Patterson Belknap Webb & Tyler LLP

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Anne-Laure Alléhaut

Anne-Laure Alléhaut is a Partner in Patterson Belknap’s Art and Museum Law practice. Anne-Laure started her career at Skadden Arps in M&A before she joined Sotheby’s legal transactional team as a Senior Vice President. Anne-Laure negotiated many of the auction house’s most complex and high value transactions while also overseeing Sotheby’s advisory, appraisal and valuation departments. Anne-Laure brings 16 years of law firm and in-house experience to the art industry and draws on her broad and deep experience to advise her clients with speed and efficiency. Anne-Laure’s client base includes private collectors, galleries, estates, start-ups, art dealers, museums, advisors and financial institutions.

H. Gregory Baker

Gregory Baker is a Partner in Patterson Belknap’s Litigation department and White Collar Defense and Investigations group, and serves as Chair of its Securities Enforcement & Litigation practice. Drawing on 20 years of experience, Greg’s practice includes representing individuals and companies in high stakes SEC enforcement investigations and litigation, as well as representing clients in a broad range of commercial litigation disputes throughout the United States, involving subject matters such as securities, breach of contract, business torts, intellectual property, bankruptcy and antitrust. Greg also represents companies, boards of directors, and special committees in conducting internal investigations. Greg previously served as a Senior Counsel with the U.S. Securities & Exchange Commission’s (SEC) Division of Enforcement, where he was a member of the Asset Management Unit. In that role, Greg oversaw investigations and litigations concerning investment advisors, hedge funds, private equity funds, and mutual funds. His matters involved issues such as hedge fund valuations, private equity fee disclosures, compliance violations, market manipulation, performance advertising, insider trading, derivative arbitrage, and accounting. He worked extensively with the DOJ, FBI, FINRA, IRS, and other federal agencies in his investigations, and received four Directors’ Awards from the SEC’s Division of Enforcement in recognition of his outstanding achievements in investigative work. Greg applies his firsthand knowledge of the SEC to help clients manage risk and achieve positive outcomes in matters led by financial regulators. Greg is a frequent speaker on securities enforcement and litigation, having appeared on CNBC’s Squawk on the Street, and is regularly quoted in publications on securities-related developments. Greg is a member of the board of directors of the Federal Defenders of New York and the board of directors of Sanctuary for Families. He also serves as the editor of Patterson Belknap’s Securities Enforcement & Litigation Insider Blog. At Patterson, Greg serves as co-chair of the firm's hiring committee. He is an active supporter of the firm's pro bono practice. Greg previously served as a law clerk to the Honorable William H. Walls of the U.S. District Court for the District of New Jersey. He received his B.A. from Amherst College and his J.D. from Columbia Law School.

Michael Buchanan

Michael F. Buchanan is a litigation partner focusing his practice on white-collar defense and investigations, cybersecurity, and patent litigation. A skilled trial lawyer, Mr. Buchanan has tried several complex civil and criminal cases to verdict, including several complex federal patent trials and international arbitrations on behalf of major pharmaceutical companies. He has also argued multiple federal appeals. Mr. Buchanan regularly represents public and private companies in the financial services, healthcare, and e-commerce industries on a variety of issues relating to data breaches and cybersecurity, including incident response and investigation and related litigation. His white-collar representations have involved allegations of securities fraud, insider trading, tax fraud, accounting fraud, health care and Medicare/Medicaid fraud, and theft of trade secrets. He served on the Monitoring Team for the Newark Police Department, responsible for overseeing the NPD's compliance with a Consent Decree issued by the U.S. Department of Justice. Mr. Buchanan spent over nine years at the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of New Jersey, where he investigated and prosecuted matters involving the Computer Fraud and Abuse Act, insider trading, the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act, health care kickbacks, off-label marketing, and Medicare/Medicaid and private insurance fraud. He was involved in some of the Office's most significant and high-profile prosecutions. During his tenure, Mr. Buchanan served as Chief of the Securities and Health Care Fraud Unit, Deputy Chief of the Criminal Division, and Chief of the Terrorism Unit. Before becoming a federal prosecutor, Mr. Buchanan practiced at one of New York City's top white-collar criminal defense law firms and served as a Law Clerk to the Hon. Franklin S. Van Antwerpen, U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania. Mr. Buchanan also served as a law clerk at a premier intellectual property law firm where he participated in all aspects of the firm's patent litigation and prosecution practice. Mr. Buchanan previously worked as a structural engineer at Grumman Aerospace. Mr. Buchanan has spoken before various professional organizations on topics including criminal investigations in securities fraud, as well as the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act. He has published articles on white collar and intellectual property issues, including an amicus curiae brief to the United States Supreme Court on behalf of the New York Intellectual Property Law Association (NYIPLA). Mr. Buchanan writes frequently on privacy and data security issues. He has participated in a number of seminars, including the Rutgers Institution for Professional Education’s “Data Breach: Legal Responsibilities and Ramifications,” and The Law Firm Cyber Risk Conference, regarding data breaches, notification issues, and incident response strategies.

