White Collar Defense and Investigations

White Collar Defense and Government Investigations

Curtis represents corporations and individuals in criminal prosecutions and civil enforcement actions brought by government agencies, prosecutors and regulators in the U.S. and UK, and conducts internal investigations. Based primarily in New York, Washington, D.C. and London, our integrated cross-border White Collar Defense and Investigations group serves clients in venues throughout the United States, Europe, Latin America and the Middle East.

With an effective team that includes several former prosecutors, including former Assistant U.S. Attorneys, and regulators, Curtis brings decades of experience and a wealth of contacts to its criminal defense practice and its dealings with government agencies in the U.S. and the UK.

Legal Counsel for Government Investigations

Our lawyers successfully represent clients in trials, investigations and other proceedings conducted by the U.S. Department of Justice, state attorneys general and district attorneys’ offices, the SEC, FINRA, CFTC, and state regulators, as well as the UK Serious Fraud Office, the National Crime Agency and the Financial Conduct Authority. Our clients include public companies, hedge funds, private equity firms, accounting firms, broker-dealer firms, sovereign states, public officials, executives and other individuals who require advice and counsel in connection with government investigations.

Fraud, Financial and White Collar Crime

Clients retain Curtis to assist in criminal and civil investigations relating to a wide variety of financial and white collar crime including: mail and wire fraud, money laundering, tax fraud, false statements to state and federal agencies, financial sanctions, commodities fraud, transactions in government securities and commodity futures, breaches of export controls, market manipulation, antitrust, accountants' and other professionals' liabilities, false advertising, contract and agency disputes involving real estate, product liability, and other commercial transactions.

Lawyers for Internal Investigations

We also conduct internal investigations for companies examining possible misconduct within the organization, and we advise corporate management on corporate governance, governmental regulation, and legal obligations. Our attorneys have a broad knowledge of corporate governance, governmental regulation, accounting rules, corporate structure, corporate finance and other legal obligations.

Our attorneys have extensive experience in internal investigations in the U.S., Europe, the Middle East, Africa and Asia in multiple sectors, particularly health-care, energy, oil and gas, mining and extractives, financial services, hospitality, as well as engineering and infrastructure.

Anti-Corruption

Curtis advises clients on the U.S. Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA), the UK Bribery Act its predecessor the Prevention of Corruption Act, and on related legislation in the UK’s offshore jurisdictions, as well as on other relevant local anti-corruption legislation across our network of jurisdictions.

Proactive compliance reviews and risk assessments

Regulators and prosecuting agencies continue to develop greater and deeper expectations when it comes to a company’s internal compliance programs. Curtis’s White Collar Defense and Investigations Team assists clients with proactive steps to improve compliance in a relation to broad areas of potential misconduct. Ranging from a detailed risk assessment and compliance overhaul to a targeted audit of existing policies and procedures, by eschewing a once-size-fits-all strategy we tailor our review, analysis and recommendations to risks that are specific to each client.

The UK members of the team also have extensive experience in conducting statutory risk assessments under the Bribery Act, the Criminal Finances Act and the Money Laundering Regulations.

Curtis attorneys also provide skills and capacity-building training and workshops on topics including compliance best practices, enforcement trends, anti-corruption legislation and crisis management.