White Collar Defense

With a reputation for strong results and creative problem solving, our team handles virtually every type of white collar case. Our lawyers bring to each case a tireless work ethic, a strong network, and an emphasis on clear, effective communication with clients and juries to achieve our clients’ goals.

We consistently rank among the country’s top legal practitioners because we bring a unique approach to all our work. Within 30 days of taking a case, we develop a comprehensive strategy to guide our clients through the entire process, then work assiduously to achieve victories before trials even start. This approach secures swift results while protecting each client’s reputation.

We have achieved results in sensitive cases for leading global corporations in a wide range of industries, as well as for business executives and entrepreneurs, educational institutions, medical practices and physicians, lawyers, accountants, professional athletes, and religious leaders. The cases we handle for clients include securities fraud and insider trading; the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act; False Claims Act and government contractor litigation; criminal tax, antitrust, and environmental enforcement; Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act; health care litigation; and many others.

Investigations

We represent clients facing government investigations, criminal and civil enforcement actions in state and federal courts, and investigations from regulatory agencies nationwide. To achieve the earliest and most complete victory possible, we always seek to understand our client and the unique facts of the case better than the investigators. Through our comprehensive approach, our lawyers have an excellent record of obtaining terminations of investigations before they surface publicly or result in charges. Frequently, we persuade courts to dismiss indicted cases before they reach a jury.

We also have extensive experience conducting internal investigations to help businesses prevent problems before they arise. We formulate corporate compliance programs and devise implementation strategies to ensure our clients successfully navigate a fast-changing regulatory landscape without disruption to their core business.

Experience

White Collar and Investigations

Secured a complete victory in an extremely high-profile settlement between Tesla CEO Elon Musk and the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission over Musk’s extemporaneous tweets about his electric car company.

Representing Bill McGlashan, founder of TPG Growth LLC and The Rise Fund, in “Varsity Blues” college admissions case.

United States v. Waste Management of Hawaii Inc. On the eve of trial and following a four-year investigation and prosecution, we obtained dismissal of all felony charges against a subsidiary of Waste Management, the country’s largest environmental services provider, and two of its managers.

United States v. investment banking executive. Achieved deauthorization and termination without action for a former Goldman Sachs managing director of a lengthy SEC and DOJ insider trading investigation related to suspected tipping of the Galleon Group.

United States v. Medical Device Company. Obtained termination of a lengthy criminal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act investigation of a prominent medical device manufacturer without any sanction or civil settlement.

United States v. movie studio executive. Obtained an acquittal at trial on all charges in a tax evasion prosecution against a motion picture studio executive.

United States v. Angelo Mozilo. Achieved a declination in a federal criminal investigation of former Countrywide CEO Angelo Mozilo.

Texas v. oil heir. Achieved a post-indictment dismissal of multiple fraud charges against an heir of former oil magnate H.L. Hunt after an evidentiary hearing on allegations of prosecutorial misconduct, which also led to a contempt citation against the district attorney of Dallas, Texas.

Nevada v. mortgage company executive. Obtained dismissal of a 306-count criminal indictment against a mortgage company executive that had been heralded by the Nevada attorney general as the first “robo-signing” prosecution in the nation.

United States v. former chief executive officers. Obtained declinations for two former CEOs of separate criminal and SEC stock option backdating investigations.

United States v. casino company executive. Secured a declination of a three-year financial structuring and money laundering investigation of an executive at a Fortune 500 resort and casino company.

Illinois v. former FBI agent. Obtained the post-indictment dismissal of felony wiretapping charges against a former FBI agent based on a successful challenge to the constitutionality of the state’s wiretapping law.

United States v. founder of circuit design company. Won a complete criminal and civil declination and the return of all seized funds for the president and founder of an integrated circuit design company in connection with a lengthy federal contract fraud investigation.

Representing Viceroy Hotel Group LLP and Viceroy L’Ermitage Beverly Hills in multiple highly publicized forfeiture actions brought by the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ).

Representing Nutraceutical Corp., a leading manufacturer of nutritional supplements and food products, in defending a criminal enforcement action brought by the California Attorney General’s Office and 10 California counties.

Represented the University of California Board of Trustees in a high-profile internal investigation of the Office of the President related to alleged improper activity in response to a state audit. The result of this work led to corrective actions within the Office of the President.

Represented the San Diego Association of Governments (SANDAG) in an investigation into a new sales tax known as Measure A. SANDAG, a public agency that oversees transportation projects throughout the San Diego region, administers sales tax measures to fund those projects and generates demographic and economic forecasts to plan for them.

Defending the county of San Bernardino against claims by the California attorney general regarding “systemic” and “criminal failures” of the county’s Child and Family Services agency in its provision of child welfare services.

Represented a former high-level government Treasuries trader in a confidential investigation being conducted jointly by the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC), the SEC, the NY Department of Financial Services (DFS), and the DOJ.

Resolved a tristate attorneys general investigation into alleged false advertising by a Fortune 500 health care company without fines or penalties.

Terminated the criminal investigation of a Fortune 500 medical device manufacturer without payment of fine or civil settlement.

Conducted an FCPA investigation on behalf of a Fortune 100 company within 60 days, and concluded it without assessment of sanctions or fines.

Terminated criminal and parallel civil investigations targeting the CEO of a Fortune 500 medical device manufacturer for alleged complicity in an off-label promotion scheme and false and misleading public statements and filings regarding the device development.