Government Enforcement

The mere threat of an enforcement action can stop a company in its tracks and delay or derail important business initiatives. BuckleySandler is sensitive to the business objectives of our clients and adept at helping a company stay on track when faced with real or potential government investigations or enforcement actions.

Our enforcement practice includes representing corporate clients and individual officers and directors at every stage of government investigations and enforcement actions - including white collar criminal matters - initiated by state and federal agencies including:

• Department of Justice (DOJ)
• Federal Trade Commission (FTC)
• Department of Housing and Urban Development
• Federal Housing Finance Agency (f/k/a Office of Federal Housing Enterprise Oversight)
• U.S. Attorneys’ Offices
• Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC)
• State attorneys general

BuckleySandler’s enforcement practice regularly defends clients against allegations involving a wide array of business contexts in federal and state grand jury investigations, trials, and appeals. In particular, we have represented clients in enforcement matters and related litigation involving a wide range of subject areas including:

• Consumer financial services
• False Claims Act and Qui Tam litigation
• Financial institution fraud
• Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA)
• Government procurement fraud
• Insurance fraud
• Money laundering and Bank Secrecy Act
• Options backdating
• State and federal RICO laws
• Securities fraud
• Tax offenses

We have also represented corporations and their executives in connection with Congressional investigations examining industry business practices. We assist clients in responding to informal and formal Congressional inquiries and in preparing for Congressional hearings.

Our Experience

A number of our lawyers have held senior positions at the Federal Reserve Board (FRB), the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC), the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC), the FTC or served as federal prosecutors.

Our Success

On numerous occasions, we have successfully represented clients in enforcement actions and criminal investigations, obtained victory at trial and on appeal – including in the U.S. Supreme Court. Many of our greatest successes, however, have never become public because we were able to convince an enforcement agency not to take any action against our clients. Other representations have involved high-profile matters where we excel in developing effective legal and factual defenses and formulating and implementing strategies to minimize any collateral consequences – including public and media scrutiny.