Robert J. Ridge

Member

rridge@clarkhill.com

fax +1 412.394.2555

Robert Ridge focuses his practice in the areas of white-collar criminal defense and internal investigations. He currently co-chairs the Clark Hill White Collar Criminal Defense and Internal Investigations group with Martin E. Crandall of the Detroit Office, a group that includes more than 15 lawyers in 12 cities.

Bob’s practice focuses on white-collar criminal defense, internal investigations, false claims act litigation and civil matters involving allegations of financial fraud and breach of fiduciary duties. He has defended clients in investigations conducted by federal and state grand juries, the Commonwealth’s Attorney General, the SEC, the Pennsylvania State Ethics Commission, and the Judicial Qualifications Commission. Bob has worked with clients in a variety of industries, such as health care, pharmaceuticals, technology, banking, securities, manufacturing and automotive. Bob has defended clients in investigations and prosecutions involving health care reimbursement issues, off-label marketing of pharmaceuticals, the distribution, importation and marketing of scheduled drugs and Anti-Kickback violations. He has prosecuted and defended complex RICO and commercial fraud disputes involving securities issues, real estate investment financing, fraudulent transfers, and the misuse of trade secrets. He is also a graduate of The Federal Bar Association Mediation Training Program. Benchmark Litigation recognized Bob as a leading litigator in 2013, 2014 and 2015. For the past 15 years, he has been named a Pennsylvania Super Lawyer, an honor bestowed upon the top five percent of Pennsylvania lawyers.

Bob began his career as a narcotics prosecutor in Miami-Dade County, Florida and later served as a Trial Attorney, Criminal Division, Fraud Section, United States Department of Justice where he prosecuted savings and loan fraud and securities fraud cases.

Industries

Practice Areas

Education

J.D., cum laude, Georgetown University, Washington, DC, 1984

B.A., magna cum laude, University of Dayton, Dayton, Ohio, 1981

Recognitions

Lawdragon 500 Leading Litigators in America for White Collar and Investigations (2026)

Chambers USA, Litigation: White-Collar Crime & Government Investigations, 2025

Named among Best Lawyers in America® for Commercial Litigation (2022-2026); Criminal Defense: White-Collar (2020-2026); Litigation – Securities (2020-2026) by Best Lawyers

Recognized as a member of the 2025 Lawdragon 500 Leading Litigators in America

Named among Pennsylvania Super Lawyers by Thomson Reuters (2005-2025)

Listed as a “Local Litigation Star” in Benchmark Litigation, Guide to America’s Leading Litigation Attorneys (2020,2025)

Memberships

American Law Institute (currently serves as an adviser on the Government Ethics Project and on the Members Consultative Group, Model Penal Code)

Fellow, Litigation Counsel of America

Graduate, Leadership Pittsburgh

National Law Alumni Board, Georgetown University Law Center

Board Member, Auberle, Pittsburgh, PA (a social services organization serving the needs of children and families)

Allegheny County Bar Association, Board of Governors

Allegheny County Bar Foundation, Past President

Executive Editor, American Criminal Law Review (1983-1984)

