White Collar Criminal Defense & Parallel Proceedings

Today, law enforcement agencies are casting a wider net and are aggressively pursuing individuals and organizations to detect wrongdoing. Being the target of an investigation can cost you more than your reputation.

Our white collar defense attorneys represent both individuals and businesses in a wide range of federal, state, and administrative criminal matters. We have tried some of the most highly publicized white collar criminal cases in the country and established an extraordinary success rate. As criminal inquiries and administrative proceedings often move forward simultaneously, our attorneys are skilled at managing both to facilitate a global resolution.

Early on, we develop aggressive and creative strategies for managing grand jury and other governmental investigations to help you avoid indictment. By vigorously defending against allegations from the outset, we often succeed in convincing prosecutors not to proceed criminally against our clients, or to otherwise resolve matters short of indictment. We also regularly help clients conduct internal investigations designed to detect and correct problems before the government becomes involved.

Quick Facts

  • Reputation for taking tough cases to trial and winning
  • Experience helping companies achieve global (civil and criminal) resolution
  • Successfully defended publicly traded companies, and their former and current officers and directors, in enforcement actions and civil and criminal fraud suits
  • Successfully handled internal investigations to privately resolve clients’ issues
  • Years of experience representing individuals who are subjects, targets, or witnesses in government or internal investigations
  • Attorneys who have served in government agencies, including:
    • DOJ
    • Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC)
    • UK Financial Services Authority
    • US Attorneys’ Offices
    • State Attorneys’ General Offices

Areas of Focus


Rankings & Recognitions

  • Attorneys recognized by Chambers USA, Best Lawyers, and Super Lawyers and include the following:
    • Best Lawyers in America “Lawyer of the Year” for Criminal Defense / White Collar (2011)
    • “Top Gun” in Ethisphere Institute’s Attorneys Who Matter (2011)
    • ILO Client Choice Award winner for White Collar Crime (2011)
    • BTI Client Service All-Star (2011)
Sort by: Name  Title  Office

Eoin P. Beirne

Eoin P. Beirne

Associate

Boston

617.348.1707

Francis X. Bellotti

Francis X. Bellotti

Of Counsel

Boston

617.348.1606

Peter A. Chavkin

Peter A. Chavkin

Member

New York
Stamford
Washington, DC

212.692.6231

Michael F. Connolly

Michael F. Connolly

Member

Boston

617.348.4448

Robert Delahunt Jr.

Robert Delahunt Jr.

