Sean Seelinger

Jump to:

Sean Seelinger is a trusted advisor to private equity firms, other investors, and multinational corporations, helping clients navigate their most sensitive and high-stakes matters across borders, industries, and regulatory regimes. Sean is a U.S.-trained lawyer based in London and a partner in Ropes & Gray's anti-corruption and international risk, white collar defense, and crisis management and investigations practices. Sean also co-leads the R&G Insights Lab, a Financial Times award-winning consulting offering that blends world-class legal services with data analytics and behavioral insights to help organizations align governance, culture, and risk management.

Regarded as a steadying hand in times of high stress, Sean counsels clients considering high-risk transactions, as well as clients facing crisis situations, from government inquiries and allegations of fraud or misconduct to sanctions violations and bribery, coordinating an integrated response across multiple stakeholders and jurisdictions. With deep global experience, particularly in emerging markets, he has led investigations on behalf of companies subject to U.S. DOJ monitorships, Deferred Prosecution Agreements, ongoing FCPA and UK Bribery Act investigations, and criminal inquiries in numerous jurisdictions. He also frequently advises clients on strategic disclosures to OFAC and BIS following historical violations of sanctions and export control laws. Through the Insights Lab, Sean helps clients design compliance programs and conduct proactive risk assessments, integrating legal, behavioral, and data-driven approaches to implement programs that withstand regulatory scrutiny and investor expectations.

Sean is the primary external compliance advisor for a number of leading private equity and other investors, offering practical and commercial solutions for managing corruption and international compliance risk throughout the investment lifecycle to preserve fund and investment value. He conducts due diligence on potential targets, negotiates appropriate compliance protections, assists portfolio companies with remediation, oversees portfolio-wide monitoring, and strategically guides investors and portfolio companies when issues arise. Clients rely on Sean not only to mitigate legal, reputational, and financial risk, but to build lasting compliance infrastructure that enhances commercial objectives and paves the way to successful exits.

Sean is a seasoned advisor in both the United States and the United Kingdom with broad global experience. Earlier in his career, Sean was seconded to the Global Compliance Group of a Fortune 100 oil & gas company, where he led internal investigations and restructured its anti-corruption and anti-boycott compliance program. Prior to joining Ropes & Gray, he served as an Assistant Attorney General for the State of New York.

Experience

Advised Oriflame in connection with a comprehensive recapitalisation to deliver a substantially de-levered and sustainable balance sheet with a debt reduction of approximately €520 million and a meaningful maturity runway.
Represented international pharmaceutical and medical device manufacturers as well as global energy firms in numerous investigations into alleged violations of the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act and the UK Bribery Act in Europe, Asia, the Middle East, and Africa.
Frequently conducts pre-acquisition anti-corruption, anti-money laundering, and trade compliance due diligence for corporate and private equity clients.
Advises acquirers on CFIUS risk associated with acquisitions of U.S. businesses by foreign parties.
Advises corporate and private equity clients regarding the impact of evolving economic and trade sanctions on existing business opportunities and potential transactions.
Assisted with the implementation of compliance program modifications and supervised monitoring efforts for an international medical device manufacturer subject to a DOJ monitorship.
Conducted deep-dive in-country risk assessments for global energy and pharmaceutical companies operating in high-risk markets.
Represented an international pharmaceutical manufacturer in a FINRA investigation into pre-acquisition insider trading.
Assisted an international pharmaceutical manufacturer with in-country post-acquisition diligence.
Conducted in-country diligence of potential joint venture partners in West Africa on behalf of a global energy firm.
Assisted multiple global energy companies with the restructuring of their anti-corruption and anti-boycott compliance programs.
Successfully represented victims of persecution seeking political asylum in the United States.

