Weeks after stepping down as United States Attorney for the Northern District of Texas, attorney Richard B. Roper, III, says he expects 2009 to bring a renewed emphasis on white-collar prosecutions and securities law violations. "To the extent that our current financial crisis can be tied to these types of crimes, the Justice Department will likely have more resources and a broader mandate to pursue them," he says. "As a result, investigators and prosecutors will be able to move more quickly in detailing evidence of corporate fraud and seeking criminal penalties."  Roper previously served as United States Attorney for the Northern District of Texas from 2004-2008, and directed some of the most high-profile prosecutions in the country, including cases targeting international terrorism financing and exportation of sensitive technologies, public corruption, insider trading, tax, securities, mortgage, corporate and health care fraud, human trafficking, and international drug trafficking. He served on six Attorney General Advisory Committees, including White Collar Fraud, Cyber/Intellectual Property, Controlled Substances, Office of Management and Budget, Violent and Organized Crime, and Child Exploitation and Obscenity. In addition, he served as Co-Chair of the Department of Justice's Internet Pharmacy Working Group. As a Trial Partner in the Dallas office of Thompson & Knight, Mr. Roper will focus his practice on white collar criminal litigation. To interview Mr. Roper about the DOJ's focus on white-collar crime, contact Barry Pound at 800-559-4534 or barry@androvett.com.