K&L Gates : Practices & Industries : Government Enforcement

K&L Gates : Practices & Industries : Government Enforcement



















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Government Enforcement
Areas of Practice • Representative Matters


K&L Gates has one of the largest and most diverse Government Enforcement practices of any law firm. Whether a matter involves securities regulators, another agency, or criminal investigators at the federal or state level, our diverse group of more than 70 lawyers located across the United States, in Europe and in Asia provides unparalleled experience in addressing the matter, often proactively and early. Our Government Enforcement team includes a former United States Attorney General, more than a dozen former staffers from the Securities and Exchange Commission (“SEC”), a number of former prosecutors from the Department of Justice (“DOJ”), former heads of state securities regulators, and lawyers from a diverse collection of regulators or agencies, including the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (“FINRA”), the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (“CFTC”), the New York Stock Exchange (“NYSE”), the New York Attorney General’s Office (“NYAG”), and the Consumer Product Safety Commission (“CPSC”).

Our approach is creative and pragmatic. Because the mere initiation of a government enforcement inquiry can cause severe harm to a company or an individual, we recognize the importance of moving quickly, gathering the facts and seeking constructive engagement early on in a matter to prevent criminal or civil charges from being filed by convincing a regulator or prosecutor at the earliest stage possible that an enforcement action is not appropriate. If an action cannot be avoided and settlement is not practical, our enforcement lawyers fight vigorously any charges or claims that may be brought against our clients and have handled a wide range of grand jury or other government investigations and resulting litigation in court and administrative proceedings.

Corporations and their executives are increasingly judged by the manner in which they address the need for internal controls and the investigation and reporting of potential wrongdoing. Successfully identifying the need for, and timely and economically completing, an internal investigation are often crucial to the cooperation calculus made by DOJ, the SEC and federal and state regulators who recognize and credit credible, meaningful independent internal investigations. K&L Gates has conducted scores of internal investigations for public and private companies, not-for-profit institutions, governmental entities and other organizations and understands the balance of competing public and private interests required in conducting credible internal reviews.

When a prosecutor or regulator insists on an investigation, a potential subject or target must be knowledgeable and prepared. K&L Gates lawyers routinely handle a variety of such investigations, from routine inquiries to high-visibility state and federal investigations, to grand jury proceedings and criminal trials, on behalf of both corporations and individuals. Moreover, K&L Gates is experienced in handling Congressional investigations in Washington, D.C., and the related criminal and civil actions that often flow from them. These investigations frequently are complex and pose difficult issues of individual rights and public policy.

We have a breadth of experience representing corporations and individuals who are subject to parallel civil and criminal investigations, which primarily arise in the securities and environmental industries and in matters involving claims made against the government. These types of parallel proceedings present corporations with unique problems, such as when corporate officers are faced with a decision as to whether to invoke their Fifth Amendment rights due to the pending criminal investigation during civil depositions. Should such officers invoke their Fifth Amendment rights, an adverse inference attaches in the civil proceeding. Our lawyers have been successful in convincing federal judges to stay the civil proceeding pending the resolution of the criminal investigation, and thereby presenting the corporation with the ability to defend itself in the civil matter.

K&L Gates represents a wide variety of public and private companies, broker-dealers, investment advisers, investment companies, private funds, accounting firms, law firms, officers and directors. We have been involved in virtually every significant enforcement initiative during the past 30 years, including Enron and WorldCom, the recent spate of public corruption matters in Washington, D.C., criminal and civil matters arising from Boston’s Big Dig, mutual fund market timing or late trading, analyst research conflicts, options backdating and auction rate securities, among other issues. Lawyers from our group even wrote the book on criminal and civil securities enforcement – again – aptly titled The Securities Enforcement Manual, Second Edition, published in 2007 by the American Bar Association. The Enforcement Manual, which details tactics and strategies for dealing with all of the issues that arise in securities enforcement matters, has been praised as the most comprehensive work of its kind.

