R. Harrison Smith III

Harrison is a Shareholder and Chair of the Compliance, Investigations, and White Collar Defense groups.

Harrison's practice focuses on corporate compliance, investigations, and litigation. He has represented individual and corporate clients in a wide range of criminal and civil matters in state and federal courts throughout the United States. He also advises clients on designing regulatory compliance / risk management programs and has extensive experience conducting internal corporate investigations, including international investigations in Asia, Africa, Europe, and South America. Harrison additionally serves as the outside general counsel for several businesses throughout the country, managing each organization's entire range of legal needs.

Representative Services

• Federal and State Trials/Appeals
• Government Investigations and Regulatory Defense
• Internal Investigations
• False Claims/Qui Tam Defense
• Congressional and Legislative Investigations
• Compliance Programs and Employee Education
• Global Anti-Corruption/FCPA Counseling and Defense
• Pre-Transaction Due Diligence
• Victim Advocacy and Asset Recovery
• Outside General Counsel Services

Prior to joining Maynard Cooper, Harrison served as a law clerk to Judge Gerald Tjoflat of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit and practiced with the law firm of Williams & Connolly in Washington, D.C.

• Defended a Fortune 500 company in a global DOJ and SEC investigation involving allegations of money laundering, wire fraud, and violations of the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act
• Defended a Fortune 500 company under investigation for alleged violations of the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act and the U.K. Bribery Act
• Defended a Fortune 500 financial institution in a securities fraud class action
• Defended a Fortune 500 telecommunications company in a multi-million dollar breach of contract action
• Defended a Fortune 500 pharmaceutical company in a multi-district product liability action
• Defended hospitals, pharmacies, and other health care organizations under investigation by the DOJ and Office of Inspector General for alleged violations of the Health Care Fraud Statute, False Claims Act, Stark Law, Exclusion Provisions, and the Anti-Kickback Statute
• Defended a defense contractor and financial services firm in connection with a False Claims Act suit and criminal investigation involving multiple U.S. Army contract awards
• Defended a multinational defense technology company charged with violating the False Claims Act
• Defended a national higher education institution in connection with a False Claims Act suit and government investigation involving alleged violations of Department of Education regulations
• Defended individuals in federal and state prosecutions involving allegations of securities fraud, mortgage fraud, bank fraud, health care fraud, mail/wire fraud, tax fraud, theft, and public corruption
• Managed global anti-corruption compliance and due diligence program for a multinational technology company
• Served as the outside general counsel of a multinational transportation management and logistics company
• Conducted pre-investment compliance due diligence on behalf of a global private equity firm
• Conducted internal corporate investigations for clients in the health care, defense, technology, manufacturing, higher education, insurance, transportation, and financial services industries