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A good outcome in a criminal, administrative or regulatory investigation can hinge upon the judgment and character of your attorney. Good defense lawyers win trials; great ones – through the force of their credibility and integrity – can often keep their clients out of the courtroom entirely.

At Pryor Cashman, we are justifiably proud of our criminal and regulatory defense attorneys. Trained at the finest state and federal prosecutors’ offices in the country, our lawyers represent individual and corporate clients in all manner of criminal, administrative and regulatory matters. While our attorneys excel at handling such sophisticated matters as U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) investigations and RICO prosecutions, we are up to the challenge when facing grittier ones, successfully defending such charges as sexual misconduct, fraud, larceny and even homicide.

Drawing upon the expertise of our Labor and Employment Group, Pryor Cashman’s defense team regularly defends employees and professionals accused of on-the-job misconduct. Such defense includes representing union employees charged by administrative tribunals, doctors under investigation by hospital boards, and professionals facing licensure issues. Coordinating with our Litigation Group, Pryor Cashman has helped countless clients endure SEC probes, manage the nuances of Sarbanes-Oxley, and comply with new ethics rules and recent court decisions.

Because we excel at defense, we can also offer the highest quality counseling to clients when responding to subpoenas, facing regulatory issues, or seeking to establish better internal controls. Our clients routinely seek our advice concerning compliance with local, state and federal laws, rules and regulations. And should they be victimized by crime, we are the first ones they call for guidance and support.

Examples of our recent experience in the area of criminal, administrative and regulatory defense include:

• Represented one of the top four record companies in the world throughout the investigation and settlement of the N.Y. State Attorney General’s investigation of radio promotional activities and alleged “payola” practices
• Obtained the dismissal of all charges against a union president and various board members charged with inciting a riot following a protest rally in New York City
• Successfully represented the chairman of a publicly traded company in one of the highest profile SEC investigations in recent years involving numerous accounting issues, including "cookie jar" reserves, channel stuffing, bill and hold sales practices, and a restatement of financials by the company's new management
• Defended a sales representative involved in an alleged multimillion dollar kickback scheme, successfully negotiating a plea bargain that spared him any incarceration despite the vast sums involved
• Successfully represented the former chief executive officer of a foreign pharmaceutical company in an SEC investigation relating to off balance sheet special purpose entities
• Successfully represented a neurosurgeon charged with commencing an operation on the wrong side of a patient’s brain; the surgeon was investigated by the N.Y. State Office of Professional Medical Conduct (OPMC), which had the power to revoke his license; as a result of our representation, the surgeon retained his license and was subject only to a disciplinary warning, the mildest form of sanction issued by the OPMC
• Represented one of multiple defendants in criminal case in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York involving a stock fraud scheme; after a month-long jury trial, our client was the only defendant to be acquitted
• Won an acquittal at trial for a doctor accused of sexually molesting a patient