Sean Hecker > Kaplan Hecker & Fink LLP > New York, United States > Lawyer Profile

Kaplan Hecker & Fink LLP
350 FIFTH AVENUE
SUITE 7110
NEW YORK
NY 10118
United States
Sean Hecker photo

Work Department

Appellate Litigation; Commercial Litigation; Congressional Investigations; Cryptocurrency; FCPA and Anti-Corruption; Investigations and Crisis Management; Public Interest Litigation; Regulatory Enforcement and Litigation; Securities Enforcement and Litigation; Trials; White Collar Criminal Defense

Position

Partner

Career

Sean Hecker is a partner at Kaplan Hecker & Fink LLP. He is an experienced trial lawyer whose practice focuses on white-collar criminal defense, government and internal investigations, complex civil litigation, and regulatory compliance. 

Sean’s practice includes representing officers, directors and corporations, across various industries, in grand jury and regulatory investigations, including those conducted by the DOJ, SEC, CFTC, FTC, IRS and federal and state banking regulators and state law enforcement agencies. He represents companies and individuals on matters concerning alleged securities and commodities fraud, corruption (including the FCPA), accounting fraud, money laundering, tax fraud, and antitrust violations. He has tried numerous cases to juries in federal and state court. He also regularly advises clients on various legal and compliance issues. Sean has authored numerous amicus briefs and publications concerning criminal justice issues and anti-corruption compliance. 

In one particularly notable matter, Global Investigations Review honored Sean’s work in US v. Bogucki by naming the case its 2019 “Most Important Court Case of the Year.” Serving as lead counsel to Robert Bogucki, who was accused of orchestrating an alleged $6 billion fraudulent scheme, Sean secured a rare acquittal at the conclusion of the Government’s case. Finding that no jury could reasonably convict Bogucki on the evidence presented, the presiding judge noted that he had never granted such an acquittal in his twenty years on the bench. 

Sean maintains an active pro bono practice, including successfully securing a temporary restraining order in early 2019 that restored legal visitation rights at the Metropolitan Detention Center in Brooklyn, NY after visits had been suspended in violation of the constitutional right to counsel. He is the President of the New York Council of Defense Lawyers, is a member of the board and past Chair of the Office of the Appellate Defender and the Federal Defenders of New York, Inc., and previously served as Chair of the New York City Bar Association’s Mass Incarceration Task Force. 

Sean is nationally recognized as a go-to lawyer for corruption and other white-collar criminal defense matters. He was named the 2020 White-Collar Crime/Investigations/ Enforcement Attorney of the Year by Benchmark Litigation, which has also recognized him as among the Top 100 Trial Lawyers in the country. Sean was also inducted as a fellow into the American College of Trial Lawyers, one of North America’s premier legal associations. Sean has received widespread praise and acclaim from publications including ChambersThe Legal 500The National Law JournalLaw360Lawdragon 500, and Who’s Who Legal & Global Investigations Review, among others. 

Education

  • B.A., Columbia University, 1992
    magna cum laude
  • M.P.P., Harvard University, 1994
  • J.D., Stanford Law School, 1997
    Order of the Coif

Lawyer Rankings

United States > Dispute resolution > Corporate investigations and white-collar criminal defense

(Leading lawyers: Corporate investigations and white-collar criminal defense: advice to individuals)

Sean HeckerKaplan Hecker & Fink LLP

Kaplan Hecker & Fink LLP, a litigation boutique based in New York, has a stellar reputation for advising businesses, boards of directors, and executives in internal and government investigations, as well as enforcement actions, and numerous regulatory concerns. The firm regularly handles matters pertaining to money laundering, antitrust concerns, accounting fraud, as well as securities and commodities fraud. Practice head Sean Hecker is particularly experienced in regard to issues surrounding FCPA and anti-corruption. Former federal prosecutor Jenna Dabbs adds to the team a wealth of trial experience, especially in connection with securities litigation. Marshall Miller  left the firm in June 2022, having been appointed as Principal Associate Deputy Attorney General at the US Department of Justice.

United States > Dispute resolution > Securities litigation: defense

Boutique litigation firm Kaplan Hecker & Fink LLP in New York has a reputation for securing favourable results for its clients, among them leading financial institutions and commercial businesses, in securities enforcement proceedings and complex securities litigation matters. For regulatory mandates, the firm calls upon six former federal prosecutors, among them Jenna Dabbs  and Mike Ferrara who served as members of the Securities and Commodities Fraud Task Force. For securities litigation, the practice is led by Sean Hecker, who continues to represent Stefan He Qin, the founder of cryptocurrency hedge fund manager Virgil Capital, in a securities fraud case and a parallel SEC enforcement action. Up-and-coming partner Shawn Crowley also plays a key role in that case. Key litigators Roberta Kaplan and John Quinn continue to act for Natixis S.A. in a residential mortgage-backed security repurchase lawsuit. Marshall Miller left to take up the post of Principal Associate Deputy Attorney General at the DOJ.