Laura Butzel

Laura Butzel is a Partner and Chair of Patterson Belknap's Tax-Exempt Organizations group. She advises tax-exempt, not-for-profit organizations on a broad range of operating issues, including corporate governance and fiduciary duties, joint ventures, program-related investments, structuring subsidiaries, unrelated business income tax and other tax issues, executive compensation, intellectual property and other issues. Her clients include private foundations as well as cultural, human and civil liberties, environmental, publishing, educational, and religious organizations. She also advises charitable clients on endowment issues, publishing and licensing issues, international and domestic grantmaking, lobbying, political activities, and the rules particular to private foundations, among other issues. An active lecturer, Ms. Butzel has presented on a wide range of issues including governance and tax concerns, investment policies and procedures, intellectual property, web site development and internet issues of charitable organizations, joint ventures and political activities of charitable entities. Ms. Butzel serves as an officer of a number of charitable organizations. She is a member of the Board of Advisors of the National Center on Philanthropy and the Law and is a trustee of Teachers College at Columbia University. Ms. Butzel is also a former director of The Mertz-Gilmore Foundation, and former trustee of The John B. Pierce Laboratory, The John B. Pierce Foundation, and of the Shelburne Museum.

Lisa Cleary

Lisa Cleary is Of Counsel and served as Co-Chair and Managing Partner of Patterson Belknap from 2014 – 2022. Ms. Cleary works closely with a broad range of corporations and tax-exempt organization clients on employment issues related to their highest-level executives and other key employees. A thoughtful strategist, she brings valuable insights to clients beyond the law and the facts, anticipating the responses an employer might expect when taking employment action, and how to limit that action’s disruptive impact on the organization. Her clients benefit from her judgment, big-picture understanding and insightful perspectives, which allows clients to implement the most effective employment strategies for their organizations. For over 25 years, Ms. Cleary has regularly advised boards of directors on issues including the negotiation of executive compensation, performance evaluation, transition and employment termination of CEOs. She provides this sensitive advice for public companies, private entities and tax-exempt organizations and foundations, all of which operate under the same rules in these circumstances. Her work with a significant number of tax-exempt organizations has given her a deep understanding of the interplay between their specific legal requirements and the employment issues they face, such as tax rules on compensation and addressing whistleblower complaints. Ms. Cleary often assists companies in navigating difficult situations where CEO termination occurs in the midst of critical litigation or other corporate crises. She also advises in-house counsel, human resources personnel, and line managers on minimizing the legal risks of individual employee terminations beyond executives, as well as counseling clients to ensure compliance with applicable laws. Her practice includes assisting clients in employment-related litigation matters before administrative agencies, state and federal courts. She frequently advises and defends clients facing EEOC, Department of Labor, and New York City Human Rights Commission charges, audits and inquiries. She counsels clients with respect to employment contracts and regularly defends clients in wrongful discharge cases. In addition, Ms. Cleary provides training on a broad range of employment matters, drafts and vets personnel policies and handbooks, and also provides advice on employer recordkeeping requirements. When her clients are faced with employee theft, whistleblower claims and complaints of discrimination and harassment, Ms. Cleary advises them on best approaches and frequently conducts highly sensitive internal investigations regarding such matters. She has also worked with local, state and federal prosecutors on behalf of clients in a wide range of situations. In addition, Ms. Cleary defends and prosecutes cases involving employment-related restrictive covenants, drafts and negotiates employment contracts and represents employers in connection with claims arising under ERISA. She also conducts diversity training seminars and provides counsel on employee classifications and overtime issues under the Fair Labor Standards Act. Where consistent with client goals, Ms. Cleary incorporates alternative dispute resolution procedures to achieve optimum results for clients.

