Former United States Attorney Timothy J. Heaphy has joined Hunton & Williams as a partner in its Washington and Richmond offices.

Heaphy, who had been U.S. Attorney for the Western District of Virginia since 2009, will become head of the firm’s white collar defense and internal investigations practice.

Heaphy led several major corporate crime investigations, including one of the largest off-label pharmaceutical marketing cases.

In that case, Abbott Labs pled guilty in 2012 and paid $1.5 billion to resolve its criminal and civil liability arising from the company’s unlawful promotion of the prescription drug Depakote for uses not approved as safe and effective by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA).

“Abbott promoted Depakote to control behaviors in elderly dementia and schizophrenia patients without significant evidence of its effectiveness for that use, and even after clinical data established that it was not effective,” Heaphy said at the time. “The resolution includes a self-policing mechanism by which Abbott’s board of directors will monitor compliance with the law and report any violations, as well as a period of probation and court supervision. We credit Abbott’s acceptance of responsibility and encourage other pharmaceutical companies to impose the similar mechanisms to prevent off-label marketing, which damages health care consumers.”

“I am honored to join Hunton & Williams and look forward to helping clients navigate matters in which their activities draw the scrutiny of government investigators,” said Heaphy.

Heaphy is a 1991 graduate of the University of Virginia School of Law.