Criminal Litigation In our white collar criminal defense practice, we represent clients in all phases of a criminal case, including grand jury investigations, indictment, pretrial proceedings, trial, sentencing and appeal. We represent clients who are targets of an investigation as well as witnesses in their dealings with the federal, state or local authorities. We have represented clients in numerous joint investigations conducted by federal or state prosecutors together with regulatory agencies. One of the most difficult ordeals that a client, whether an institution or an individual, can face is to be the target of a criminal investigation. An indictment – as well as the attendant publicity – can have a devastating effect on the client’s business, career and reputation. In such an investigation, it is critical that the target have able representation by attorneys who have special expertise in the field of white collar crime and substantial credibility with the prosecutorial offices. As a result of our prior experience in high-level positions in the United States Attorney’s Office and our special expertise in the field, we have had substantial success in persuading prosecutors not to indict and, where clients are indicted, in winning dismissal of criminal charges or acquittal. We include among our successes the representation of a former partner of the accounting firm KPMG in a multi-defendant tax shelter prosecution billed by the government as the largest criminal tax case ever brought. We authored, argued and litigated the pre-trial motion and attendant proceedings that resulted in dismissal on all charges not only of our client but of the 12 defendants who joined our motion. Finding the prosecution had violated defendants’ constitutional rights to counsel and fair trial by inducing KPMG to cut off payment of legal fees in contravention of its established practice of advancing legal expenses to its partners, the court issued a series of landmark decisions that were upheld on appeal: United States v. Stein, 435 F. Supp.2d 330 (S.D.N.Y. 2006); United States v. Stein, 495 F. Supp.2d 390 (S.D.N.Y. 2007), aff'd, 541 F.3d 130 (2d Cir. 2008). We also have significant experience negotiating favorable dispositions and dealing with the sentencing phase. When we represent clients who have been indicted, we advise and guide them through the plea bargaining process and through the sentencing process. Our significant trial experience, both as federal prosecutors and in private practice, helps us to provide quality representation in the cases that do proceed to trial. A large part of our practice has involved representing professionals under investigation or indictment, including lawyers, doctors, accountants, officers and executives of corporations and not-for-profit entities, stockbrokers, traders, the publishers of a newspaper, and owners and employees of various types of businesses. We have also successfully defended attorneys in disciplinary proceedings. We have represented clients in investigations and cases involving allegations of securities fraud, tax fraud, bank fraud, money laundering, antitrust violations, health care fraud, mail and wire fraud, bribery, official corruption, embezzlement, obstruction of justice, subornation of perjury, RICO charges and forfeiture. Cases we have tried include a four-month federal RICO prosecution involving charges of witness bribery and subornation of perjury by attorneys and investigators at one of New York's most successful personal injury law firms. We had previously obtained dismissal of related criminal charges brought in state court. One of our attorneys also represented at trial an officer of a major toy company on an indictment in which four officials were charged with having engaged in a scheme to defraud the company and its stockholders by creating a slush fund for bribery and other illicit purposes. After a lengthy trial, the officer was found not guilty on all charges. We have extensive appellate experience both in the Second Circuit and the state appellate courts.  We handled the federal appeal on behalf of a defendant convicted in one of the largest criminal tax fraud cases ever brought, involving repurchase agreements for Treasury bills worth over $51 billion [United States v. Manko, 979 F.2d 900 (2d Cir. 1992)].  We won remand of a prison sentence imposed on a tax attorney [United States v. Tenzer, 213 F.3d 34 (2d Cir. 2000)]; and, in another case, we were successful in securing the dismissal of mail fraud charges against the owners of a foreign medical school placement agency who had been indicted after a lengthy investigation.