White Collar Crime & Regulatory Defense

Paul, Weiss’s white collar crime and regulatory defense practice is considered by many to be pre-eminent among major law firms in the United States. Our long history of representing clients in high-profile white collar criminal cases and regulatory matters has involved the broadest range of clients and issues. We have represented some of the world’s largest public companies and also have defended small companies, partnerships and individuals. We have handled white collar matters in virtually all substantive areas, including antitrust, bank fraud, tax fraud, securities fraud, insider trading, stock market manipulation, charges under the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act, government contract fraud and RICO.

In addition to acting as chief counsel in significant criminal cases brought by the Justice Department, we have a very active SEC enforcement practice, and frequently represent and defend clients in investigations brought by state attorneys general, district attorneys, and other government and regulatory authorities.

Our white collar crime and regulatory defense lawyers include nine former assistant United States attorneys from the Southern and Eastern Districts of New York, as well as lawyers who held senior positions at the Department of Justice, the Securities and Exchange Commission and the New York Attorney General’s office. Nearly all of the lawyers in this practice area have significant jury trial experience.

When we represent large corporate clients in major white collar and regulatory matters, the firm’s litigation department – recognized to be one of the world’s best – also handles the substantial civil exposures that accompany many white collar issues. We also represent individuals in high profile criminal prosecutions, including many corporate CEOs. Some representative engagements are:

• Bank of America (BofA) in claims brought by the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission in connection with BofA’s acquisition of Merrill Lynch & Co. in late 2008. After extensive litigation, the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York approved the settlement of claims involving BofA's alleged misrepresentations and omissions in the proxy statement issued in connection with the merger. The settlement requires BofA to pay $150 million into a Fair Fund for distribution to shareholders and to undertake a number of remedial actions.
• JPMorgan Chase & Co. in connection with the regulatory matters arising from the near collapse of The Bear Stearns Companies Inc.
• Three of the top ten healthcare companies in the world in connection with pending governmental investigation into improper marketing of pharmaceuticals.
• Merck in connection with an investigation by the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) into Merck’s public disclosure relating to Vioxx. The SEC has closed the investigation without bringing any action against Merck.
• Negotiation on behalf of Fitch, Inc., one of the three national credit rating agencies, with respect to an industry-wide settlement with New York Attorney General Andrew Cuomo relating to the ratings of non-prime residential mortgage-backed securities.
• A leading international financial institution in investigations with the SEC, FINRA, FCIC, NYAG and overseas regulators.
• Citigroup in all of its Enron, subprime, WorldCom, research analyst and Parmalat litigation and regulatory matters, among others.
• Some of the firm’s high profile individual representations have included New York Governor Eliot Spitzer, New York Governor David Paterson, Former Chief of Staff (to Vice President Cheney) Lewis “Scooter” Libby, investment banker Frank Quattrone and U.S. Senator Robert Torricelli, as well as more than a dozen CEOs of large public companies and hedge funds in diverse matters involving allegations of misconduct, ranging from perjury to insider trading to healthcare fraud.