White Collar &
Regulatory Defense
Our White Collar & Regulatory Defense Group regularly defends companies and businesses, and their executives and boards, before every major federal and state regulatory enforcement authority and in courtrooms nationwide. Clients turn to us to develop creative strategies for responding to and, where possible, preventing government investigations and enforcement proceedings.
Full-Spectrum Representation: Our team defends clients in government investigations and enforcement proceedings initiated by the full array of U.S. criminal, civil and regulatory enforcement authorities, including the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ), the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), and other federal and state agencies. We are experienced and adept at responding to the multiple parallel regulatory and civil proceedings that frequently occur in connection with white collar investigations. We are also experienced in conducting complex internal investigations to assist in advising clients and to develop effective defense strategies.
Deep Knowledge and Experience: Our lawyers frequently appear before the DOJ, U.S. Attorney’s Offices (including the Southern and Eastern Districts of New York); the Enforcement Division of the SEC; state Attorney General offices from New York to California; U.S. Congress; self-regulatory organizations; and independent commissions. Based on our team’s experience working in government, and our frequent appearances before key regulators, we bring credibility and deep insight to our clients’ toughest regulatory challenges. Our approach is to leverage creative strategies to persuade regulators not to pursue actions against our clients where it is not warranted. Just as important, regulators know that when necessary, we have the experience and willingness to represent our clients at trial.
High-Level Government Experience: Our attorneys include a number of former federal prosecutors and other government officials, including a former Attorney General of the United States, the former Chief of the Criminal Division of the Southern District of New York, the former U.S. Attorney for the Northern District of California, a distinguished former SDNY district judge, Assistant United States Attorneys from Southern District of New York, Eastern District of New York and Northern District of California, and lawyers who previously held senior positions at the DOJ, SEC (including a former Deputy Director of the Enforcement Division) and U.S. Department of the Treasury.
Crisis Management: We regularly handle sensitive matters that attract intense media coverage and political interest. We are adept at coordinating with communications and government relations firms to provide clients with comprehensive strategic solutions, and excel at developing strategies that help clients navigate these situations in ways that control regulatory, financial and reputational risk.
“Unreal depth and ability to handle the most complicated, unwieldy matters”
- Chambers USA
Recognition
Benchmark Litigation: 2025 White Collar Firm of the Year
- Chambers USA (2026): Ranked among the elite Band 1 firms for “Litigation: White-Collar Crime & Government Investigations” and “Corporate Crime & Investigations” for sixth year in a row
- Legal 500 US (2026): Recognized as a Tier 1 firm in “Corporate Investigations and White-Collar Crime Criminal Defense”
- Global Investigations Review (2025): Named to “GIR 30” list, which recognizes the best law firms for complex, multijurisdictional corporate investigations
Recent Engagements
We represent large corporate clients in major white collar and regulatory matters as well as individuals in high-profile investigations and prosecutions. We also conduct sensitive internal investigations for leading companies and other business organizations. Our representations include:
- A leading U.S. fintech company in several government investigations, including an ongoing DOJ investigation and a parallel SEC investigation that concluded in 2026 without recommending any enforcement action. The government investigations followed a short seller report raising concerns about risk and compliance controls.
- A prominent U.S. financial and media company in securing a favorable settlement resolving an SEC investigation involving the transmission of U.S. options market data and related marketing materials.
- The audit committee of the board of directors of an American chemical company in an independent investigation of alleged financial, accounting and controls issues and related matters.
- A global investment and advisory services firm in DOJ and SEC investigations involving financial reporting and related issues.
- Virtu Financial in the favorable resolution of an SEC enforcement action related to the company's information barrier processes and procedures.
- A private equity firm in connection with DOJ and SEC investigations into potential securities fraud and violations of the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act.
- The former chief legal officer of a Fortune 500 company in securing a complete victory in a DOJ action alleging violations of the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act.
- Ripple’s co-founder Chris Larsen and CEO Brad Garlinghouse in winning a significant victory in the SEC’s lawsuit alleging that the defendants had altogether conducted over $2.6 billion in unregistered securities transactions through sales of digital asset XRP, and further alleging that the two executives aided and abetted Ripple’s sales in violation of U.S. securities laws. Following a significant summary judgment victory in which the court held that the sale of XRP on public exchanges did not constitute the sale of unregistered securities, the SEC filed for a rare voluntary dismissal of the remaining aiding and abetting claims against the individual defendants, eliminating the need for a trial and resulting in a complete victory for the individual defendants.
- BlackRock, the world’s largest asset manager, in conducting a publicly announced review of its processes and procedures for handling employee complaints about workplace misconduct and to provide recommendations on how BlackRock can further enhance those processes and procedures.
- Northwestern University in conducting an independent internal review of the university’s athletics department culture and accountability mechanisms after current and former students publicly claimed that they were forced into participating in degrading acts, experienced racism and other verbal abuse, and were discouraged from seeking treatment of injuries.
- The founder and former CEO of Under Armour in an SEC investigation into financial reporting and accounting issues that was terminated without any charges against our client.
- A leading U.S. private equity firm in an SEC investigation involving co-investment issues that was terminated without any charges against our client or any individuals associated with our client.
- A leading U.S. home leasing company in an SEC investigation into financial reporting that was terminated without any charges against our client or any individuals associated with our client.
