Sam Kleiner is an experienced litigator who draws on his experience in senior legal positions at the U.S. Department of the Treasury and the White House in representing clients in some of their most complex and high-stakes matters.
Sam’s practice focuses on regulatory enforcement defense, white collar criminal defense, compliance counseling and complex commercial litigation, frequently with a cross-border dimension. He regularly represents the world’s largest banks, fintech companies, investment funds and technology companies across a range of issues, including economic sanctions, anti-money laundering (AML), Bank Secrecy Act (BSA) and data privacy matters.
His recent matters include representing:
- TD Bank in a number of significant matters, including its resolutions with the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) over the bank’s compliance with AML requirements as part of the bank’s global resolution with U.S. government and regulatory authorities;
- A U.S. fintech company in DOJ and other agency investigations regarding alleged anti-money laundering and sanctions violations; and
- A major global financial services institution in a DOJ sanctions investigation, including concerning Russia-, Belarus- and Ukraine-related sanctions matters.
Sam is a leading authority on sanctions and AML issues. He serves as vice chair of the American Bar Association’s International Anti-Money Laundering Committee and has been a term member of the Council on Foreign Relations. His articles have appeared in Bloomberg Law, Law360, Corporate Compliance Insights and CLS Blue Sky Blog. He regularly provides training to legal and compliance departments at major financial institutions and speaks to industry groups, including the American Bankers Association and the Institute of International Bankers.
Prior to joining Paul, Weiss, Sam served as a senior advisor to the General Counsel and the Under Secretary for Terrorism and Financial Intelligence at the U.S. Department of the Treasury, where he advised on sanctions, anti-money laundering, Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States (CFIUS) and litigation matters. Secretary Janet Yellen awarded him the Treasury Department’s Exceptional Service Medal for his service. He also previously served as a senior deputy associate counsel at the White House.
Sam is also the author of the best-selling book, The Flying Tigers, published by Penguin Random House. Inspired by his grandfather’s service in World War II, Sam’s book tells the story of American pilots in China in World War II. It was featured in national media including the Wall Street Journal and CNN and described by critics as “read[ing] like an adventure story”; a “terrific” book that brings the pilots’ “compelling stories” to life.
Sam is active in the community, including having served on advisory committees for the United Jewish Appeal of New York (Network Planning Committee), the 92NY Lipschultz Parenting Center at the 92nd Street Y, and the Association of Marshall Scholars.
Sam served as a law clerk to Honorable Gerard E. Lynch of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit. Sam earned his B.A. cum laude from Northwestern University where he was elected to Phi Beta Kappa, and his J.D. from Yale Law School, where he was a Coker Fellow in Constitutional Law. He also received a DPhil in International Relations from the University of Oxford, where he was a Marshall Scholar.