Robert Cleary

Bob Cleary is Of Counsel in Patterson Belknap’s Litigation department and is a member of its White Collar Defense and Investigations practice. Prior to private practice, Bob had a lengthy and distinguished career as a federal prosecutor, including service as the U.S. Attorney both in the District of New Jersey and in the Southern District of Illinois. Bob concentrates his practice on white collar criminal defense, SEC and related enforcement matters, securities litigation, complex civil litigation, tax controversies, and internal investigations. He has extensive experience in international criminal matters, including money laundering investigations and foreign extradition proceedings. In March 2024, Bob was appointed to serve as the independent Examiner in the FTX Trading Ltd. bankruptcy case. As Examiner, he was tasked with compiling a report to summarize the findings and status of all prior investigations into FTX’s collapse and to recommend future investigations. Bob was also directed to investigate potential conflicts of interest related to the retention of a prominent law firm as counsel to FTX and to determine whether FTX employees who played a role in the widespread fraud that came to light after the bankruptcy are still employed by the company. Bob filed his initial 210-page Examiner Report in May 2024. In it, he recommended that the court authorize him to conduct three additional investigations relating to FTX. Upon obtaining the court’s approval, Bob conducted those investigations and summarized his findings in a 119-page Report, which he filed in September 2024. Bob has over 40 years of courtroom experience as a trial lawyer and appellate advocate and has also been retained in numerous high-profile corporate criminal matters. The American College of Trial Lawyers recognized Bob’s trial expertise by inducting him as a Fellow in 2014. Prior to joining Patterson Belknap, Bob served in various senior management positions of a major international law firm, including as Co-Chair of the firm’s global Litigation Department and as a member of the firm’s Executive Committee. In his capacity as U.S. Attorney for the District of New Jersey and the Southern District of Illinois, Bob was the chief federal law enforcement officer in those districts, responsible for all federal prosecutions and lawsuits filed against the federal government. Prior to his appointment as U.S. Attorney, he served as an Assistant U.S. Attorney in the Southern District of New York, ultimately becoming the Chief of the Major Crimes Unit. During his tenure as First Assistant U.S. Attorney in the District of New Jersey, he was appointed the lead prosecutor in the Unabomber case, United States v. Theodore J. Kaczynski. Mr. Cleary began his prosecutorial career as a trial attorney for the Tax Division of the U.S. Department of Justice.

Hugh Freund

Hugh Freund has more than 40 years of experience representing and counseling individuals and multigenerational families in their business, personal, investment, estate planning, real estate, philanthropic and fiduciary matters. In addition, he has acted as a senior counselor to on- and off-shore families and their business entities, overseeing and supervising their investment, legal and accounting professionals. Mr. Freund also has a sophisticated art law practice that includes the representation of private and public art galleries, dealers in both the primary and secondary art markets, visual artists (both painters and sculptors) and collectors, as well as commercial real estate developers for agreements for large-scale indoor and outdoor sculpture commissions. Mr. Freund is currently a member of the Board of Overseers Emeritus of The Hood Museum of Art at Dartmouth College, a trustee of The Alliance for Young Artists & Writers, Inc. and an Honorary Trustee of The Parrish Art Museum. New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg appointed Mr. Freund to be a Director of the Brooklyn Navy Yard Development Corporation through December 2012 and, also at Mayor Bloomberg’s request, served as a Commissioner of The Art Commission of the City of New York in 2004 through 2006.

Joshua Goldberg

Joshua Goldberg is Chair of Patterson Belknap's Litigation department. He also serves as Co-Chair of the firm’s White Collar Defense and Investigations group. Mr. Goldberg has extensive trial and appellate experience, having served as lead counsel in fifteen federal jury trials and having briefed and argued more than a dozen appeals before the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit. Mr. Goldberg’s practice focuses on white collar criminal defense and related regulatory proceedings, internal investigations, and complex financial litigation. He has represented corporations, as well as boards of directors, audit committees, executives, board members, senior officers, and other individuals in high-profile criminal and regulatory investigations and litigations involving alleged securities and commodities fraud, health care and medical device fraud, market manipulation, insider trading, antitrust violations, and violations of the federal Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act. He has conducted investigations and represented clients in connection with Whistleblower actions brought under the Sarbanes-Oxley Act and the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act. He has also advised corporations in connection with investigations arising from the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act, the False Claims Act, and the Federal Food, Drug and Cosmetic Act, and has represented individuals and organizations in connection with investigations by the U.S. Department of Justice, the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, the U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission, the U.S. Congress, and state and local prosecutors. Prior to joining Patterson Belknap, Mr. Goldberg served for eight years as an Assistant United States Attorney in the United States Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of New York where he investigated and prosecuted complex white collar cases involving securities fraud, accounting fraud, market manipulation, investment adviser fraud, insider trading and commercial bribery. While working as a federal prosecutor, Mr. Goldberg was a member of the Securities and Commodities Fraud Task Force. He also prosecuted matters involving wire and mail fraud, money laundering, racketeering, murder, firearms and narcotics trafficking. In 2002, Mr. Goldberg received the Department of Justice Director’s Award for Superior Performance. In 2010, Mr. Goldberg received a Prosecutor of the Year Award from the Federal Law Enforcement Foundation for investigating and prosecuting securities fraud at a major international corporation while serving in the U.S. Attorney’s Office. After graduation from law school, Mr. Goldberg served as a Law Clerk to the Hon. Barbara S. Jones, United States District Court for the Southern District of New York. Mr. Goldberg then worked as an associate at Patterson Belknap for three years before joining the United States Attorney’s Office.

