White Collar Crime & Regulatory Defense

 

Government white collar actions against corporations or individuals can often result in some of the highest profile news headlines of the day, creating an added layer of anxiety and public scrutiny on top of an already intense situation. Across the spectrum, clients rely on Paul, Weiss as a pre-eminent firm in this area to help avoid or mitigate a trial by the court of public opinion while managing the behind-the-scenes interplay of complex legal issues and governmental relations. When matters do go to trial, our white collar team’s strength as trial lawyers is what sets them apart from the competition.

Jump to:  Why Paul, Weiss? | Our Practice | Industries | Clients | Recognitions | Representative Engagements

Why Paul, Weiss?

There isn’t a type of white collar case that we have not handled. We have been called upon by companies and individuals to handle white collar matters in all substantive areas, including antitrust, bank and securities fraud, Foreign Corrupt Practices Act, government contract fraud, RICO, insider trading, product liability, securities fraud, stock market manipulation and tax fraud.

Our White Collar Crime and Regulatory Defense team includes an extraordinary number of former federal prosecutors, including nine former assistant United States attorneys from the Southern and Eastern Districts of New York, and lawyers who previously held senior positions at the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ), the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) and the New York attorney general’s office. We also have extensive jury trial experience across this practice.

Members of our broader litigation practice – recognized to be some of the world’s best – are also routinely teamed up with our white collar lawyers to tackle the substantial civil exposures that often accompany criminal and regulatory issues.

^ Top

Our Practice

Paul, Weiss’ White Collar Crime and Regulatory Defense practice continues to be recognized by clients, publications and other independent sources as pre-eminent among major law firms in the United States.

Our lawyers have represented clients in investigations brought by almost all conceivable governmental and regulatory agencies including the SEC, DOJ, self-regulatory organizations, state attorneys general and district attorneys, among others. The members of the White Collar Crime and Regulatory Defense team also have extensive experience in responding to the parallel regulatory and civil proceedings that frequently occur simultaneously with criminal investigations.

Many of the world’s largest public companies, including AIG, Bank of America, Citigroup, Merck and UBS, trust Paul, Weiss’s White Collar practice to defend them in high-profile and potentially devastating government actions. Small companies, partnerships and individuals also trust us with their most sensitive matters.

^ Top

Industries

Our representations have included work for companies in the following industries:

Energy Financial Services Government Agencies & Officials Healthcare, Medical Products & Pharmaceuticals

Industrial Products & Manufacturing Mining Technology & Telecommunications Travel & Leisure

^ Top

Our Clients

Some of our representations have included work for:

Corporate Bank of America Citigroup Deutsche Bank AG Fitch JPMorgan Chase Merck UBS

Individuals Former New York Governor David Paterson Former New York Governor Eliot Spitzer Lewis “Scooter” Libby, former Chief of Staff to Vice President Dick Cheney Investment Banker Frank Quattrone U.S. Senator Robert Torricelli

^ Top

Recognitions

Our practice is frequently and consistently recognized for its work in this area. Recent honors include:

• Benchmark Litigation
  • Three “Star” practitioners – “White-Collar Crime.” (2010)
• Chambers USA
  • Band 1 firm – “(NY) Litigation: White-Collar Crime & Government Investigations.” (2011)
  • Two “Star” practitioners – “(NY) Litigation: White-Collar Crime & Government Investigations.” (2011)
  • Recognized practitioner – “(DC) Litigation: White-Collar Crime & Government Investigations.” (2011)
• Legal 500
  • Tier 1 firm – “White-Collar Crime Criminal Defense.” (2011)
  • Two “Leading Lawyers” – “White-Collar Crime Criminal Defense.” (2011)
• U.S. News & World Report/Best Lawyers
  • Tier 1 firm – “(NY) Criminal Defense: White-Collar.” (2010)
  • Leading firm – “(DC) Criminal Defense: White-Collar.” (2010)
• The National Law Journal
  • Three “Winning” litigators. (2009, 2007 and 2005)
• The New York Council of Defense Lawyers
  • “Norman S. Ostrow Award” – awarded to two of our partners. (2009)
• The Office of the Appellate Defender
  • “Gould Award for Outstanding Oral Advocacy” – awarded to two of our partners. (2009)

^ Top

Representative Engagements

We represent large corporate clients in major white collar and regulatory matters as well as individuals in high-profile criminal prosecutions. Our representations include:

• Bank of America (BofA) in connection with securing the settlement of highly publicized SEC claims against it under Section 14 of the Securities Exchange Act. The SEC's claims involved BofA's alleged misrepresentations and omissions in the proxy statement issued in connection with the bank’s acquisition of Merrill Lynch & Co. in late 2008. The settlement required BofA to pay $150 million into a “fair fund” for distribution to shareholders and undertake a number of remedial actions.
• Citigroup, winning a significant victory when a jury in the Southern District of New York found that Citigroup was not liable for fraud in the 2007 sale of the music company EMI to private equity firm Terra Firma. Terra Firma chairman Guy Hands claimed he was misled over the purchase of the group when it was not disclosed that another bid for EMI had been withdrawn prior to the sale. Citigroup faced claims worth more than $8 billion.
• Deutsche Bank AG in connection with the resolution of a multi-year government investigation into the execution of tax shelter transactions for high net-worth individuals. The investigation concluded in 2010, when Deutsche Bank and the government agencies signed a settlement for $533 million. The settlement included a non-prosecution agreement — no criminal charges will be filed — and the $533 million figure was considerably less than the government had originally demanded. The settlement resolved pending investigations by the IRS and the DOJ for Deutsche Bank, representing a global resolution of the government’s lengthy inquiries.
• JPMorgan Chase, representing them in connection with the regulatory matters arising from the near collapse of The Bear Stearns Companies Inc.
• Four Pharmaceutical Companies in defending criminal government and regulatory investigations relating to off-label marketing. We have negotiated settlements with state and federal bodies and regulatory agencies on non behalf of our clients. We have also represented these clients in connection with pending grand jury investigations.
• Merck in connection with an investigation by the SEC into Merck’s public disclosure relating to Vioxx. The SEC closed the investigation without bringing any action against Merck.
• Fitch, 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 nonprime residential mortgage-backed securities.
• A Leading International Financial Institution in investigations with the SEC, Financial Industry Regulatory Authority, Financial Crisis Inquiry Commission, New York attorney general and overseas regulators.
• Numerous High-Profile Individuals, including former New York Gov. Eliot Spitzer, former New York Gov. David Paterson, former Chief of Staff (to Vice President Dick Cheney) Lewis “Scooter” Libby, investment banker Frank Quattrone and U.S. Sen. 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. Many of our greatest successes occur in representations where we persuade prosecutors and regulators that charges should not be filed, therefore keeping the client out of the news and out of harm’s way.
• Citigroup, JPMorgan and Other Financial Institutions in connection with the investigation by the Financial Crisis Inquiry Commission into the causes of the financial crisis.
• Confidential FCPA Investigations for both U.S. and non-U.S. clients in FCPA investigations and on FCPA-related matters in Africa, Asia, Europe, North, Central and South America and the Middle East, including internal investigations, regulatory enforcement action defense, transactional due diligence and internal training and compliance programs. We have represented numerous corporations in virtually every industry including aerospace, apparel, defense, electronics, energy, financial services, food products, gaming, healthcare, media, manufacturing, metals and telecommunications.