We have extensive experience in the defense of complex white collar and securities enforcement matters, and have received significant acclaim for our achievements. We were named by Law 360 as a White Collar Group of the Year in 2022 and 2019 – the only boutique firm to receive such recognition in recent history. The 2023 Chambers USA Guide ranked us as a top firm in White Collar Crime and Government Investigations, highlighting our reputation for “high-stakes litigation” and our “strong track record” in cases involving financial crimes, noting that “[e]ach attorney at Levine Lee is exceptionally knowledgeable and experienced.” Chambers also ranked Seth L. Levine as one of the nation’s top white collar defense lawyers, writing, “Seth Levine is particularly recognized for his criminal trial work,” and is a “fierce trial lawyer,” an “outstanding litigator, advocate, and negotiator,” and a “passionate advocate for his clients.”

Our cases have had a significant impact on shaping federal white collar practice. In 2022, we obtained a widely covered Second Circuit victory on behalf of Gavin Black, a former Deutsche Bank derivatives trader. The Government had charged and convicted Mr. Black as part of its massive investigation into the alleged manipulation of LIBOR, and in 2022, the Second Circuit accepted our long-standing argument that Mr. Black had committed no crime because his conduct did not violate the rules governing LIBOR, and reversed Mr. Black’s conviction and ordered the entry of judgment of acquittal on all charges. This decision upended the Government’s long-prosecuted theory of liability, and this victory was one of the year’s most significant developments in federal criminal practice, being hailed as a “landmark win” by Law 360 and prompting The American Lawyer to run a feature, “How Manhattan Boutique Levine Lee Unraveled the Government’s Final LIBOR Conviction.”

As noted by Law 360, we have recently “been at the center of some of the most consequential white collar litigation” in the country, including our “victory . . . in the Second Circuit” on behalf of Mr. Black; “secur[ing] an acquittal on the central charge” against a hedge fund client in a 2022 federal criminal trial in the Eastern District of New York; and our current representation of Gregoire Tournant, the former chief investment officer at Germany’s Allianz SE, in a prosecution in the Southern District of New York that the U.S. Attorney has characterized as “one of the most significant corporate prosecutions in history.”

Several of our partners are former federal prosecutors and have represented clients in significant matters initiated by the Department of Justice, the Securities and Exchange Commission, the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority, the Department of Education, the Commodity Futures Trading Commission, Congressional Committees, the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency, State Attorneys General, and local prosecuting authorities. We have extensive experience in investigations relating to compliance with the securities laws and regulations, accounting fraud, insider trading, mail and wire fraud, the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act, compliance with the Bank Secrecy Act and anti-money laundering requirements, international regulatory issues, public corruption, and cryptocurrency matters.