The publication of the Enforcement Manual was not atypical. K&L Gates lawyers are deeply involved in other high-visibility endeavors. Our team has served as the government-appointed examiner in the WorldCom and New Century Financial Corporation bankruptcy proceedings, and as investigators into practices followed by CBS News. K&L Gates lawyers publish frequently, and are active in the American Bar Association — two of its recent presidents were K&L Gates partners — and in local bar associations. Our lawyers have served as heads of industry groups.

The K&L Gates team is experienced and deep. We look forward to using this knowledge to assist you.


Areas of Practice


For detailed information about our two primary areas of focus, Securities Enforcement and White Collar Crime/Criminal Defense, please follow the links below.

Securities Enforcement
White Collar Crime/Criminal Defense

Representative Matters


Examiner/Special Counsel

Serve as examiner in WorldCom bankruptcy, one of the largest bankruptcies in U.S. history
Serve as fact-finder in investigation of CBS News reporting regarding President Bush's National Guard service
Serve as examiner in New Century bankruptcy
Securities/Regulatory Matters/Parallel Civil And Criminal Investigations
Conduct internal investigation of a hedge fund in connection with parallel NYAG-SEC investigation
Conduct internal investigation of investment advisory client in connection with the Bernard Madoff fraud
Conduct internal investigation and representation in regulatory, civil and criminal actions of public pension funds victimized by fraud
Conduct internal investigations of bank bribery or failure to adhere to safe and sound business or lending practices
Represent officers and directors in administrative and/or removal proceedings in connection with examination reports
Represent financial institutions regarding cease-and-desist or other regulatory orders for unsafe or unsound practices
Represent personnel of a financial institution regarding indemnification issues relating to claims of wrongdoing
Represent publicly traded specialty chemical manufacturer in federal grand jury investigation and parallel civil enforcement proceeding arising from the alleged improper storage, labeling, handling, and exportation of hazardous materials and hazardous wastes
Represent large steel manufacturer in grand jury investigation along with parallel civil enforcement proceeding arising from alleged pattern of National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System ("NPDES") violations at several facilities in two states. Declination from Assistant United States Attorney
Represent multiple large securities firms in parallel SEC/DOJ investigations
Advise large oil pipeline company regarding criminal investigation and parallel civil investigation and enforcement arising under the Clean Water Act and relating to alleged oil spills
Represent the largest manufacturer of chemical warfare suits for the military in parallel criminal and civil investigations
Conduct FCPA investigation for special board of defense contractor
Represent a former director in an ongoing series of class and derivative actions relating to stock option backdating
Represent a Taiwanese manufacturer of flat panel products in an ongoing federal criminal investigation and related civil class actions
Represent large steel manufacturer in grand jury investigation and parallel civil enforcement proceeding arising from alleged pattern of NPDES violations at several facilities in two states
Grand Jury/Criminal Defense Matters

Represent a corporation and its officers in an antitrust grand jury investigation of the nickel alloy industry
Represent a national real estate title company in a HUD investigation
Represent a political action committee that was named in the presentment to an investigative grand jury
Represent an advisor to President Clinton during the Independent Counsel's investigation who was served with a grand jury subpoena for testimony and documents
Represent employees of pharmaceutical manufacturers in off-label marketing investigations
Represent mortgage lender in HUD/FBI fraud investigation
Represent individuals in CIA tape destruction investigation
Represent federal special agent in criminal misconduct investigation
Represent individual in DOJ investigation into allegations of market manipulation
Represent independent members of the board of directors of major international company in high-profile criminal investigation of terrorist financing
Represent mortgage lender in grand jury investigation arising from subprime crisis
Represent public entity in multiple federal and state criminal investigations arising from collapse in Boston's Big Dig
Represent a maritime pilot in an ongoing investigation regarding 58,000 gallon oil spill in San Francisco
Represent major international bulk oil shipping entity in connection with allegations of criminal violations of the Oil Pollution Act
Represent foreign bank in connection with forfeiture of customer's account by federal government
Represent a real estate development company in a criminal case alleging violations of asbestos notice, removal and disposal requirements
Represent biotechnical company in connection with grand jury investigation of possible crimes involving weapons of mass destruction
Represent individual and small farming entity in investigation of alleged violations of Clean Water Act and Endangered Species Act in California
Represent recycling company in connection with grand jury investigation of hazardous waste in Pennsylvania
Represent photofinishing company in connection with allegations of falsification of records, conspiracy to defraud, and failure to comply with wastewater discharge permit under federal Clean Water Act and state clean water laws
Represent company and officers engaged in asbestos monitoring and testing activities under government contract under the Clean Air Act
Represent owner in criminal investigation arising from oil spill
Trial of prominent Pennsylvania coroner on fraud charges
Defense of a United States Ambassador and the former CEO of a major national broker-dealer in a securities fraud investigation in connection with the marketing of real estate limited partnerships
Represent a worldwide entertainment company charged with defrauding government agencies
Represent national figures involved in the investigation into high-yield junk bonds
Represent a major chemical manufacturer in an investigation relating to the exportation of hazardous materials
Represent a national figure in the Independent Counsel investigation of President Clinton
Congressional Investigations Matters

