Senior Counsel

F. Whitten Peters

F. Whitten Peters Photo

Whit Peters has represented clients in a wide range of complex civil and criminal litigation and in enforcement matters before various federal agencies.  Illustrative of his practice, Whit has successfully represented public companies, audit committees, and senior officers of public companies in securities litigation, derivative litigation, internal investigations of alleged corporate wrongdoing, whistleblower matters, and matters before the Securities and Exchange Commission; international arbitration between a foreign prime contractor and its U.S. suppliers; trade secret litigation relating to the processing of big data; and debarment litigation arising out of contracts performed in Afghanistan.  As a former Secretary of the Air Force and Deputy General Counsel of DoD, Whit also advises clients on major government acquisition programs, bid protests, qui tam and False Claims Act litigation, debarment and suspension proceedings, and security clearance matters.

Representative Experience

Though all cases vary and none is predictive, Whit’s experience includes:

  • Represented a large Silicon Valley company in the defense of trade secret litigation relating to modifications made to Hadoop software for processing big data
  • Defended the Chief Financial Officer of a major computer services company in an SEC investigation relating to accounting for a large foreign software project
  • Represented the Chief Executive Officer of one of the country’s largest investment advisers in an SEC investigation arising out of the mortgage crisis; after presentations to the District Director and Staff, the SEC declined to bring charges
  • Obtained dismissal of three derivative cases brought against Intel and it board of directors arising out of the High Tech Employees Antitrust Litigation

Education

Clerkships

Recognitions

BTI Client Service All-Stars, 2015

"Washington’s Top Lawyers," Washingtonian magazine, 2004 and 2007

Air Force Order of the Sword (highest award given by the enlisted men and women of the Air Force)

Department of Defense Medal for Distinguished Public Service

Army, Navy and Air Force Exceptional Civilian Service Medals

Admissions

Other Government Service

Secretary of the Air Force, 1999-2001

Under Secretary and Acting Secretary of the Air Force, 1997-1999

Principal Deputy General Counsel, Department of Defense, 1995-1997

Member, Defense Science Board, 2010-2013

Chair or Member, Various Department of Defense Advisory Committees

Line Officer, United States Navy, 1969-1972

 

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