Member

Boston

617.348.4480

Kelly L. Frey

Kelly L. Frey

Associate

Boston

617.348.1827

Wynter N. Lavier

Wynter N. Lavier

Associate

Boston

617.348.4712

Matthew D. Levitt

Matthew D. Levitt

Associate

Boston

617.348.1646

John K. Markey

John K. Markey

Member

Boston

617.348.1686

Jennifer Mather McCarthy

Jennifer Mather McCarthy

Associate

Boston

617.348.4462

Tracy A. Miner

Tracy A. Miner

Member

Boston

617.348.1694

R. Robert Popeo

R. Robert Popeo

Chairman

Boston

617.348.1716

Bridget M. Rohde

Bridget M. Rohde

Member

New York
Washington, DC

212.692.6883

Jessica C. Sergi

Jessica C. Sergi

Associate

Boston

617.348.1766

Ellyn L. Sternfield

Ellyn L. Sternfield

Of Counsel

Washington, DC

202.434.7445

Aaron M. Tidman

Aaron M. Tidman

Associate

Washington, DC

202.434.7392

McKenzie E. Webster

McKenzie E. Webster

Associate

Boston

617.210.6856

Representative Experience

  • Represented an attorney charged with 29 counts of bank fraud and money laundering in connection with the subprime mortgage crisis. After a seven-day trial in federal district court, our client was acquitted on all charges.
  • Representing a nonprofit in connection with a number of state and federal criminal, civil, and administrative investigations arising out of alleged financial improprieties and fraudulent conduct. These include investigations by the United States Attorney’s Office, the Massachusetts Attorney General, the Massachusetts State Ethics Commission, the State Retirement Board, and the Massachusetts Teachers Retirement Board. We represent our client in these investigations with the goal of avoiding criminal charges and/or administrative sanctions that could put the company out of business. We are currently in active negotiations with government officials at all agencies and at all levels.
  • Represented a client, the founder, former CEO, and chairman of the board of a national real estate developer, facing felony charges of campaign finance violations and federal program fraud. After extensive negotiations, our client was sentenced to pay a fine of $100,000 with no term of imprisonment, probation, or community service following his guilty plea to two misdemeanor counts of campaign finance violations. The court rejected the Probation Department’s and government’s loss calculations and agreed with our significantly lower loss amount.
  • Representing a high-level investment bank executive at the center of the bank’s conduct during the subprime crisis. We have led the executive’s interactions with Congress, the SEC, the Department of Justice, and the FCIC.
  • Advised a large, multinational corporation contemplating a cross-border acquisition on FCPA issues arising in the due diligence performed by a “Big 4” consulting firm. We analyzed the findings and assisted the client in fully evaluating the acquisition opportunity. Resulted in better offer for our client.
  • The SEC charged our client, a former CEO of a semiconductor company, with securities fraud related to alleged stock options backdating. The US Attorney’s Office simultaneously unsealed an indictment charging our client with criminal tax evasion relating to the same stock option exercises challenged by the SEC, and civil plaintiffs brought, on behalf of the company where our client served as CEO, a short-swing insider trading liability case against him in federal court in Delaware. After extensive pretrial briefings and hearings — followed by a six-week jury trial — the jury acquitted our client in the criminal case.
  • Represent a high-level executive at a major New York hedge fund, which is under investigation for the way it handled investments in small public companies that arose through reverse mergers.
  • Working with leading engineers, our team represented a major ready-mix concrete provider to marshal the relevant facts and data, then to persuade the government of the limited scope of product specification noncompliance on a $15 billion public works project. We then negotiated a global settlement with federal and state agencies that avoided suspension or debarment for the company.
  • Successfully represented a former employee of a pre-eminent financial services industry firm charged by the SEC with violations of the securities laws in connection with the firm's sale of funds invested in subprime securities. Our team tried the case for three weeks in March 2011 before the SEC’s Chief Administrative Law Judge, who ruled in favor of our client on all charges.
  • Represent a state agency in an internal investigation relating to its disadvantaged business enterprise (DBE) program. The agency self-reported to the USAO, and we are presently assisting them as they work through the reporting and subsequent compliance requirements.
  • Represented the secretary treasurer of a union charged in federal district court with falsifying documents to assist the president of the union with a vote on union dues. The case, one of the first to be tried under the Sarbanes-Oxley obstruction statute and the first in this district, was tried in United States District Court for the District of Massachusetts, and our client was acquitted.
  • Represented a client who was charged with receipt of stolen property from an off-duty police officer. The case was tried in Massachusetts state court and our client was acquitted.
  • Represented a Fortune 50 company under investigation by the federal government and 24 state Attorneys General for alleged violations of the False Claims Act regarding drug pricing matters. Despite two years of grand jury proceedings, we persuaded the government agencies not to pursue any criminal charges and subsequently negotiated a favorable civil settlement.
  • Represented the CFO of a high-tech company for alleged unlawful backdating of stock options for hundreds of employees. Notwithstanding comments in the media by one of the nation’s most respected securities law professors that the case presented “the clearest instance of criminal scienter he had ever seen,” we persuaded the federal government not to bring a criminal action against our client, and then negotiated a settlement with the SEC of all claims, without any admission of guilt by the client.

Who We Serve

  • Fortune 500 Companies
  • Government contractors
  • Government entities
  • Individuals, including:
    • CEOs
    • CFOs
    • Directors and officers
    • Doctors and dentists
    • Financial analysts
    • Investment bankers
    • Lawyers
    • Political officials
    • Sales managers
  • Nonprofit organizations
  • Professional services firms
  • Public and private businesses

Past