Find Lawyers in New York, New York for Criminal Defense: White-Collar
Practice Area Overview
“White-collar defense” captures a broad set of substantive areas of the law, all of them arising from the myriad ways that local, state, federal, and foreign governments regulate businesses and entrepreneurs — what they say to investors and the general public about their own successes and failures (securities law); how they compete with one another (antitrust law); how they win business, deliver services, and seek payment when governments are themselves the customers (False Claims Act, Foreign Corrupt Practices Act); how businesses treat the environment; and whether they comply with general laws against theft, fraud, bribery, tax evasion and corruption. Public officials must navigate similar rules and thus present similar types of issues included under the broad category of white-collar defense.
The practice demands particularly versatile lawyers who deliver a range of services. White-collar lawyers try cases in court. They also specialize in risk management and compliance, training businesses and their individual employees about ways to minimize potential criminal and civil liability. Corporations engage white-collar lawyers to conduct internal investigations of their own business practices to assess and prepare for the risk of criminal and civil liability. Individuals and corporations demand white-collar representation as much when they are merely witnesses to alleged wrongdoing as when they are accused of it. White-collar litigation also involves assessing victims’ damages and their potential remedies as well as representing those accused of wrongdoing in administrative and court proceedings.
White-collar practices also must anticipate and prepare for the potential trajectory of a white-collar case. For example, an internal investigation identifying potential criminal or civil issues can lead to government enforcement actions and follow-up civil claims by alleged victims or competitors — all arising from the same conduct. The risk of criminal punishment and civil fines and liability potentially running into the billions of dollars, increase the complexity of white-collar matters and the demand for sophisticated counsel.
Criminal Law Legal Guide 2024
View Legal Guide
Bob Allen is a partner in Kirkland & Ellis LLP’s Litigation and Government, Regulatory & Internal Investigations practice groups. Bob’s practice focuses on representing corporations and individuals in criminal and regulatory investigations, as well as complex litigation. Prior to rejoining Kirkland, Bob served in the United States Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of New York. As a member of the Securities and Commodities Fraud Taskforce, Bob investigated a...
Recognized by Chambers USA as “a creative and thoughtful lawyer” who is “smart, very thorough,” and “a go-to for individual representations,” Jillian defends individuals and companies in white collar criminal matters, regulatory investigations and enforcement proceedings, internal investigations, and complex commercial litigation.Her client roster includes corporate executives, portfolio managers and finance professionals, law firms, broker-dealers, real es...
Susan has been consistently recognized for excellence in the practice of law. Chambers USA cites her "extraordinary ability." According to Chambers USA, she commands respect for her outstanding credentials in defending high-stakes government enforcement, with sources reporting: "She is one of the stars of her generation, hands-down one of the best in the city. She has the ability to take a case through trial, which gives her tremendous leverage and credibility in the pretrial phase." Susan ha...
Mike Considine is a partner and co-Head of both the Litigation Department and the Government Enforcement and Internal Investigations Practice Group at the Firm. Prior to entering private practice, Mike served as Deputy Chief of the Long Island Offices of the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of New York, where he supervised various white collar investigations, and conducted numerous criminal trials and appeals. Mike currently represents companies and individuals in governm...
Thomas J. Curran is a highly experienced trial attorney and counselor. He is a partner and co-chair of the White Collar and Regulatory Enforcement Practice. His practice primarily focuses on a broad range of legal matters, including white-collar criminal defense, internal integrity reviews, risk assessment and management, regulatory compliance, and general business advice and litigation. Tom provides forward-looking advice on the general business climate, including regulatory trends and tende...
Caren Decter is a partner in the Litigation Group, focusing on commercial and intellectual property litigation, and white collar defense. Named to Benchmark Litigation ’s 2019 and 2021 40 & Under Hot List and listed as a 2022 Super Lawyer by Super Lawyers magazine, Ms. Decter represents clients in civil and criminal matters pending in state and federal courts around the country. Clients benefit from her skill in managing complex litigation aggressively and efficiently, as well as he...
Gabi represents U.S. and international clients, both individuals and corporates, in matters ranging from cross-border criminal investigations and prosecutions to complex civil and regulatory matters, often with a global dimension. She has obtained favorable results for clients in a wide variety of cases, including matters raising issues of corporate and securities fraud, accounting fraud, criminal antitrust law, contract disputes, entertainment and art law, and the Foreign Corrupt Practices A...
A former federal prosecutor, Larry Gerschwer focuses his practice on white collar criminal and regulatory matters. He routinely represents clients in government investigations of securities and commodities fraud and of domestic and FCPA-related public corruption. He defends clients in investigations conducted by the DOJ, SEC, CFTC, IRS, federal and state banking regulators, antitrust regulators, and state and local prosecutors. Larry has extensive experience handling complex matters involving...
Steven Glaser has spent the past 15 years focusing on government enforcement work. He represents corporations, officers, directors and employees in a wide variety of criminal and civil enforcement matters. He has extensive trial and appellate experience, and has handled complex white collar matters in both federal and state courts, and in connection with investigations by the Department of Justice, the Securities and Exchange Commission, the Commodity Futures Trading Commission, the Federal E...
Described by Chambers USA as "willing to go to the ends of the earth for her clients," Helen has a proven track record of successfully defending executives and financial institutions in regulatory enforcement, white collar criminal, and complex commercial matters. She is a central figure in the New York legal community, having been recognized as a national star in white collar litigation by publications including Benchmark Litigation, Chambers USA and Super Lawyers. The clients Helen represen...
Chris Gunther has more than 15 years of experience defending individuals and corporations in federal and state criminal investigations and inquiries by government regulators, including the Securities and Exchange Commission. In addition, Mr. Gunther served as an assistant United States attorney in the Eastern District of New York, where he tried many cases and argued frequently before the United States Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit. His trial experience as a prosecutor and defense a...
An experienced trial lawyer with twenty years of experience, Ms. Harris represents individuals and companies in a wide variety of criminal and white-collar matters, as well as complex civil and regulatory proceedings. Known for her vigorous and meticulous advocacy, as well as her unwavering dedication to her clients, Ms. Harris has obtained numerous jury acquittals, won pretrial motions to dismiss, and consistently achieved favorable sentencing outcomes for her clients. Many of Ms. Harris&rsq...
Sean Hecker is a partner at Kaplan Hecker & Fink, where his practice focuses on white-collar criminal defense, government and internal investigations, complex civil litigation, and regulatory compliance. He is an experienced trial lawyer, nationally recognized as a go-to litigator for corruption and other white-collar criminal defense matters by Chambers , Benchmark Litigation , Best Lawyers in America , and Lawdragon 500 , among others. He was named among the Top 100 Trial Lawyers by Ben...
Joanna uses her experience as a trial lawyer and former prosecutor to help clients navigate complex legal landscapes. A skillful courtroom advocate, and accomplished in criminal, regulatory, and civil litigation, Joanna provides sophisticated, strategic counsel and drives extraordinary results for individual and institutional clients. She is known for her fierce advocacy, her courtroom skills and for her sophisticated, strategic counsel. With a career spanning nearly 30 years, Joanna represen...
Brian E. Maas is Counsel in the firm’s Litigation Group. During his career, Mr. Maas had a wide ranging civil litigation and white collar criminal defense practice, representing clients in all phases of the pre-litigation and litigation process in matters pending in state and federal court as well as in arbitrations. Mr. Maas started his career as an associate attorney at Barrett Smith Schapiro Simon & Armstrong. He then served as an Assistant United States Attorney in the United St...
Law Practice J. Bruce Maffeo is the co-chair of the Criminal Defense law practice in the New York City office of Meyer, Suozzi, English & Klein, P.C. Mr. Maffeo joined the firm as a member in January 2007 and represents individuals and organizations charged with crimes and regulatory offenses before the state and federal courts. He has litigated cases involving public corruption, securities fraud, tax evasion, and RICO. Among other matters, he successfully argued to limit the use of the f...
