Close

People

Vera Powell is Counsel in King & Spalding’s Special Matters & Government Investigations group in Atlanta.  Vera focuses her practice on white-collar criminal defense, internal corporate investigations, corporate compliance reviews and program assessments, and compliance counseling.  Vera has over 15 years of compliance and investigations experience acquired through working in senior legal and compliance roles at several Fortune 100 companies.

Vera recently rejoined King & Spalding after serving in senior legal roles at two Fortune 100 companies—Delta Air Lines, Inc. and Uber Technologies, Inc.  At Delta, Vera was Senior Corporate Counsel in the company’s Ethics & Compliance group where she had global responsibility for a wide array of corporate compliance topics, including anti-corruption, sanctions, and U.S. government contracts compliance.  At Uber, Vera served as Senior Corporate Counsel, Global Compliance, where she was responsible for anti-corruption compliance, including third-party risk assessment and due diligence and compliance monitoring.  Vera began her compliance career at Siemens, shortly before the company’s historic 2008 Foreign Corrupt Practices Act settlement, where she designed and operationalized a best-in-class compliance program pursuant to the terms of the settlement and subsequently served as Corporate Compliance Officer.  As a result of her extensive in-house compliance experience, Vera is well positioned to help companies conduct compliance risk and program assessments, develop compliance policies, procedures, and training materials, and design and operationalize compliance processes and controls, including in the areas of third-party due diligence and compliance monitoring.

In 2023, Vera was selected to serve on the Law360 Compliance Editorial Advisory Board.  Vera also serves on the Advisory Board of Compliance Week, a leading news, analysis and information resource for ethics, governance, risk, and compliance professionals.  She frequently speaks at Society of Corporate Compliance and Ethics and Compliance Week conferences on a wide variety of compliance topics.  She is also the recipient of Compliance Week’s 2020 “Rising Star in Compliance” award.  Vera has worked in Germany, Italy, China, and Bulgaria, and as a result, she has strong intercultural expertise collaborating with diverse individuals within international teams.  She is also fluent in several languages, including German and Bulgarian (native).   

Vera graduated number one in her class at Georgia State University College of Law while working full-time at Siemens.  She clerked for the Honorable Orinda D. Evans of the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Georgia.

Full Bio

Credentials

J.D., Georgia State University College of Law, summa cum laude

B.A., Aalen University of Applied Sciences

Georgia

Intern, Hon. Frank M. Hull, U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit

Law Clerk, Hon. Orinda D. Evans, U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Georgia

Compliance Week Advisory Board member

Law 360 Compliance Editorial Advisory Board

Society of Corporate Compliance and Ethics member

Bulgarian

English

German

Russian

Spanish

Compliance Week Advisory Board Member (since 2020)


Compliance Week

2023 Law 360 Compliance Editorial Advisory Board Member


Law 360 (2023)

Recipient of the "Rising Star in Compliance" award


Compliance Week, 2020

Recipient of the 2009 "Employee of the Year" award for leadership in compliance remediation


Siemens, 2009

Close

Recognition

Compliance Week Advisory Board Member (since 2020)


Compliance Week

2023 Law 360 Compliance Editorial Advisory Board Member


Law 360 (2023)

Recipient of the "Rising Star in Compliance" award


Compliance Week, 2020

Recipient of the 2009 "Employee of the Year" award for leadership in compliance remediation


Siemens, 2009

Matters

Represented an international insurance company in the acquisition of a multi-national target regarding due diligence and compliance with anti-corruption laws

Counseled a major investment company in enhancing its anti-bribery policy to comply with applicable anti-corruption laws

Advised the World Bank regarding the effectiveness of a major telecommunications company’s compliance program implemented pursuant to a compliance monitor

See more

Close

Matters

Represented an international insurance company in the acquisition of a multi-national target regarding due diligence and compliance with anti-corruption laws

Counseled a major investment company in enhancing its anti-bribery policy to comply with applicable anti-corruption laws

Advised the World Bank regarding the effectiveness of a major telecommunications company’s compliance program implemented pursuant to a compliance monitor

Represented a German automotive manufacturer in investigations by various federal and state agencies and disputes over diesel emissions standards

Conducted an internal investigation into the operations of a major real estate investment company in Mexico in connection with potential FCPA violations

Defended a global chemical company in connection with an internal investigation into potential violations of the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (“FCPA”)

Matters

Represented an international insurance company in the acquisition of a multi-national target regarding due diligence and compliance with anti-corruption laws

Counseled a major investment company in enhancing its anti-bribery policy to comply with applicable anti-corruption laws

Advised the World Bank regarding the effectiveness of a major telecommunications company’s compliance program implemented pursuant to a compliance monitor

See more

Close

Matters

Represented an international insurance company in the acquisition of a multi-national target regarding due diligence and compliance with anti-corruption laws

Counseled a major investment company in enhancing its anti-bribery policy to comply with applicable anti-corruption laws

Advised the World Bank regarding the effectiveness of a major telecommunications company’s compliance program implemented pursuant to a compliance monitor

Represented a German automotive manufacturer in investigations by various federal and state agencies and disputes over diesel emissions standards

Conducted an internal investigation into the operations of a major real estate investment company in Mexico in connection with potential FCPA violations

Defended a global chemical company in connection with an internal investigation into potential violations of the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (“FCPA”)

Credentials

J.D., Georgia State University College of Law, summa cum laude

B.A., Aalen University of Applied Sciences

Georgia

Intern, Hon. Frank M. Hull, U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit

Law Clerk, Hon. Orinda D. Evans, U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Georgia

Compliance Week Advisory Board member

Law 360 Compliance Editorial Advisory Board

Society of Corporate Compliance and Ethics member

Bulgarian

English

German

Russian

Spanish

Compliance Week Advisory Board Member (since 2020)


Compliance Week

2023 Law 360 Compliance Editorial Advisory Board Member


Law 360 (2023)

Recipient of the "Rising Star in Compliance" award


Compliance Week, 2020

Recipient of the 2009 "Employee of the Year" award for leadership in compliance remediation


Siemens, 2009

Close

Recognition

Compliance Week Advisory Board Member (since 2020)


Compliance Week

2023 Law 360 Compliance Editorial Advisory Board Member


Law 360 (2023)

Recipient of the "Rising Star in Compliance" award


Compliance Week, 2020

Recipient of the 2009 "Employee of the Year" award for leadership in compliance remediation


Siemens, 2009