Mastery of Complex Business Practices and Transactions.
White-collar crime and government investigations present some of the thorniest and potentially damaging situations that an institution or individual could face. These matters require a special sensitivity and discretion in addition to the ability to master complex business practices and transactions. The lawyers in Milbank's White-Collar Crime and Investigations Practice, several of whom are former federal prosecutors and Securities and Exchange Commission attorneys, combine their substantial government experience, with their thorough knowledge of the relevant laws, rules, regulations and enforcement practices, and an astute awareness of the delicacy and complexity of these matters to represent institutions and individuals facing investigations or prosecution by governmental and other regulatory bodies.
Deep experience and knowledge
Our lawyers regularly represent and defend corporations and their officers and directors in criminal and regulatory investigations, at trials and in proceedings before the SEC, state regulators and self-regulatory bodies such as the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority. We have represented clients in many high-profile investigations of the financial industry, including:
- Government investigations of tax shelters
- Internet gaming operations
- The auction-rate securities market;
- Revenue-sharing and market-timing practices of mutual funds
- Soft-dollar and directed brokerage practices of investment advisors and broker-dealers
- Specialist trading
- Revenue-sharing practices of insurance carriers and brokers
- Insider trading.
We also have represented numerous clients in regulatory proceedings and criminal investigations involving allegations of securities and/or accounting fraud, violations of the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act of 1977 and other forms of business misconduct. Our Attorneys regularly prepare and defend senior officers of large companies in testimony and interviews before officials of the US Department of Justice, the SEC, FINRA and other regulators, and we have experience crafting numerous persuasive Wells submissions and successfully advocating for clients in negotiations with the SEC and state securities regulators.
Corporate internal investigations
Corporate internal investigations, which are frequently a necessary corollary to effective corporate compliance programs and successful advocacy before regulators, is another area in which we have significant experience. Our lawyers are highly skilled at gathering all relevant facts, through both conventional and creative evidence-gathering techniques. Our teams analyze those facts and present their findings in the most effective manner to the relevant audience, whether it be a company’s general counsel, subcommittee, or a regulatory body such as the SEC. We routinely investigate a broad array of potential misconduct within a company, and make every effort to do so discretely to minimize any impact on business operations.
integration of knowledge and resources
Our large group of world-class litigators and corporate lawyers provide our white-collar practitioners with a broad array of additional resources and sophisticated knowledge in areas such as bankruptcy, banking, foreign asset control, securities and trade regulation that is often unavailable in many boutique firms. Also, our practice is supported by a large and skilled support staff and state-of-the-art technology that provide all the resources necessary to handle large-scale document productions to government regulators, and the know-how to respond quickly and efficiently to government subpoenas and other requests for information.