Represent individual in parallel DOJ and Congressional investigation of lobbying activities
Represent company in connection with Congressional investigation of FDA action
Represent trustee in investigation by Senate Permanent Investigations Subcommittee of offshore investment devices
Represent corporate officer in connection with investigation into alleged irregularities relating to contract issued by House of Representatives
Represent a lawyer in investigations by Senate Permanent Investigations Subcommittee of abusive offshore tax shelters
Antitrust/Price-Fixing Matters

Defense of a manufacturer in a grand jury investigation regarding pricing and competitive practices in the nickel alloy industry
Defense of an oil refiner in a grand jury investigation into alleged price-fixing, as well as the defense of a related civil class action for treble damages and injunctive relief
Defense against price-fixing charges relating to a processor of fresh fish
Defense of powdered metal manufacturers against criminal price-fixing charges
Represent individuals in connection with grand jury investigations into price-fixing in the transportation aftermarket and electrical contracting industries
Defense of a pipe fabricator in a grand jury investigation into collusive pricing agreements among fabricators and their suppliers on cost-plus contracts, as well as an ensuing class action alleging price-fixing and fraudulent pricing
Represent a roofing manufacturer in grand jury investigations of alleged price-fixing
Defense of a criminal investigation into alleged vertical price-fixing in the automotive aftermarket
Represent a silage bag manufacturer in a grand jury investigation into price-fixing
Represent highway contractors in grand jury investigations into alleged price-fixing
Represent hardware distributor in a grand jury investigation into alleged price-fixing
Defense of a generic pharmaceutical manufacturer against criminal price-fixing charges
Defense of a building owner in a state attorney general's grand jury investigation regarding potential Donnelly Act violations involving allegedly restrictive agreements between building owner and affiliated contractors
Government Contracts And Procurement Matters

Defense of an imaging and graphics contractor to the GSA in a criminal grand jury investigation in northern California
Defense of an IT service contractor in a criminal grand jury investigation in northern California, including pricing and billing issues
Represent large defense contractors in two of the largest DOD procurement fraud investigations, "Operation Ill Wind" and "Operation Uncover," involving allegations of bribery, gratuities and the illegal possession and conversion of classified and unclassified government procurement information
Assist a diversified information technology contractor to the GSA in a multi-contract voluntary disclosure of potential contract pricing violations, and negotiation of a nominal settlement after a resulting civil fraud investigation by the DOJ and GSA
Represent a leading DOD munitions contractor on a series of voluntary disclosures to the DOD of potential contract test, inspection and certification improprieties, and closing of the resulting DOD verification investigations without fines, penalties or contract adjustments


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Sub-Areas of Practice
Securities Enforcement
White Collar Crime/Criminal Defense


Related Practices/Industries
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Commercial Disputes
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Environmental, Land and Natural Resources
Food, Drugs, Medical Devices and Cosmetics
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