Megan Cunniff Church is a nationally recognized trial lawyer who represents companies and individuals in high-stakes criminal and regulatory matters and complex civil litigation. She conducts corporate internal investigations in the U.S. and abroad, and she advises clients on crisis and risk management.
As a former federal prosecutor, Church has extensive experience investigating, litigating, and successfully resolving white collar criminal and regulatory matters. She served as a Deputy Chief of the Financial Crimes section of the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Northern District of Illinois, where she prosecuted and supervised complex health care fraud, tax fraud, and corporate and financial crimes cases. She also served as a Deputy Chief of the General Crimes section of the U.S. Attorney’s Office, where she trained and supervised new prosecutors on federal criminal practice.
In her white-collar practice at MoloLamken, Church has conducted internal investigations of publicly-traded companies, public agencies, and not-for-profit entities. She has represented corporate and government officials in investigations and prosecutions by various U.S. Attorney’s Offices, the Department of Justice, inspectors general, Congress, the SEC, the CFTC, FINRA, and other government regulators. In addition to representing targets and subjects in criminal and regulatory investigations, Church has represented key witnesses during investigations and subsequent trials. Along with other members of the MoloLamken team, Church secured an acquittal in a campaign finance prosecution following a jury trial in federal court in Washington, D.C.
In her civil practice, Church has represented plaintiffs and defendants in business disputes involving allegations of market manipulation, antitrust violations, regulatory violations, professional malpractice and misconduct, and breach of contract in federal and state courts around the country and in arbitration forums.
Lawdragon Honors
| Honor | Year | Practice |
|---|---|---|
| The 2027 Lawdragon 500 Leading Litigators in America | 2027 | Complex Litigation, Investigations, White Collar |
| Lawdragon 500 Leading Litigators in America | 2022 | White Collar, Investigations, Civil Litigation |
Representative Matters
- Won complete dismissal of federal civil suit accusing a commodities trader of market manipulation
- Technology company in an arbitration against a multinational financial services firm relating to a fraudulent transfer of funds and embezzlement scheme totaling tens of millions of dollars
- Directors of a consumer products company in defending a challenge to a $900 million dividend to a private equity investor
- Board of directors of publicly-traded company in internal investigation regarding corporate governance and financial disclosure issues
- Conducted internal investigation of high-ranking public official in state government
- Chief Compliance Officer of global cryptocurrency company in investigations by DOJ, SEC, CFTC, and the Treasury Department
- Former in-house counsel for pharmaceutical company in connection with DOJ investigation
- Foreign corporation in action to domesticate and enforce foreign judgment in the United States
- Presidentially-appointed, Senate-confirmed agency head in connection with congressional investigation
- Founder and former Chief Executive Officer of payment processing company in DOJ bank fraud investigation
- Former FBI attorney in connection with DOJ Special Counsel investigation and prosecution
- Senior executive of global online auto auction company in DOJ money laundering investigation
- Corporate executives in SEC investigation into an alleged fraudulent marketing reimbursement scheme
- Former CEO and CFO of a publicly traded company convicted of securities fraud and bank fraud in post-conviction proceedings
- Corporate executive in investigation by U.S. Attorney’s Office into alleged theft of trade secrets