Mr. Coutain is one of Seattle’s most exceptionally qualified attorneys in criminal defense and corporate investigations. His career spans a rare combination of white-collar criminal defense, corporate regulatory matters, and traditional “street crime” cases. A Harvard Law School graduate (Class of 2003), Mr. Coutain spent the first nine years of his career in the white-collar defense practices at two of the world’s most prestigious law firms—Skadden and Proskauer—where he represented senior executives, including Executive Chairmen, CEOs, CFOs, Heads of Internal Audit, and Vice Presidents of Sales, in high-stakes criminal and regulatory enforcement matters.
He brings deep expertise in securities fraud, Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA) violations, revenue recognition issues, and a wide range of corporate criminal investigations.
Mr. Coutain began his legal career in California, working for six years in Los Angeles and another six in Silicon Valley. He was a trial team member in several nationally prominent cases, including United States v. Gregory Reyes—the first criminal trial involving stock option backdating—and United States v. Barry Bonds, the federal prosecution of Major League Baseball’s all-time home run leader.
His experience is global in scope. Mr. Coutain has led or participated in criminal, regulatory, and corporate internal investigations in the U.S., Australia, Israel, Ukraine, Russia, Mexico, Brazil, Germany, China, Taiwan, the Netherlands, Canada, Japan, South Korea, Singapore, India, France, the United Kingdom, Turkey, and the United Arab Emirates. He also served as in-house counsel overseeing regulatory compliance and internal investigations at major technology firms such as Meta, Snap, and Applied Materials.
In addition to 18 years in private practice, Mr. Coutain spent four years as a public defender in both state and federal courts. He represented clients facing charges ranging from shoplifting to international and domestic extradition, theft, DUI, domestic violence, fraud, drug and weapons trafficking, RICO violations, assault, sex offenses, human trafficking, and homicide. His extensive criminal defense background includes serious felony matters investigated by local police departments, state agencies, and federal agencies such as the FBI, DEA, IRS, ICE, and the Department of Homeland Security.