John “Jay” Schleppenbach

Partner

Jay is uniquely experienced to handle virtually any state or federal investigation or white collar matter. He brings more than two decades of experience both in private practice and government overseeing a wide variety of matters including complex accounting issues, public corruption, health care fraud, cryptocurrency, antitrust issues and alleged violations of U.S. securities laws. Jay has particular experience on the framework of criminal laws relating to customs and trade fraud, which the Trump administration has identified as one of its top white collar enforcement priorities, and has been publishing articles and advising corporations on these issues since 2017.

Jay has broad experience advising corporations, boards of directors and their various committees, and individual executives, responding to inquiries from a range of federal agencies, including the Securities and Exchange Commission, Department of Justice Antitrust Division, Environmental Protection Agency, the Illinois Inspector General and numerous U.S. Attorneys’ offices nationwide. He has been successful in obtaining declinations of charges, favorable plea agreements, and non-custodial sentences for clients facing charges of corporate misconduct.

Jay’s practice has also included federal and state jury and bench trials, as well as domestic and international arbitrations. Furthermore, as an assistant Illinois attorney general, he briefed and argued dozens of criminal appeals, including many before the Illinois Supreme Court.

Jay earned his law degree from the University of Illinois, summa cum laude, where he graduated in the Order of the Coif. After law school, he proceeded to clerk for the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit.