Criminal Defense and
Government Investigations

Internal Investigations and
Compliance Programs

Appeals and Post-
Conviction Proceedings

Complex Commercial
Civil Litigation

PRACTICE AREAS

:: Criminal Defense and Government Investigations ::

Representing businesses and individuals in the defense of white collar criminal investigations and prosecutions and other government enforcement actions is at the core of AWFA’s practice.

In doing so, the firm brings to bear both our lawyers’ expert knowledge of the substantive criminal laws and an extensive understanding of the offices and agencies that enforce those laws, drawing on the skills of two former Assistant United States Attorneys, three former state prosecutors (one of whom also served as a Federal Public Defender), as well as attorneys with broad white-collar criminal defense and securities enforcement experience in private practice.

Experienced Guidance Through the Criminal Enforcement Process

The criminal enforcement process contains both traps for the unwary and, in some cases, the opportunity for the subject of an investigation to take steps to avoid being charged with a crime.  We remain keenly attuned to the risks inherent in responding to a government criminal investigation. An ill-advised response to such an investigation can itself create criminal liability where there might otherwise have been none. We provide proactive advice at the earliest stages of government inquiries to head off this risk, and to protect our clients’ interests in negotiating government investigations. 

When we are retained we promptly perform a painstaking investigation of the facts and analysis of the law, assess the potential criminal exposure, and advise the client through every aspect of the process, including how best to cope with subpoenas demanding documents and testimony, search warrants, arrest, voluntary surrender, arraignment, bail, employee interviews by government agents (including unannounced visits), negotiations and plea bargaining with prosecutors and investigators, relations with witnesses, informants who may be cooperating with the government, wiretaps, investigative inquiries from civil and quasi-criminal authorities, media attention and required public disclosures; whether a company should conduct its own internal investigation; crucial issues of which aspects of fact-finding are protected by the attorney-client privilege and whether it may be in a client’s interest to waive the privilege; whether a company or an individual should affirmatively cooperate with the government’s investigation; and how best to protect against criminal investigation giving rise to potential civil exposure. 

Our measure of success is when this advice results in our clients under investigation never being charged. When our clients’ liberty or financial survival is put at stake and no acceptable resolution can be reached before trial, however, we litigate tenaciously. 

Broad Knowledge of Substantive Criminal Law

In combination, our lawyers cover the waterfront in our familiarity with the many substantive areas in which individuals and companies can be exposed to criminal liability. We have handled cases involving charges of mail, wire and bank/financial institutions fraud; accounting fraud and liability; mortgage fraud; government procurement contract fraud; health care fraud; tax fraud; securities fraud, insider trading, false SEC filings, market manipulation and price manipulation; conspiracy; money laundering; state and federal racketeering (RICO) offenses; commercial bribery and extortion; violations of the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA); violations of the Federal Election Campaign Act; public corruption and political bribery; official misconduct; police corruption; antitrust and unfair/collusive trade practices including bid rigging; environmental violations including Clean Air Act and Clean Water Act; OSHA and workplace safety violations; espionage; violations of the Arms Export Control Act and other export controls violations; cable piracy; computer hacking/sabotage offenses; online gaming; drug offenses; homicide and negligent homicide; armed bank robbery; kidnapping; sex offenses; theft and embezzlement; motor vehicle violations; municipal court criminal proceedings; juvenile offenses; violations of the USA PATRIOT Act; regulatory offenses arising under the jurisdictions of the Food and Drug Administration, the Federal Aviation Administration, the Department of Defense, and the U.S. Customs Service, and other charges.

We also have experience helping clients deal with the “parallel” proceedings that often accompany criminal proceedings, such as civil enforcement actions, private lawsuits, administrative enforcement, suspension of professional licenses or debarment actions.  Relatedly, we have securities enforcement experience in civil investigations conducted by various regulatory agencies, including the Securities and Exchange Commission (“SEC”), the National Association of Securities Dealers (“NASD”) and the New York Stock Exchange (“NYSE”) (now the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (“FINRA”)), and various divisions of the Department of Justice and the New Jersey and New York State Attorney Generals’ Offices.

Finally, we have extensive expertise in federal and state sentencing laws and procedures, including appeals, and international and domestic extradition proceedings.