02 Feb 2026
Simpson Thacher Welcomes Raphael Prober, Karen Christian and Martine Cicconi to Washington Litigation Team
"Simpson Thacher adds Raphael Prober, Karen Christian and Martine Cicconi as partners in Washington. Prober and Christian will co-head Congressional Investigations; Cicconi will lead the State Attorneys General practice."
The three join from Akin Gump, where Rafi and Karen served as Co‑Heads of Akin’s Congressional Investigations Practice and Martine served as Co‑Leader of Akin’s State Attorneys General Practice.
Raphael (Rafi) A. Prober joins Simpson Thacher as a partner and will serve as Co‑Head of the Firm’s Congressional Investigations Practice. He is a recognized authority on Congressional and governmental investigations, advising corporations, institutions and individuals on complex and high‑profile inquiries across sectors including banking and financial services, technology, energy, healthcare, pharmaceuticals and retail. Ranked Band 1 by Chambers USA, Prober routinely provides strategic counsel to companies, senior executives and boards facing legal, reputational and business crises. Previously, he was appointed to serve as an Associate Deputy Attorney General at the U.S. Department of Justice, overseeing responses to Congressional oversight.
Karen E. Christian joins as a partner and will serve as Co‑Head of the Firm’s Congressional Investigations Practice. She is a widely recognized advisor on investigative and legislative challenges for a broad array of clients across industries such as technology, energy, healthcare, financial services and higher education, and assists clients with potential parallel civil, criminal, state and other regulatory investigations. Ranked Band 1 by Chambers USA, Karen spent nearly 13 years on Capitol Hill, serving as General Counsel to the U.S. House Committee on Energy and Commerce and Chief Counsel to its Oversight Subcommittee, where she directed major investigations and advised on legislative strategy, ethics and procedure.
Martine E. Cicconi joins Simpson Thacher as a partner and will lead the Firm’s State Attorneys General team. She is an experienced litigator focused on significant investigations and litigation led by state attorneys general and on navigating enforcement actions and complex regulatory challenges. Praised in Chambers USA as a sophisticated strategist and responsive counselor, Martine has served in multiple U.S. state and federal executive and judicial roles, including as Special Assistant to the President and Senior Counsel in the Office of the White House Counsel, as Deputy Solicitor General for Virginia, and in the Department of Justice’s Office of Legal Counsel. She also clerked for Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg of the U.S. Supreme Court and for Judge Merrick B. Garland on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit.