Criminal Defense and Investigations Group

Transcription

1 Criminal Defense and Investigations Group

2 About Manatt Manatt, Phelps & Phillips, LLP was founded in From its early years, when it was best known for its banking, financial services, government and entertainment practices, the firm has grown to become a full service, completely integrated national practice of 310 lawyers with specialized industry knowledge typically found only in boutiques. We focus on a group of core industries and value-added services and have established a strong presence in the most important markets in America, serving clients from offices in New York City and Albany, New York; Washington, D.C.; Los Angeles, Orange County, Palo Alto and Sacramento, California; and Mexico City. Our clients are among the world s leading companies from industries including advertising and media, energy and natural resources, entertainment, financial services, health care, insurance, real estate, technology and transportation. Today, over half of our lawyers are in litigation and the practice is the largest in the firm. Criminal Defense and Investigations Overview Manatt s Criminal Defense and Investigations Group has a proven track record for helping clients in sensitive criminal, regulatory and investigative matters. Our practice is nationwide in scope and includes skilled and experienced lawyers in New York, Washington, D.C., and Los Angeles. Led by partners who are former high-level federal prosecutors and renowned criminal defense attorneys, our practice is nationally known for advising companies and individuals facing criminal and regulatory scrutiny. We represent: Clients as their lead counsel in criminal trials and appeals. Targets, subjects or witnesses in investigations conducted by federal or state grand juries or other regulatory agencies. Witnesses called before congressional and other legislative bodies. Clients in sensitive internal investigations.

3 Our attorneys also draw extensively on Manatt s vast multi-disciplinary expertise, including the firm's financial institutions, securities, antitrust, environmental, media and entertainment, government, health care, tax and business litigation practices. This broad-based expertise enables us to advise clients faced with parallel civil and criminal proceedings and investigations that often involve regulatory, criminal, civil and public relations risks all at the same time. We are equally effective at confidential internal investigations, audits, or remediation of alleged misconduct. We help our clients implement programs and standards to avoid, detect or resolve criminal business conduct making sure that they meet the requirements of the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines for Organizational Defendants and that they reflect the criteria considered by the Department of Justice s Criminal Division when deciding whether to bring charges against a corporation. Respected Attorneys Our Criminal Defense and Investigations attorneys have extensive knowledge of how business crime cases are investigated, charged and defended in specific industries. We anticipate and quickly respond to critical situations that face our clients and have an impressive track record in trial, appellate, legislative and administrative advocacy. Each attorney has experience as a trial lawyer or counsel to a major business organization, and many of our attorneys have served as federal prosecutors or defenders, a combination of skills and experience that is central to our effective representation. Members of our team have: Served as federal prosecutors or federal defenders in New York, Washington, D.C., Los Angeles, San Francisco and elsewhere and enjoy close and important relationships with prosecutors and other white collar defense lawyers in these and many other cities; Worked in other divisions of the U.S. Department of Justice and as state prosecutors, including in the Manhattan District Attorney s Office; Served as Senior Associate Counsel to President Bill Clinton, with responsibility for supervising the defense of all investigations of the President, Vice President, First Lady and other White House personnel; Earned respect as one of the most renowned trial lawyers in the country, having tried dozens of criminal cases and earned recognition as a fellow of the American College of Trial Lawyers;

4 Served as General Counsel to the U.S. Senate Committee on Government Affairs; Served as Deputy Chief Investigative Counsel to Democratic Members of the Committee on the Judiciary of the U.S. House of Reprsentatives, and as counsel to the Democratic Members of the U.S. Senate, during the impeachment of President Clinton, and as Special Counsel to the Connecticut legislative committee considering whether to reccomend the impeachment of Connecticut Governor John Rowland; Held a variety of other federal law enforcement positions, including Associate Independent Counsel in the Office of Independent Counsel Joseph DiGenova; counsel to the President s Commission on Organized Crime; and as a member of the Office of the Chief Counsel at the Internal Revenue Service; Served as Corporation Counsel of the City of New York, Solicitor General of the State of New York and on the New York State Ethics Commission; Led a variety of professional organizations, including current service as Vice Chair of the American Bar Association s Criminal Law and Procedure Committee, Antitrust Law Section, and current membership on the Criminal Advocacy Committee of the New York City Bar Association, the New York Council of Defense Lawyers and the Board of Editors of the Business Crimes Bulletin. With these credentials, it is not surprising that we have had remarkable success in persuading the government not to charge our clients with crimes or civil offenses or, where charges were unavoidable, to accept resolutions of those charges on terms highly favorable to our clients. High-Profile Controversies Our clients are companies, government officials and individuals (including corporate directors, officers, and other professionals) who face federal and state prosecutions and investigations of allegations involving, among other things: Antitrust violations Business frauds Campaign finance laws Environmental crimes

5 Federal and state election law violations Financial institutions regulations Foreign Corrupt Practices Act violations Gaming Government program or contracts frauds Health care frauds and abuse Labor racketeering Lawyer disciplinary proceedings Misuse of information technology Money laundering Payola Public corruption and government ethics RICO (Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations) Act violations Securities frauds Tax frauds Internal Investigations and Compliance Programs We have a reputation for helping clients avoid problems before the clients become the subjects of investigations, charges or unwanted publicity, and carry out many internal investigations of employees and actions suspected of being contrary to the law or adverse to the best interests of the client. Our lawyers conduct special investigations and compliance audits while maintaining a high degree of confidentiality and without unnecessarily disrupting ordinary business activity. We ensure that these efforts conform to Sarbanes-Oxley certification procedures. Where misconduct has occurred, we are skilled at using government voluntary disclosure and amnesty programs to avoid penalties. Clients often ask us to design and implement corporate compliance programs to prevent and detect violations of criminal law. Using our knowledge of how prosecutors apply the law in particular industries (such as financial services, health care, media and information

6 technology), we draft and edit compliance plans, and help to keep compliance efforts and activities effective. We ensure that these plans meet the requirements of the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines for Organizational Defendants and reflect the newest factors used by the Criminal Division of the U.S. Department of Justice to decide whether to initiate business crime charges. Trial and Appellate Advocacy If a fight is unavoidable, we are your effective advocates in the boardroom, the hearing room and the courtroom. Manatt attorneys have tried cases in more than a dozen states, argued before appeals courts, including the United States Supreme Court, and have been investigative counsel in congressional and state legislative proceedings, including during impeachment inquiries involving President Clinton and Connecticut Governor John Rowland. Our record of success for our clients is impressive. A few recent examples are: Complete acquittal of a client charged by the federal government with criminal securities fraud violations and racketeering after a four-month trial. The case received national attention. National acclaim for the manner in which we led televised evidentiary hearings on behalf of the Connecticut legislature during impeachment proceedings against Governor John Rowland. The New York Times called our firm s performance authoritative in a front-page article. A successful defense verdict and dismissal obtained on behalf of contractor in a trial involving a series of related land use, public contracting, political contribution and unfair business practice lawsuits filed by disgruntled billboard companies challenging a government institution s award of a major public contract.

7 Criminal Defense and Investigations Attorneys We present below brief biographies for some of the members of our Criminal Defense and Investigations practice group. For more information about the group and its members, please visit our website, Steven Reich is Co-chair of Manatt s Criminal Defense and Investigations Practice Group and regularly represents companies and individuals in criminal and congressional proceedings and in civil litigation posing significant reputational risks for the client. Before joining Manatt, he served as Senior Associate Counsel to President Bill Clinton, a position in which Mr. Reich supervised the legal team that responded to investigations conducted by independent counsels, federal prosecutors and congressional committees. Prior to working at the White House, Mr. Reich was counsel to the Democratic members of the U.S. Senate and to the Democratic members of the Committee on the Judiciary of the U.S. House of Representatives during the impeachment of President Clinton. A former Assistant Federal Public Defender, Mr. Reich has tried numerous criminal cases to judges and juries. Most recently, Mr. Reich served as Special Counsel to a Select Committee of the Connecticut House of Representatives during impeachment proceedings against former Governor John Rowland. He also is a member of the Board of Editors of the Business Crimes Bulletin. Chad Hummel is Co-Chair of Manatt s Criminal Defense and Investigations Practice Group and has spent his career successfully defending companies and individuals charged with serious federal and state crimes. He has tried complex jury cases involving many different types of alleged frauds, RICO, money laundering, antitrust violations, environmental crimes, tax evasion, and violent crimes. He has also represented numerous Fortune 500 companies in government investigations and corporate compliance efforts. Mr. Hummel has particular expertise in antitrust matters and has tried civil cases involving allegations of price fixing, monopolization and other forms of unfair competition and served as Vice Chair of Criminal Law and Procedure Committee of the American Bar Association s Antitrust Law Section. L. Peter Parcher is one of this country s preeminent trial lawyers. He is a fellow of the American College of Trial Lawyers and the equally elite International Academy of Trial Lawyers. A former Public Defender, he is recognized as a go to lawyer for well-known personalities and companies in difficulty, and has tried innumerable high profile cases before judges and juries. Mr. Parcher has been the subject of feature articles in a number of publications, including Forbes Magazine, The

8 Wall Street Journal, The National Law Journal and The American Lawyer. John Libby represents businesses in criminal investigations and prosecutions. Mr. Libby was an Assistant United States Attorney for the Central District of California and, as a defense lawyer, has represented clients in the technology, health care, financial services and apparel industries. Mr. Libby represents clients at all phases of government investigations and prosecutions, including responding to search warrants, grand jury and administrative subpoenas and civil investigative demands; as witnesses before grand juries; in pre- and post-indictment plea negotiations; and in all phases of post-indictment proceedings, including motions, trials and sentencing. Mr. Libby also assists clients in formulating compliance programs, conducting compliance training, and carrying out internal investigations following allegations of misconduct. Stephen Ryan litigates on behalf of a wide variety of major companies, including technology companies in highly regulated industries. Mr. Ryan has broad experience in all branches of government. He served as General Counsel to the Government Affairs Committee of the United States Senate and, prior to joining the Senate staff, was an Assistant United States Attorney for the District of Columbia and Deputy Counsel of the President s Commission on Organized Crime. For many years, Mr. Ryan has taught a Legislative Investigations course at Georgetown Law School. He has published numerous articles on the interface of criminal and government-procurement law and is a frequent commentator on criminal law matters, including for the NBC Nightly News, CNN, The New York Times, The Washington Post, and The Los Angeles Times. Ronald Blum has extensive experience in criminal litigation. Mr. Blum has tried numerous criminal matters to juries and courts and has argued leading appellate cases involving novel issues of criminal law. He also has significant experience representing clients in the securities and health care industries, and has defended class actions, arbitrations, and investigations and prosecutions by regulatory authorities for clients in those industries. Mr. Blum previously was an Assistant District Attorney in the Manhattan District Attorney s Office. He is an Adjunct Professor at Fordham Law School, where he teaches Complex Criminal Litigation. O. Peter Sherwood litigates in the areas of antitrust, civil rights, RICO and constitutional law and has appeared often in state and federal courts of appeals, including the New York Court of Appeals and the United States Supreme Court. Before joining Manatt, Mr. Sherwood was the Corporation Counsel of the City of New York, where he had responsibility for all of the law business of the City and its affiliated agencies. He also was a member of the New York City Procurement

9 Policy Board and the New York State Ethics Commission. Before serving as Corporation Counsel, Mr. Sherwood was the Solicitor General of the State of New York, where he oversaw all of the appellate work of the State. In his distinguished career, Mr. Sherwood also served as an Assistant Counsel for the NAACP Legal Defense and Educational Fund. He has taught courses at New York University School of Law and CUNY School of Law. Andrew DeVore served as an Assistant United States Attorney for the Southern District of New York, where he was a member of the Major Crimes Unit and a founding member of the Computer Hacking and Intellectual Property Unit. He is an experienced trial lawyer who has conducted federal jury trials, argued numerous appeals before the Second Circuit Court of Appeals, conducted highly-sensitive internal investigations, and defended individuals and corporations in criminal investigations at the state and federal levels. Mr. DeVore is an Adjunct Professor at Columbia Law School, where he teaches Internet and Computer Crimes law. Before entering law school, Mr. DeVore was a Legislative Assistant to United States Senator Brock Adams, responsible for policy and legislative developments regarding energy and defense issues. Donald Fitzgerald focuses on federal and state income taxation issues, including controversies, administration and regulations, and other tax matters. Mr. Fitzgerald is a Certified Specialist in Taxation Law as governed by the California Board of Legal Specialization. He previously served for five years in the Office of the Chief Counsel of the Internal Revenue Service. Robert Hinerfeld concentrates on appellate litigation, professional responsibility issues, and legal ethics. He previously served in the criminal and organized crime and racketeering divisions of the United States Attorney s Office in Los Angeles. Mr. Hinerfeld also served as an Associate Independent Counsel in the Office of Independent Counsel Joseph DiGenova. He is a past President of the California Academy of Appellate Lawyers, past Chair of the California State Bar s Special Committee on Revision of the Federal Criminal Code, and a past member of the California State Bar s Committee on Criminal Law and Procedure. He also recently served as a Commissioner of the California State Bar s Commission of Judicial Nominees Evaluation. Contacts For additional information about our Criminal Defense and Investigations Practice Group, please contact:

10 On the East Coast: On the West Coast: Steven Reich Chad Hummel (212) (310)