Government Enforcement and Internal Investigations

Seward & Kissel’s Government Enforcement and Internal Investigations group represents corporate and individual clients in all aspects of governmental investigations, regulatory enforcement and parallel litigations arising from such probes. Members of the group include the former head of the Department of Justice’s Criminal Division (DOJ), former federal prosecutors from the U.S. Attorney’s Offices in the Southern and Eastern District of New York, and attorneys from the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), the New York Office of the Attorney General, and the New York Department of Financial Services (DFS). Firm lawyers have been selected to serve as federal monitors of an international bank, an international asset management firm, and a U.S.-based healthcare firm, reporting to DOJ, the SEC and other regulatory bodies regarding the entities’ compliance with certain federal laws.

Engagements for the Firm’s corporate and individual clients have involved matters ranging from alleged financial and banking crimes, securities fraud and insider trading, bribery and antitrust, and pension fund and health care fraud to public corruption offenses, federal campaign finance law violations, tax fraud, money laundering, racketeering, antitrust, sanctions, and environmental crimes. These matters involve federal and state agencies and, in some instances, foreign law enforcement agencies. In cross-border investigations, Seward & Kissel lawyers work with independent law firms throughout the world with which the Firm collaborates on various engagements.

The Firm has represented public companies and their officers and directors, as well as broker-dealers, investment advisers, investment funds and other participants in the financial and securities markets, in connection with hundreds of DOJ, SEC, Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA), DFS and other regulatory investigations (including those involving grand juries, formal orders of investigation, and informal inquiries) and enforcement actions taken by regulatory bodies and international financial institutions (such as the World Bank) against Firm clients.

In addition, Seward & Kissel litigators have assisted public companies, their boards, and audit and other committees in conducting internal investigations where the companies are themselves the subject of an investigation and/or defending enforcement actions by the DOJ, the SEC, the major stock or commodities exchanges, or other self-regulatory organizations.

With the evolving regulatory and enforcement landscape confronting the financial services and other industries, Seward & Kissel clients can rely on the Firm’s depth of experience to help them every step of the way in “white collar” matters from investigation through trial, if necessary.

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