Michael Robotti, a former assistant U.S. attorney who prosecuted the government’s case against drug kingpin Joaquin “El Chapo” Guzman, is joining Ballard Spahr’s white-collar defense and internal investigations team Sept. 1, deepening the firm’s white-collar bench in anticipation of an uptick in government investigations under the Biden administration.

Michael Robotti Michael Robotti, with Ballard Spahr. Courtesy photo

Robotti, 39, will join the 600-lawyer Big Law firm as a partner in the New York City office after concluding a nearly eight-year tenure at the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of New York on Aug. 2.