John F. Wood is a Partner in the Kansas City and Washington, D.C., offices of Hughes Hubbard & Reed LLP where he focuses on corporate internal investigations and compliance. In particular, Mr. Wood has extensive experience regarding the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act, international trade controls, securities and accounting investigations, and government contracts. He is also Chairman of the firm’s Defense Industry Practice Group.
Mr. Wood has conducted numerous corporate internal investigations and represented clients before multiple regulatory and law enforcement agencies. He has also assisted many companies in developing or enhancing their compliance programs and has worked on independent monitorships in matters involving the U.S. Department of Justice, the Securities and Exchange Commission, the Office of Foreign Assets Control, the U.K. Serious Fraud Office, and the United Nations.
Prior to joining Hughes Hubbard, Mr. Wood served in numerous high-level government positions, including U.S. Attorney for the Western District of Missouri. As U.S. Attorney, Mr. Wood was the chief federal law enforcement official for the Western District of Missouri. Mr. Wood previously served as Chief of Staff for the U.S. Department of Homeland Security. As Chief of Staff, he assisted and advised the Secretary of Homeland Security on a broad range of matters, including terrorism, intelligence, preparedness, border security, immigration, law enforcement, and management issues.
Mr. Wood previously held several high-level positions at the Department of Justice, including Deputy Associate Attorney General and Counselor to Attorney General John D. Ashcroft. In those positions, he advised the Attorney General, worked on the Department’s most important civil litigation, and helped oversee the Department’s Civil, Civil Rights, Antitrust, Tax, and Environment & Natural Resources Divisions.
Mr. Wood also worked at the White House as Deputy General Counsel for the Office of Management & Budget, where he participated in the development of the federal government’s major legislative, regulatory, management, and appropriations initiatives. As Deputy General Counsel, he supervised attorneys and provided legal advice to senior White House officials.
Mr. Wood practiced commercial and appellate litigation from 1998 to 2001 at the Washington, D.C., office of a national law firm. He also clerked for U.S. Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas and at the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit for Judge J. Michael Luttig. Prior to law school, he worked on the staff of U.S. Senator John C. Danforth of Missouri.
Mr. Wood received his B.A. from the University of Virginia and J.D., magna cum laude, from Harvard Law School.
He is a co-author of the Bloomberg BNA treatise Anti-Corruption Law and Compliance: Guide to the FCPA and Beyond.