Faegre Drinker Expands New York Litigation Practice With Former EDNY National Security Deputy Chief Craig Heeren

Faegre Drinker announced today that Craig Heeren, a former deputy chief of the National Security and Cybercrime Section for the Eastern District of New York, has joined Faegre Drinker’s litigation group as a partner in the New York office. 

A former federal prosecutor and seasoned trial lawyer with a decade of experience, Heeren will counsel clients in government and internal investigations as well as in cybersecurity response, national security inquiries and sanctions compliance. At the U.S. Attorney’s Office, Heeren was responsible for numerous high-profile investigations and trials involving white collar crimes, including wire fraud, money laundering, the federal cybercrime statute and the Foreign Agent Registration Act. Among other matters, Heeren was responsible for the international investigation of schemes to evade Russia-related sanctions, negotiating a multimillion-dollar resolution with a publicly traded company for cyber intrusion of a competitor, and securing trial convictions of individuals illegally acting as agents of a foreign government. Heeren supervised a team of prosecutors that brought some of the most significant and cutting-edge national security and cybercrime cases in the nation, including the conviction of a multinational conglomerate for violating federal terrorism laws and the prosecution of electric-battery technology trade-secrets theft from a U.S. technology company by a foreign competitor. While at EDNY, Heeren also served as a computer hacking and intellectual property coordinator and the counterintelligence and export control coordinator.  

“Craig brings an impressive background from the U.S. Attorney’s Office and notable skills to our white collar, criminal defense and government investigations practices in New York,” said Laura Appleby, New York office leader. “We’re excited to welcome such an experienced prosecutor to the firm.”

Heeren will help clients respond to inquiries by federal and state law enforcement agencies and regulators, coordinate internal investigations, advise on cybersecurity incidents, and navigate regulatory and civil litigation that often precede or arise alongside criminal investigations. He can advise on a breadth of issues, including anti-money laundering and Bank Secrecy Act compliance, cryptocurrency, ransomware, trade secrets issues, foreign agent registration, export and sanctions compliance, artificial intelligence, and the handling of sensitive and classified government information. 

“Craig’s wealth of experience in this growing and sophisticated area will be beneficial to clients,” said Erica MacDonald and Henry Van Dyck, co-leaders of Faegre Drinker’s white collar defense and investigations team, “particularly because many of the Department of Justice’s corporate resolutions have implicated national security issues, and the Department has said that it will continue to scale up investigations into alleged cybercriminal and national security-related misconduct.”

Heeren graduated cum laude from New York University School of Law, received a B.A. and M.A. from Boston University, where he graduated summa cum laude, and an M.A. from Loyola Marymount University. Heeren previously served as a law clerk to the late Honorable Harold Baer, Jr., in the Southern District of New York.

Heeren is the fourth partner to join the firm’s white collar defense and investigations team this year and 15th partner to join the wider litigation group since August 2023.