Credentials

Awards

Publications

Co-author, “Navigating the Global Sanctions Landscape 2026,” Control Risks (April 2026)
Cited, “FTC Warns Tennessee Lawmakers of Potential Health Care Cost Surge Over Ballad Legislation,” Competition Policy International (April 6, 2026)
Quoted, “Ropes & Gray’s Insights Lab Taps Lawyers and Specialists to Give Clients an Edge on Managing Risk,” The American Lawyer (September 12, 2025)
Quoted, “DOJ’s New VDS Program Offers NPAs to Individuals Who Can Help Catch Bigger Fish,” Anti-Corruption Report (May 8, 2024)
Co-author, “Self-Reporting to the Authorities and Other Disclosure Obligations: The US Perspective,” Global Investigations Review’s Practitioner’s Guide to Global Investigations (2022)
Quoted, “Q&A: Effective legal risk management,” Financier Worldwide Magazine (March 2021)
Co-author, “Self-Reporting to the Authorities and Other Disclosure Obligations: The US Perspective,” The Practitioner’s Guide to Global Investigations, Third Edition (2019)
Co-author, “Revoking Sudan Sanctions Brings New Prospects, Old Risks,” Law360 (October 10, 2017)
Co-author, “CFIUS Continues To Present Obstacle To Chinese Acquisitions,” Law360 (September 19, 2017)
Co-author, “Self-Reporting to the Authorities and Other Disclosure Obligations: The US Perspective,” Global Investigations Review’s The Practitioner’s Guide to Global Investigations (January 2017)
Co-author, “Practice Note: How to handle real estate compliance risks,” The FCPA Blog (August, 25, 2016)
Co-author, “Compliance Alert: Enforcement hammer falls on real estate,” The FCPA Blog (August 23, 2016)
Zachary Brez, Michael Casey and Sean Seelinger, “Potential Traps When Doing Business in Iran,” New York Law Journal (February 10, 2016)
Co-author, “FinCEN’s Proposed AML Program & Reporting Requirement Rules,” Bloomberg BNA “Securities Regulation & Law Report” (December 2015)
Co-author, “The UK Anti-Corruption Plan: what impact will it have?,” Global Investigations Review (March 9, 2015)
Joshua Levy and Sean Seelinger, “DOJ ushers in a new era of post-plea compliance obligations,” Law360 (September 23, 2013)
Yvonne Cristovici, Amanda Raad, and Sean Seelinger, “Medical Industries Under the Anticorruption Lens,” Corporate Counsel (April 15, 2013)
Sean Seelinger, “Auction-Rate Securities: A Fast & Furious Fall,” North Carolina Banking Institute Journal (March 2009)

Presentations

Moderator, “Navigating Federal Enforcement: From Proactive Compliance to Crisis Response,” Ropes & Gray’s Life Sciences Quarterly Roundtable (June 10, 2026)
Speaker, “Ethics & Compliance Roundtable CT,” Ropes & Gray, Leonid and Front-Line Anti-Bribery Roundtable Series (March 26, 2026)
Speaker, “Ethics & Compliance Roundtable NY,” Ropes & Gray, Leonid and Front-Line Anti-Bribery Roundtable Series (March 25, 2026)
Panelist, “Winning Board Engagement for Ethics & Compliance,” Ropes & Gray x Boards of the Future Roundtable (February 24, 2026)
Panelist, “Fraud Enforcement Around the Globe: Legal and Strategic Updates,” Lefosse x Ropes & Gray Brazil Roundtable (October 1, 2025)
Panelist, “Sanctions Litigation,” MoloLamken U.S./UK Cross Border Litigation Summit (July 8, 2025)
Panelist, “Corporate Investigations in Transition: U.S. Enforcement, Artificial Intelligence, International Cooperation and Remediation,” European Fraud and Compliance Lawyers: Calculating the Unexpected - Best Practices and Pitfalls in International Corporate Bribery and ESG Inventions (June 13, 2025)

Areas of Practice

Disclaimer

Ropes & Gray International LLP is a limited liability partnership registered in Delaware, United States of America and is a recognised body regulated by the Solicitors Regulation Authority (with registered number 521000).