care companies identified by the government as subjects or potential targets in criminal health care fraud investigations conducted by the Department of Justice, Criminal Division, and other law enforcement agencies. This advocacy was instrumental in the government’s decision not to bring charges.
• Served as the lead prosecutor investigating and prosecuting three individuals who conspired to steal The Coca-Cola Company’s trade secrets and sell them to its rival. After the trial, obtained convictions on all defendants, and the lead defendant’s imprisonment sentence is tied for the longest sentence on record.

BJay Pak is a former Senate-confirmed U.S. attorney and legislator with extensive experience in high-stakes decision making. From 2017 to 2021, he served as U.S. Attorney for the Northern District of Georgia, overseeing all federal criminal prosecutions and civil litigation in his district. As chief executive of one the largest U.S. Attorney’s Offices, he led 100+ assistant U.S. attorneys and 120+ legal professionals in a district of seven million people and a GDP of $370+ billion.

As a federal prosecutor, BJay prosecuted white collar crimes, securities and health care fraud, AML/KYC matters, intellectual property crimes, and export control violations. He served three terms in the Georgia General Assembly as a state representative, working on criminal justice reform and shaping health care and tax laws.

BJay’s experience has proven invaluable to corporations and individual clients navigating sensitive legal, regulatory, and public relations issues, including government investigations, prosecutions, regulatory compliance, complex civil litigation, False Claims Act, and crisis management. He often conducts investigations for public company committees and advises corporations on governance and risk mitigation.

A summa cum laude graduate from the University of Illinois School of Law, BJay is listed in Chambers USA and has been recognized by Georgia Trend Magazine as one of the “100 Most Influential Georgians.” Atlanta Magazine has also named him one of “Atlanta’s 500 Most Powerful Leaders.”

Bar Admissions

• Georgia
• District of Columbia

Education

• University of Illinois (J.D., 1998)
• Stetson University (B.B.A., 1995)

Memberships