Timothy Howard

Tim Howard is a partner in our New York office who serves as the firm’s Global Co-Head of Data and Technology. He has over a decade of high-ranking government experience, including serving as Chief of the Complex Frauds and Cybercrime Unit for the US Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of New York (SDNY) and a detail to the Counterintelligence and Export Control Section of the US Department of Justice (DOJ)’s National Security Division. Tim also served as General Counsel for a multinational company with a global customer base and operations across Asia, the Middle East, and North America. Tim leverages his extensive government, in-house, and private practice experience to counsel clients on complex internal and government-facing criminal and regulatory investigations, compliance exercises, data security matters, and related civil litigation.

As an accomplished trial lawyer and investigator, Tim has managed significant white collar cases across a wide range of disciplines, including securities and investment fraud, Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA) violations, cryptocurrency fraud, sanctions, health care fraud, consumer fraud, government contracting fraud, the Foreign Agents Registration Act (FARA), and tax fraud, among others. He has particular specialty in managing complex data issues in the context of internal and government-facing investigations, which includes advising on ephemeral messaging and artificial intelligence risks, in addition to his extensive experience managing all aspects of data incident response, cyber governance, and other data security issues.

At Freshfields, Tim routinely engages with regulators and law enforcement agencies on behalf of his clients in the context of high-profile white collar investigations and in the wake of cross-border data breach incidents, which has included liaising with DOJ, the US Securities Exchange Commission (SEC), US Department of Homeland Security (DHS), and various state attorneys general offices, in addition to other global regulators. He has unmatched credibility in government-facing matters and insider understanding of how prosecutors think, which enables him to frame complex issues strategically, anticipate regulatory concerns, and successfully position the interests of his clients from the outset. As a result, he has a strong track record of negotiating favorable settlements and convincing regulators not to pursue enforcement actions against his clients, who note that, “he has good litigation chops, is pretty unflappable and has government connections.” He is repeatedly commended for his ability to mitigate legal risk while also balancing business objectives and commercial considerations, and clients have noted, “he's available 24/7, personable, and truly wants to mesh the right legal strategy with what is best for the business,” and “he understands the landscape and has that ability to balance detail with simplicity.” Leading industry publications, such as Chambers & Partners and Lawdragon, have recognized Tim for his skill in complex crisis management and cybersecurity matters, and he has received various high-profile awards while serving in government for his work on complex white collar matters.

Tim joined Freshfields from the United States Attorney’s Office for the SDNY, where he spent nearly 12 years in varied roles, most recently as Chief of the Complex Frauds and Cybercrime Unit. At SDNY, Tim tried and supervised 17 trials to verdict. Tim also spent a year on detail to DOJ's National Security Division, where he served as National Coordinator for the National Security Cyber Specialist Network, through which he coordinated the national program of investigations into nation state-sponsored cyberattacks across all 94 US Attorney's Offices.