Stephanie Yonekura

NAFUSA’s newest life member, Stephanie Yonekura, has joined the Los Angeles office of Hogan Lovells as a partner in the Investigations, White Collar and Fraud practice group. Yonekura joins the firm from the U.S. Attorney’s Office, where she most recently served as the acting United States Attorney for the Central District of California (2014-2015), the largest U.S. Attorney’s office outside of Washington, D.C.

Yonekura represents clients in white collar defense, internal investigations, and civil business litigation. Her practice focuses on securities and financial institution fraud, cybercrime, and national security matters.

As the U.S Attorney for the CD of California, Yonekura prosecuted several high-impact securities fraud cases that reached record multi-billion dollar settlements involving financial institutions, prominent Southern California CEOs, and a still-pending case against a former Major League Baseball player. She regularly oversaw casework addressing significant questions, such as the implications of the Second Circuit’s decision in United States v. Newman, the scope of an insider trading scheme, and complex issues of conflicts of interest. Under Yonekura’s leadership, the office investigated the hacking of one of the world’s largest entertainment companies reportedly by a foreign government.

“Corporations will continue to see a rise in consumer fraud and securities fraud cases as the provisions of Dodd-Frank continue to develop. The enforcement environment has intensified and government investigations are on the rise,” said Michael Davison, global head of Hogan Lovells’ Litigation and Arbitration practice. “Businesses need informed legal advisors who understand the inner workings of government, and Stephanie has the knowledge and tools to provide our clients with first-rate counsel.”

Before her time as the acting United States Attorney, Yonekura served as the First Assistant United States Attorney, exercising direct oversight of criminal cases involving securities fraud, financial institution fraud, public corruption, and civil rights violations and civil cases involving the False Claims Act and the Financial Institution Reform, Recovery, and Enforcement Act (FIRREA).

“I’m thrilled to be joining a firm that offers clients the powerful combination of a strong presence in Los Angeles with a truly international reach and expertise,” said Yonekura. “The Litigation and Arbitration practice has an excellent reputation, and I am eager to join this team and tap into the firm’s unparalleled global footprint.”

Yonekura has extensive experience in cases involving financial institutions, such as the anti-money laundering requirements of the Bank Secrecy Act, unfair and deceptive overdraft practices, mortgage origination violations, and fair lending violations, as well as the prosecution of financial institutions under FIRREA.

Yonekura earned her B.A. in political science from the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) and her J.D. from the UCLA School of Law.

Hogan Lovells is a leading global legal practice providing business-oriented legal advice and high-quality service across its exceptional breadth of practices to clients around the world. For more information, see www.hoganlovells.com.