Stevens & Lee’s White Collar Litigation and Corporate Investigations Group has a history of successfully representing clients in government investigations and related crisis management, conducting internal investigations for our corporate clients and providing guidance for compliance with the variety of regulations clients confront today.

Our team includes attorneys with substantial government expertise, including former federal and state prosecutors who have joined the firm after distinguished careers working out of both the Philadelphia and Harrisburg United States Attorneys’ Offices and the Philadelphia District Attorney’s Office. Also among our Group is a former Executive Deputy Attorney General of Pennsylvania in charge of the Public Protection Division and a lawyer formerly with both the Special Trial Section of the Antitrust Division of the Justice Department and the Federal Trade Commission.

Government Investigations – Corporate and Individual Defense
Our White Collar Litigation and Corporate Investigations Group has had impressive results in resolving government investigations without prosecution. We expertly advise clients on how to respond to government inquiries and subpoenas and how to effectively and delicately handle related constituencies, such as employees who are under investigation. When grand jury action or trial becomes unavoidable, we have substantial experience defending criminal prosecutions and other enforcement proceedings.

Our Group represents corporate and individual clients who are involved in ongoing grand jury investigations or are defendants in criminal indictments. This includes defending clients in allegations of tax fraud and tax evasion, securities violations, antitrust violations, health care fraud, public corruption, environmental violations and government contractor violations, among others. We have handled a variety of high visibility state and federal investigations, grand jury proceedings and criminal trials on behalf of both corporations and individuals. 

Internal/Corporate Investigations
When clients confront situations involving violations of corporate policy or state and federal law by company employees or officials, we provide the investigative expertise to uncover the facts and assist them in making the right call on critical issues. We have conducted internal investigations on a wide range of issues and have navigated the most complex and challenging investigations to a successful conclusion.

Whether violations involve acts that directly victimize the company or acts that harm others – both of which can create potential civil or criminal liability – we are skilled in assisting clients in their dealing with government officials, shareholders, audit committees and other constituencies.

Compliance
We ensure that clients thoroughly understand the myriad of complex federal and state laws and regulations that affect their business, and advise them on the development and implementation of corporate compliance programs and codes of conduct to address them. Federal sentencing guidelines for corporations are favorable to organizations that develop and implement effective programs for deterring and detecting employee wrongdoing. To that end, we work with our clients to assist them in preventing the misconduct that exploits the corporation and incurs civil or criminal liability.

Our Group works closely with lawyers throughout the firm to prevent regulatory inquiries from becoming issues of criminal significance. Our unique focus on industry allows us to provide clients with the benefit of attorneys who focus specifically in one of the many areas of compliance a client may confront, from antitrust to corporate governance and environmental to health care.

Parallel Proceedings
We have a breadth of experience representing corporations and individuals who are subject to parallel civil and criminal investigations. When a compliance issue, internal investigation, or government investigation results in a corollary proceeding, such as a class action lawsuit or SEC investigation, clients look to Stevens & Lee. We represent clients in these related proceedings and coordinate the client’s needs among all of the various constituents and proceedings. In the civil area, we represent corporate and individual clients in cases involving civil RICO claims, qui tam actions or other allegations of fraud.

Representative Engagements

• Represented a co-defendant of Congressman Dan Flood on political corruption charges in a month-long trial in federal court

• Defended a union official in the District of Delaware against charges of alleged organized crime

• Represented defendants in a two-week prosecution by the Pennsylvania State Attorney General in Montgomery County Court involving claims of operating a massive fraud scheme involving the export of luxury vehicles to Europe and Asia

• Represented a foreign national who was alleged to have caused the financial collapse of a Pennsylvania bank at trial in federal court

• Represented the Chief Operating Officer of the Peach Bottom Nuclear Facility in a government investigation involving charges of unsafe operating procedures

• Represented a client in a two-year-long grand jury investigation led jointly by the IRS and SEC involving the disappearance of tens of millions of dollars

• Represented numerous corporations, individuals and witnesses in connection with investigations of federal and state tax fraud and tax evasion by the IRS and in grand jury investigations

 For more information, contact James C. Schwartzman at 215‑751‑2863 or Daniel B. Huyett at 610‑478‑2219.