State Bar Licenses

Pennsylvania, Florida, West Virginia, Texas

Court Admissions

U.S. District Ct., N.D. of West Virginia

U.S. District Ct., S.D. of West Virginia

U.S. District Ct., W.D. of Pennsylvania

U.S. Court of Appeals, 3rd Circuit

U.S. Court of Appeals, 4th Circuit

Presentations

Presenter, “Uncovering and Proving Financial Fraud,” PBI, January 2014.
Presenter, “When a Civil Case Turns Into a Government Investigation,” TRA seminar, November 2011.
Presenter, “Foreign Corrupt Practices Act,” Western Pennsylvania Association of Corporate Counsel Seminar, September 2011.
Panelist, “The Game Has Changed Under the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA) – How Will the Heightened Enforcement Affect You?” Marsh’s Academy of Risk, October 2010.
Panelist, “Litigating in Bankruptcy Court – Tips, Skills and Demonstrations,” PBI 15th Annual Bankruptcy Institute, September 2010.
Speaker, “Federal Enforcement Actions Against Gatekeepers: Recent Trends in DOJ and SEC Actions Against In-House Counsel,” Delaware Valley Association for Corporate Counsel (DELVACCA) seminar, August 2010.
Speaker, “A Survey of the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act,” PBI seminars in Pittsburgh, Harrisburg and Philadelphia, June 2009.
Speaker, “Corporate Ethics/Fraud Compliance,” Association for Corporate Growth (ACG Pittsburgh) meeting, May 2009.
Speaker, “Anti–Corruption and the U.S. Foreign Corrupt Practices Act,” Legal Counsel Summit in Stockholm, Sweden, December, 2008.
Panelist, “The Subprime Mortgage Meltdown,” Pennsylvania Bar Institute Course presented to the Business Lawyers’ Institute in Philadelphia, November 2008.
Moderator and Course Planner, “Making Sense of the Subprime Mortgage Mess,” Pennsylvania Bar Institute course presented in Pittsburgh, Philadelphia and Mechanicsburg, Pennsylvania. July 2008.
“Foreign Corrupt Practices Act,” presented to the Association of Certified Fraud Examiners, December 2, 2007.
Moderator, ABA Criminal Justice Section “Subpoenaing Sources: Lessons from the Libby Case,” held October 18, 2007, New York, NY.
Presenter, University of Dayton School of Law Project for Law and Business Ethics Symposium entitled “Unearthing Corporate Wrongdoing: Detecting and Dealing with Ethical Breaches in the Business World,” October 25, 2007, Dayton, Ohio.
Presenter, NBI Course,“Winning Your First Civil Trial”, held April 26, 2007, Pittsburgh, PA.
“Internal Investigations,” Presented to the Association of Certified Fraud Examiners, January 2005.
Faculty for the NBI course “Succeeding in Federal Court: What You Need to Know about Rules and Procedures,” December 2004.

Publications

“The Congressional and Executive Response to the Ukrainian Crisis and the Growing U.S. Impatience with Official Corruption,” E-Alert, March 2014.
“Revisiting the Subprime Meltdown: A Report from the ‘Tranches’,” Communiqué, August 2011.
Robert J. Ridge, Tips From the Courtroom: A Trial Lawyer’s Suggestions for Building a Successful Compliance Plan, Inside the Mind Series by Aspatore Books, July 2009.
Robert J. Ridge and Ms. Mackenzie A. Baird: “The Pendulum Swings Back: Revisiting Corporate Criminality and the Rise of Deferred Prosecution Agreements” – Volume 33, University of Dayton Law Review 187 (2008).
“Identifying the Categories of Disputes Emerging From the Subprime Meltdown,” The Subprime Crisis: A Thomson West Special Report, March 2008.
“Judge Upholds Rights for Targets of Parallel Civil and Criminal Prosecutions,” Washington Legal Foundation Legal Backgrounder, August 10, 2007.
“Protection Against the Devil Within: Managing the Risk of Financial Frauds in the Construction Industry,” Construction Law News, October 2005.
“Financial Institutions Alert” re Fairbanks Capital.
“Clinton, Pinochet and the Rule of Law,” Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, January 13, 1999.
“If Feds Come Calling, Plan Ahead to Protect Your Company’s Rights,” Pittsburgh Business Times, October 30, 1995 (co-author: Mead).
“Feds Clamp Down on Fraud in the Health Care Industry,” Pittsburgh Business Times, June 12, 1993.
“Corporations and Criminal Law,” Dynamic Business, December 1991.
“Forewarned is Forearmed – Some Reflections on the Relationship Between Counsel and the Department of Justice,” Communiqué, April 2008.
“Are U.S. Companies and Executives Safe When the Public Is Not? A Look at FDA Enforcement in the International Arena,” Communiqué, April 2008.
“Understanding Recent Developments in the Subprime Lending Market”, Communiqué, March 2007 (co-author: Rushak).
“Recent Developments in Employee Indemnification: One Federal Court’s Attempt to Restore Balance to the Federal Criminal Justice System,” Communiqué, July 2006.
“Responding to GIC Investigations,”Communiqué, February 2005.
Robert J. Ridge and Ms. Ellen G. McGlone: “A Practitioner’s Guide to Pennsylvania’s Newly Adopted Uniform Fraudulent Transfer Act” – Volume 99, Dickinson Law Review (Fall 1994).