Washington, DC—Dentons, the world’s largest law firm, announces today that John Richmond has joined the Firm as a partner in the Federal Regulatory and Compliance practice. Richmond joins the Firm from the US Department of State, where he served as the US Ambassador-at-Large to Monitor and Combat Trafficking in Persons. Richmond’s career has been spent at the intersection of law, policy and human rights—as a federal prosecutor, founding director of the Human Trafficking Institute, director of the International Justice Mission in Chennai, India, and as Ambassador. Resident in the Washington, DC, office, Richmond focuses on the intersection of business and human rights. This includes strategy, compliance, internal investigations, and litigation in the area of ESG and supply chains, specifically international and domestic human trafficking. 

Richmond coordinated the US Government’s efforts to combat trafficking on a global scale, working with multi-lateral institutions, law enforcement, and leading Fortune 100 executives to develop effective strategies to address supply chain integrity, trafficking in persons, and criminal prosecutions and investigations. At Dentons, Richmond will leverage his decades of relationships and expertise to support the Firm’s US and global clients in their efforts to develop and implement effective compliance programs, respond to investigative demands in the US and abroad, and engage in legislative efforts on these topics.  Richmond’s experience as a prosecutor and close relationships to oversight committees on Capitol Hill will also bring additional strength and depth to Dentons White Collar and Public Policy practice groups.

“John’s profile and expertise bring unique capabilities to our US and global team,” said Dentons US CEO Mike McNamara. “As a prosecutor, Ambassador, and NGO executive, John’s experience meshes well into our Firm’s approach of offering comprehensive corporate compliance and governance advice at the intersection of business, policy, and law.”

Increasingly, enforcement knows no borders, and companies that maintain global supply chains are in the crosshairs of emerging challenges related to compliance with human rights, forced labor, and ESG reporting and disclosure obligations. Richmond’s understanding of and experience with these emerging requirements in the international regulatory and enforcement landscape, as well as his ability to analyze risk exposure and mitigation approaches, will be a significant benefit for Dentons and its clients. Through his work, Richmond has engaged with leaders from other countries around the world and developed strong relationships throughout the US government, including within the Departments of State, Homeland Security, Health and Human Services, Treasury and Justice; and the UN, the International Labor Organization and International Organization for Migration.

As Ambassador-at-Large, Richmond coordinated the federal inter-agency domestic approach to human trafficking and developed, through bilateral and multilateral engagement, impactful approaches to combating trafficking, while building enduring relationships with senior members and committee staffers in the House and Senate. As a DOJ prosecutor, Richmond investigated and served as lead prosecutor in numerous forced labor and trafficking cases, cross-burnings and neo-Nazi hate crimes, and police use of excessive use offenses, giving him the knowledge and experience needed to conduct internal investigations and work effectively with (or against) government prosecutors.

Richmond earned his JD from Wake Forest University School of Law and his BA from the University of Mary Washington.

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