Heller Ehrman's White Collar Criminal Defense team has extensive experience in resolving the thorny, high-stakes problems that arise when a violation of law is uncovered, or even suspected. We handle the full range of issues covered by the criminal code on behalf of a U.S. and international client base of employees, chief executive officers, professional firms and corporations from a variety of industries. Our experience includes investigations and litigation involving healthcare fraud, official corruption, false statements and obstruction of justice, money laundering, copyright infringement, theft of trade secrets, commercial bribery, defense procurement, tax, bank, and other frauds, customs and other import/export violations, and environmental offenses.

We work with clients throughout all stages of their matters, from conducting internal corporate investigations to defending corporations and individuals in grand jury and related administrative investigations and trials. We recognize that the best result for a client who is the subject of an investigation is to avoid being charged at all, and we aggressively seek that result whenever possible. As a result, our team approaches each potential criminal case as unique and handles them with the highest degree of care. If a case does go to trial, we have the dedication, resources, skill and experience to provide the best defense.

Facts About Our Practice

• Currently represent clients under indictment in two of the largest criminal securities fraud cases pending in the country
• More than 20 attorneys located in offices across the country, including numerous former federal prosecutors, as well as seasoned criminal defense trial counsel, who have tried over 100 criminal cases between them
• Among our litigators are a former Acting U.S. Attorney for the Northern District of Illinois (Chicago), who is also a former Chief of the Public Integrity Section of the Department of Justice; two former chiefs of the Criminal Division of the U.S. Attorneys Office for the Eastern District of New York; as well as trial attorneys from various U.S. Attorneys offices and divisions of the Department of Justice, including the Antitrust and Tax Divisions

Our Capabilities

Government Investigations

Our breadth of experience makes us especially suited to tackle the sensitive, complex and challenging issues facing companies and individuals unfortunate enough to attract the attention of government investigators, or who anticipate that a government investigation may loom.

Criminal and Regulatory Investigations

In the Post-Enron world, corporations, their officers and directors, their financial advisors, and their professional services firms have increasingly become targets of criminal and regulatory investigations. Heller Ehrman has special strength in navigating the murky waters of Securities and Exchange Commission, particularly when accompanied by parallel criminal proceedings, and offers extensive experience on the accounting issues that so often spark securities litigation.

Civil and Administrative Litigation

We have achieved considerable success in handling the civil and administrative litigation that often accompanies criminal investigations, such as qui tam cases, SEC investigations and securities class actions, bringing to bear significant proficiency in dealing with the potential strategic risks and rewards of parallel civil litigation.

Preventative Counsel

Importantly, our practice regularly includes preventative counseling to proactively work with clients to help avoid conduct that might prompt an investigation, as well as conducting prompt and thorough internal investigations for clients who may have engaged in questionable conduct.

Antitrust

Our White Collar Criminal Defense practice complements our Antitrust practice. We are frequently called upon to respond to allegations involving international and local cartels, price fixing, bid rigging and beyond, across a wide variety of industries.