Complex White Collar Defense

Most white collar cases are won or lost before an indictment exists. By the time charges are returned, the government has had months or years to build a record — and the defense has had whatever time it used well.

We represent individuals and entities in federal criminal investigations and prosecutions involving fraud, public corruption, obstruction and false statements, money laundering and sanctions, campaign finance and election law, the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act, and conspiracy theories that stretch each of those categories further than the statutes were written to reach.

The pre-indictment phase is where we concentrate. That means engaging with the line prosecutor and, when warranted, supervisors and Main Justice; making the declination presentation with the facts and the law the government has not yet seen; negotiating scope on grand jury subpoenas; managing document productions so they do not create new exposure; and preparing clients for proffers with a clear-eyed assessment of what cooperation actually buys and what it costs.

For organizations, we conduct internal investigations designed to withstand scrutiny — properly scoped, privileged where privilege applies, with Upjohn warnings given and documented, and with the endgame in mind from day one. We advise boards and special committees on disclosure, remediation, individual counsel, and the difficult question of when a company's interests and an executive's interests have separated.

When a case must be tried, it gets tried. Suppression motions, motions to dismiss for failure to state an offense, venue challenges, statute-of-limitations arguments, and vagueness and rule-of-lenity attacks are litigated aggressively and preserved carefully. Where conviction occurs, sentencing is a separate contest with its own record, its own guidelines analysis, and its own mitigation case — and we treat it as one.

What we handle

• Pre-indictment representation and declination advocacy
• Grand jury subpoena response and negotiation
• Target, subject, and witness representation
• Proffer and cooperation strategy
• Internal and board-directed investigations
• Search warrant and raid response
• Motions practice, suppression, and dismissal litigation
• Federal jury trials
• Sentencing advocacy and guidelines litigation
• Parallel civil, regulatory, and congressional coordination

Who we represent

• Executives, officers, and directors
• Public officials and government employees
• Corporations, partnerships, and nonprofits
• Government contractors and grantees
• Financial professionals and advisers
• Individuals under investigation but not yet charged