Business and Human Rights: Considerations for Attorneys

Jonathan C. Drimmer  is a partner in the firm's Washington, D.C., office, where he resolves anti-corruption, business and human rights and other complex cross-border challenges with the benefit of having sat in every chair at the table: senior legal officer for a global 500 company, federal prosecutor, and seasoned advocate. He is a frequent speaker, author, and commentator on issues related to anti-corruption and business and human rights, and represents and advises companies, individuals, multi-stakeholder initiatives, government entities and civil society organizations on both topics. Before joining Paul Hastings, he was Deputy General Counsel and Chief Compliance Officer of Barrick Gold, one of the world's largest mining companies, with operations on five continents. The compliance program he built at Barrick has served as an industry standard, and elements of it have largely-been duplicated by numerous other companies inside and outside of the extractive sector. Aspects of the program he helped build at Barrick are the subject of a 2016 Harvard Business School Case Study. Mr. Drimmer has directed hundreds of investigations around the world related to anti-corruption and human rights, as well as AML and export controls, tax controversies, environmental incidents, public disclosures, fatalities and health and safety injuries, sexual harassment and discrimination, and similar areas. He has represented companies and individuals in numerous high-profile government enforcement proceedings in the U.S. and overseas, in relation to FCPA and bribery claims, human rights issues, and a wide array of other matters. He has participated in dozens of major disputes in the U.S., Canada, and abroad, including transnational torts, anti-corruption claims, environmental cases, international arbitrations, tax disputes, construction claims, and land controversies. He has been retained as an expert witness, both in relation to anti-corruption and business and human rights, and has assisted companies in building best-in-class anti-corruption and business and human rights compliance programs. Mr. Drimmer also has wide-ranging experience in helping companies manage multi-faceted dilemmas in overseas activities, developing and managing solutions that may encompass civil, criminal, regulatory, and political dimensions. He has designed a variety of human rights remedy programs, and has particular experience in representing companies in non-judicial and quasi-judicial legal proceedings involving human rights and transnational torts, including OECD National Contact Point disputes, claims before international human rights commissions, and inquiries by UN offices and agencies. He previously served in the Justice Department as Deputy Director of the Criminal Division's Office of Special Investigations, where he led cross-border investigations, first-chaired numerous prosecutions, and argued federal appeals. He was a partner at an Am Law 100 law firm in Washington, D.C., a former Bristow Fellow in the Office of the U.S. Solicitor General, and a judicial clerk on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit. Mr. Drimmer served on the board of directors of the Voluntary Principles on Security and Human Rights Initiative from 2012-2014, and again from 2015-2017. He served on the board of TRACE International from 2012 until 2018, and currently sits on the board of the TRACE Foundation. He is a member of the World Economic Forum's Global Future Council on the Future of Good Governance, and taught international law courses at Georgetown University Law Center for nearly 20 years. RECOGNITIONS Chambers Global  Market Leaders Business & Human Rights Law - Band 1 (2022) Recipient of Charles Fahy Distinguished Adjunct Professor Award, Georgetown University Law Center Recognized with the first U.S. Department of Justice Assistant Attorney General Award for Human Rights Law Enforcement Recognized by Legal Era as one of the top 100 in-house counsel in the world Selected by  Legal500  as one of the 100 most influential in-house counsel in the U.S. and Canada Recognized by  Ethisphere Magazine  as one of the world’s leading attorneys in Ethics & Compliance Selected by National Law Journal as a Regulatory and Compliance Trailblazer EDUCATION UCLA School of Law Stanford University Bar & Court Admissions D.C. Bar California Bar (inactive)