David Massey is a former prosecutor in the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of New York who leads global companies, board committees, and senior executives through high-profile cross-border investigations, criminal prosecutions, and civil litigation. David has obtained favorable results for clients in a broad range of cases. He negotiated the first corporate deferred prosecution agreement in the U.S. Department of Justice’s (DOJ) FIFA investigation, and he has repr...
Sharon L. McCarthy, a Fellow of the American College of Trial Lawyers, has extensive experience representing individuals and corporations in white-collar criminal matters as well as civil and criminal tax controversies. Her cases have included government investigations of: securities fraud, including insider trading and market manipulation; bank fraud; tax fraud; mail and wire fraud, including theft of honest services; accounting fraud; failure to file tax returns; antitrust violations; const...
Gordon Mehler is a white-collar criminal and civil litigator who has over 30 years of experience as a lawyer. This includes more than a decade as a federal prosecutor, where he supervised public corruption cases as Chief of Special Prosecutions. After serving as a Deputy Assistant Attorney General at the Justice Department in Washington, D.C., Mr. Mehler moved back to New York to open his own firm in 2000. Mehler Law concentrates on all aspects of white-collar criminal defense as well as regu...
Presented Oral Argument before the United States Supreme Court in a Major Federal Criminal Sentencing Case (1996) Masters of Law in Taxation, New York University School of Law (1989) Honored as a Special Student in International Legal Studies, Harvard Law School Graduate Program (1979) Member, United States Sentencing Commission, Practitioners Advisory Group, (1995 - 2009) Senior Law Clerk for Hon. Dickinson R. Debevoise, United States District of New Jersey, (1979-1980) Law Intern, Honorable...
Jay Musoff, a former federal prosecutor, is co-chair of Loeb & Loeb's White Collar Criminal Defense and Investigations Group. He focuses his practice on white collar criminal defense, internal investigations, and securities litigation. Jay represents corporations and their senior executives in high-profile investigations, litigations, and enforcement proceedings, including those relating to securities fraud, insider trading, tax shelters, Foreign Corrupt Practices Act issues, government c...
A former federal and state prosecutor, Danya Perry also has proven herself to be one of New York City’s foremost civil litigators in both civil and criminal cases. Known for her courtroom presence, Danya is just as tenacious standing up to perpetrators of sexual abuse as she is defending her white collar and CJA clients in criminal matters. Above all, she is a trusted advisor for individuals and companies navigating pivotal legal crises. Danya is the founding partner of Perry Law. She i...
Lee S. Richards III has devoted his 45-year career to the representation of businesses, corporate boards, and individuals in white collar criminal defense, securities enforcement defense, regulatory proceedings, internal investigations, and complex commercial litigations. Lee has amassed extensive trial experience, regularly representing investment banks, hedge funds, public companies, investment advisers, corporate officers and directors, and other professionals in investigations and proceed...
Our Methodology
Recognition by Best Lawyers is based entirely on peer review. Our methodology is designed to capture, as accurately as possible, the consensus opinion of leading lawyers about the professional abilities of their colleagues within the same geographical area and legal practice area.
The Process
Best Lawyers employs a sophisticated, conscientious, rational, and transparent survey process designed to elicit meaningful and substantive evaluations of the quality of legal services. Our belief has always been that the quality of a peer review survey is directly related to the quality of the voters.
In Brief
The Upcycle Conundrum
by Karen Kreider Gaunt
Laudable or litigious? What you need to know about potential copyright and trademark infringement when repurposing products.
Wage and Overtime Laws for Truck Drivers
by Greg Mansell
For truck drivers nationwide, underpayment and overtime violations are just the beginning of a long list of problems. Below we explore the wages you are entitled to but may not be receiving.
My Husband Didn’t Want to Stay Married…But He Didn’t Want a Divorce
by Jennifer Billock
Patience—and the law—prevails when an uncooperative partner avoids divorce proceedings.
Enhancing Consumer Safety Through Winning Jury Trials and Substantial Settlements
by Justin Smulison
Firm founder and lead trial lawyer James P. Frantz discusses how landmark victories in litigation and trial protect consumers.
