Andrew J. DeFilippis is a special counsel in Sullivan & Cromwell’s Litigation Group and a member of the Criminal Defense and Investigations Group. His practice focuses on representing financial institutions, corporations, and individuals in white collar criminal defense and regulatory enforcement matters, as well as in complex civil litigation.
Prior to joining the Firm, Andrew served as an Assistant United States Attorney in the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of New York for nearly a decade, including as a senior member of the National Security and International Narcotics Unit. As a federal prosecutor, Andrew led numerous grand jury investigations and prosecutions involving money laundering, wire fraud, sanctions and export control violations, terrorism, espionage, insider trading, securities fraud, cryptocurrency fraud, cyber threats, cyber intrusions, copyright infringement, and other offenses. He also conducted eight trials, led numerous suppression and evidentiary hearings, and briefed and argued multiple appeals before the Second Circuit.
As a federal prosecutor, his accomplishments include leading an investigation and conducting a multi-week trial resulting in the conviction of a businessman charged by SDNY’s Securities and Commodities Task Force with fraud against a health care company; co-leading an investigation of the 2016 terrorist attacks carried out by the “Chelsea bomber” who planted and detonated bombs in New York and New Jersey, including conducting a high-profile trial resulting in conviction and multiple life sentences; and obtaining the conviction at trial of a co-conspirator of the President of Suriname’s son who used the country’s counterterrorism agency to traffic narcotics and support the terrorist group Hizballah.
From 2019 to 2022, Andrew also served as Assistant Special Counsel in the U.S. Department of Justice’s Special Counsel’s Office, where he oversaw and executed wide-ranging investigative activities, routinely briefed the U.S. Attorney General and other senior DOJ officials, and coordinated with the FBI, CIA, State Department, and other agencies.
During his tenure at SDNY, Andrew received the Director’s Award for Superior Performance from the Executive Office for United States Attorneys in 2019.
Prior to his service as a federal prosecutor, Andrew served from 2007 to 2009 as Counselor to U.S. Secretary of Homeland Security. In that role, he advised the Secretary on legal and policy matters relevant to the Department’s mission and daily operations, including cyber security, terrorism, intelligence, immigration, and international law.
From 2009 to 2013, Andrew was an associate in Sullivan & Cromwell’s Litigation Group.
Government Service
- Assistant United States Attorney, United States Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of New York (2013-2022)
- Assistant Special Counsel/Special Assistant United States Attorney, United States Department of Justice, Special Counsel’s Office (2019-2022)
- Counselor to the Secretary, United States Department of Homeland Security (2007-2009)
- Law Clerk, The Honorable José A. Cabranes, United States Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit (2006-2007)
