Mr. Karl Racine, Venable’s managing partner, focuses his practice on corporate defense/white collar and commercial litigation. He has substantial experience in managing complex criminal and civil matters, including those that may pose political and public relations risks.
Mr. Racine is a highly skilled litigator with more than 15 years of experience in public and private practice. He has broad experience in the areas of criminal and civil litigation, appellate advocacy and representation in connection with federal government regulation, enforcement, and investigations. Mr. Racine led the Venable team in its representation of a Fortune 100 company through five years of litigation in one of the largest certified employment discrimination class actions in the wake of the 1991 amendments to Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964.
Mr. Racine was an associate White House counsel under President Clinton. In this capacity, he advised and represented the President and White House staff on numerous civil and criminal investigation matters, including congressional, Justice Department, and Office of Independent Counsel inquiries. Mr. Racine also served with a team of lawyers responsible for selecting local judges in the District of Columbia, federal judges and other Presidential appointments. He also advised White House staff on inquiries into government ethics.
From 1994 to 1997, Mr. Racine practiced with Cacheris & Treanor, one of Washington’s best-known criminal firms under the leadership of Plato Cacheris and Gerard Treanor (also now a partner with Venable). Mr. Racine was a lead lawyer in a number of substantial white collar and civil cases. He also handled defense work on behalf of senior corporate and government officials.
Mr. Racine began his career with Venable in 1989 as a litigation associate and remained with the firm until 1992, when he moved to become a staff attorney with the DC Public Defender Service, widely regarded as the premier public defender office in the country. At the Public Defender Service, Mr. Racine was asked to testify before the DC City Council on legislation affecting criminal law and juvenile justice.
