Representing individuals and institutions under investigation or indictment for federal or state crimes is the centerpiece of our criminal practice. We have represented companies and senior executives across a broad spectrum of industries from Wall Street to Silicon Valley. There is no area of regulatory enforcement we have not encountered before, from antitrust to healthcare to public integrity to tax.

Although we frequently represent our clients at the early stages of an investigation with an eye toward avoiding the courtroom, we are veteran trial lawyers known for our skill with judges and juries. We approach every case from the perspective of how it might fare at trial, working backwards to develop pretrial strategies that will best position our clients for success.

Many of our white-collar clients face parallel regulatory and civil actions, including SEC investigations and class-action and derivative lawsuits. We are uniquely qualified to help our clients navigate these particularly challenging waters. In addition, we are frequently called upon to conduct sensitive internal investigations for companies and public institutions.

Representative Matters

We resolved a federal criminal action, multiple agency enforcement proceedings, and shareholder derivative and class-action lawsuits for a senior officer of a failed regional bank.

We won acquittal at trial for a foreign-exchange trader charged with federal wire fraud based on alleged manipulation of FX option prices.

We secured a non-prosecution and declination of injunctive actions by the California Attorney General’s Office against a Fortune 100 company in connection with the shipping of tobacco products.

We secured dismissal of federal criminal charges against a technology executive accused of possessing stolen trade secrets.

We represented multiple executives in federal antitrust investigations involving allegations of market division, price fixing, and bid-rigging domestically and abroad.

We brought a successful legal challenge on behalf of a technology company to the government’s interpretation of the Stored Communications Act.

We achieved a declination and successfully resolved an enforcement action and civil lawsuits for a principal of a $700 million investment fund.

We achieved a declination of prosecution of a water sanitation plant manager under investigation for Clean Water Act violations.

We represented multiple executives of a major biotechnology company in a federal investigation involving the marketing of a cancer drug that resolved without any criminal charges being filed.

We litigated challenges to the sufficiency of an indictment which led to dismissal of all charges against an energy trader prosecuted for manipulation of the electricity markets during the California energy crisis.

We achieved a declination for an analyst at a major securities broker in a federal insider-trading investigation.

We achieved a declination for a senior executive of a real estate investment company in a public integrity investigation involving alleged bribes to city leaders.

We represented individual employees at technology companies in multiple DOJ/SEC investigations relating to FCPA, cybersecurity and other potential business crimes.

We won a full acquittal at trial of a commercial pilot indicted for federal crimes during an international flight.

We won a directed verdict at trial for a public utility employee charged with vehicular manslaughter arising from an on-the-job collision.

We defended an individual under investigation for Endangered Species Act and FDA violations relating to the distribution of herbal remedies imported from China.

We represented a whistleblower before the SEC Office of the Whistleblower in connection with securities law violations by a large technology company.

We won acquittal of first degree murder charges against San Francisco adult entertainment mogul James Mitchell of the Mitchell Brothers O’Farrell Theatre.