Joan Loughnane

Practice Areas

JOAN LOUGHNANE represents institutional clients and individuals in high stakes enforcement matters and investigations. As a former senior leader in the United States Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of New York, clients seek Joan out for advice on a wide range of government and internal investigations, criminal cases, enforcement litigation, whistleblower complaints, and regulatory and compliance issues.

Joan joined Sidley after serving in a series of leadership positions in the United States Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of New York, including Acting Deputy United States Attorney. In that role — the second highest in the office — she oversaw more than 200 prosecutors and lawyers in the office’s criminal and civil divisions, and acted as the office’s primary liaison to the Department of Justice’s leadership in Washington, numerous federal and state law enforcement agencies, and the United States District Court. Joan previously held a number of other senior leadership positions in the office, including Chief Counsel to the United States Attorney, Acting Chief of the Complex Frauds and Cybercrime Unit, Deputy Chief of the Criminal Division (during which time she was the office’s Project Safe Childhood coordinator, focusing on child exploitation issues) and Co-Chief of the General Crimes Unit.

Prior to her supervisory roles, Joan spent the earlier part of her 15-year career as a federal prosecutor investigating and trying cases in a variety of the U.S. Attorney’s Office’s trial units, including the Securities and Commodities Fraud Task Force and the Violent Crimes Unit. In that time, she served as lead counsel on nine federal trials, and briefed and argued numerous cases in the United States Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit.