Walmart picks Morgan Lewis' Matt Miner for ethics, compliance chief

Walmart Inc on Wednesday named a top partner at Morgan, Lewis & Bockius and former U.S. Justice Department leader during the Donald Trump administration to serve as chief global ethics and compliance officer for the mega-retailer.

Matt Miner has led the white-collar team in Washington at Morgan Lewis since 2020. He rejoined the firm then after a two-year stint at the U.S. Justice Department serving as a deputy assistant attorney general in the criminal division.

At Walmart, Miner will report to Rachel Brand, executive vice-president of global governance and chief legal officer. Brand, a former counsel at Wilmer Cutler Pickering Hale and Dorr, joined Walmart in 2018 from the Justice Department, where she had been serving as associate attorney general.

Walmart on Wednesday called Miner the "architect" of the criminal division's "groundbreaking Evaluation of Corporate Compliance Program (ECCP) guidance, as well as first-of-its-kind training to educate prosecutors on compliance program design and key compliance challenges.”

Miner spoke often about compliance and white-collar enforcement while serving at the Justice Department.

"Deterrence alone is not enough, especially with regard to the business community," he said in remarks in September 2019. "Beyond deterrence, we've aimed to create incentives and clear guidance to help encourage responsible companies to invest in compliance and to trust that, if they respond appropriately to misconduct, they are going to be treated fairly by the government.”

Before leaving for the Justice Department, Miner had been a partner at Morgan Lewis since 2012. His legal career includes posts at White & Case and as an assistant U.S. attorney in Alabama.

From 2006 to 2011, Miner was an aide on the Senate Judiciary Committee to then-U.S. senator Jeff Sessions, the Alabama Republican.

"Matt's distinguished career both in the government and private sector is a true asset, and it is no surprise that one of the world's largest corporations has asked him to play this important role," Morgan Lewis chair Jami McKeon said in a statement. "We know he will carry on with integrity, and we are proud to call him an alumnus.”