M. Scott Peeler

Monitorships

After a highly competitive selection process, Scott was named the Independent Consultant for Crédit Agricole by the New York State Department of Financial Services. This appointment occurred following Crédit Agricole’s settlement with DFS, the U.S. Department of Justice, the Federal Reserve, the US Department of Treasury, and the Manhattan District Attorney’s Office. Scott’s independent consultancy focused primarily on Crédit Agricole’s compliance with Anti-Money Laundering, Bank Secrecy Act, and OFAC statutes and regulations. 

Scott currently serves as the court-appointed Monitor for an SEC enforcement action pending in the Eastern District of New York.

Client Work

In addition to his integrity monitorships, Scott regularly advises corporate executives and some of the largest and most profitable corporations in the world on all aspects of white-collar and complex civil litigation, government investigations and compliance with the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA), the UK Bribery Act and other local and international anti-corruption laws. He frequently leads Fortune 50 companies in the development and implementation of anti-corruption compliance programs tailored to meet and exceed relevant industry and legal standards.

A few of Scott’s representative matters include:

• Successfully representing an individual in Swiss and potential US related inquiries regarding the FIFA corruption prosecutions.
• Winning an acquittal for the CFO of a major, publicly-traded healthcare company charged with conspiring to commit securities fraud following a jury trial in the Western District of Oklahoma.
• Successfully representing a medical professional charged with Medicare Fraud in the Eastern District of New York.
• Assessing the global risk profile and the application of various international anti-corruption laws for one of the largest and most profitable companies in the world.
• Conducting global internal FCPA investigation for a large multinational Fortune 500 corporation in Asia, Latin America, the Middle East, and Europe on time and under budget.
• Leading an FCPA due diligence associated with an acquisition of a target company in the Middle East by a multinational Fortune 500 energy corporation.
• Drafting and implementing global third-party due diligence protocols for a Fortune 50 information technology corporation.
• Successfully representing an individual charged with insurance fraud in the Eastern District of New York.
• Designing mobile application to assess third party risk and provide corresponding due diligence action items for a Fortune 50 multinational conglomerate.
• Authoring “gold-standard” global anti-corruption policies for multiple Fortune 50 and 500 companies.
• Conducting hundreds of anti-corruption training sessions for multiple clients’ employees and higher risk third parties around the globe and in multiple languages.
• Leading an internal investigation and successfully negotiating a favorable resolution for a global manufacturing company with the Antitrust Division of the Department of Justice.
• Conducting internal investigations and successful negotiations for multiple clients with matters before the New York State Attorney General’s Office.

Leadership

Scott created and leads the AFS Fellows Program, a three-year leadership development program for mid and senior-level associates, counsel, and partners in the first two years following their elevation. AFS Fellows has been recognized as the most comprehensive leadership development in the law firm world.

Scott also created and leads the AFS Executive Fellows Program designed to prepare talented and diverse partners for equity partnership.

Scott serves as the Co-Chair of the Associate Development Committee and Co-Chair of the firm’s Diversity Committee.

Previous Work

Scott was previously the Managing Director in charge of Compliance at Stroz Friedberg, a global consulting and technology firm specializing in digital risk management and investigations. There he designed and created “Navigator,” an industry-first compliance application for smartphones and tablets. Scott also served as an Assistant District Attorney in the New York County District Attorney’s Office under Robert Morgenthau. During his tenure, he handled criminal matters and major felony prosecutions in cases involving economic fraud, coercion, violent crime, narcotics trafficking, and conspiracy to commit murder. Scott also previously worked for Procter and Gamble.

Publications, Presentations & Recognitions

Scott was the main author of two ground-breaking studies of individuals charged with violations of the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act. The most recent of those studies can be found here.

Scott has appeared as a commentator on national news programs and has been quoted in the New York Times on criminal matters of national importance. He is widely considered an expert on anti-corruption, speaking to thousands of people around the globe each year.

Scott also served as a Member and the Secretary of the New York State Bar Association’s Task Force on Wrongful Convictions. This Task Force, comprised of many of New York’s finest judges, prosecutors, defense counsel, and legal scholars, issued its final report and recommended important and substantive changes to New York State’s criminal justice system. The Task Force’s Final Report, adopted unanimously by the New York State Bar Association, can be found here.

Life Beyond the Law

Scott and his wife Diana are the proud parents of two children. He is also a double graduate and a proud alumnus of the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill where he received both his BA and JD. Scott serves on the University’s Board of Visitors, and he and his family endow and manage several major scholarships at the university and the law school. Please find information regarding the Sylvia X. Allen Scholarship Endowment Fund and donor information. In addition, Scott is an adjunct professor of law at the University of North Carolina School of Law, and he regularly teaches courses in Anti-Corruption and Global Compliance at Fordham Law School. Scott is the Warden of the Vestry at Calvary-St. George’s Episcopal Church.