Joshua Kipnees

Joshua Kipnees is a Partner in Patterson Belknap's Litigation department. His practice focuses on advertising litigation and government and internal investigations. Mr. Kipnees has represented clients in the food and beverage, insurance, pharmaceutical, cosmetics, and financial industries in both state and federal courts. Mr. Kipnees has also led dozens of internal investigations for pharmaceutical and medical device companies involving regulatory and compliance reviews. Mr. Kipnees also maintains an active pro bono practice, representing clients in need in a wide variety of matters. His pro bono work includes representing students with disabilities who were deprived of educational services during the COVID-19 pandemic, assisting a VAWA petitioner in obtaining a green card, and submitting an amicus brief that helped overturn a statute requiring a life sentence without parole for felony murder convictions, among many other representations. From 2009 to 2010, Mr. Kipnees served as Law Clerk to Chief Justice Rabner, New Jersey Supreme Court, and from 2010 to 2011, he served as Law Clerk to the Hon. Leonard I. Garth, U.S. Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit.

Robin Krause

Robin Krause is a Partner in Patterson Belknap’s Tax-Exempt Organizations department. Ms. Krause has extensive experience in the representation of public charities, private foundations, and other 501(c) organizations including social welfare organizations and trade associations. Her practice focuses on governance and tax matters, international grantmaking and operations, program-related investing, donor-advised funds, and state and federal regulatory matters. Ms. Krause also facilitates Board reviews and educational workshops on legal, tax, governance and accountability issues, provides training on lobbying activities for public charities and private foundations, and advises investment and audit committees on current issues. Ms. Krause also advises individuals and corporations on charitable giving and philanthropic planning and represents a number of corporate foundations. She serves as the Co-Chair of the Private Foundations Subcommittee of the Exempt Organizations Section of the American Bar Association and has served as a member of the Advisory Board of the National Center of Philanthropy and the Law at New York University. She has served on the Advisory Boards for Rockefeller Philanthropy Advisors Guide to Mission Related Investing and Foundation Strategy Group’s Initiative on the Law of Mission Related Investing and is a member of the Board of Directors of the Mertz Gilmore Foundation.

Jane Metcalf

Jane Metcalf is a Partner in the firm’s Litigation department. Her practice focuses on complex commercial litigation, with an emphasis on class action defense, advertising disputes, unfair competition, and data privacy and security. Jane’s diverse client base includes cutting-edge financial technology firms; Fortune 500 companies in the pharmaceutical, food and beverage, and home care industries; financial services firms; and national retailers. While her primary focus is advertising litigation and class action defense, she has a broad range of experience in complex commercial litigation. She has represented clients in civil enforcement proceedings and commercial disputes throughout the United States, and her trial experience includes serving as lead trial counsel to a multinational consumer goods company in a breach of contract dispute with a vendor.

Daniel Ruzumna

Daniel Ruzumna is a Partner in Patterson Belknap’s Litigation department and Co-Chair of its White-Collar Defense and Investigations group. Mr. Ruzumna's practice focuses on the areas of white-collar criminal defense and related regulatory proceedings, internal investigations, asset forfeiture proceedings, and complex financial litigation. He has represented corporations and individuals in many recent high-profile criminal and regulatory investigations involving alleged violations of the securities laws, antitrust laws, tax laws, and Foreign Corrupt Practices Act. Mr. Ruzumna regularly conducts confidential investigations on behalf of clients, including professional sports leagues, higher education institutions, financial firms, and life sciences companies. He has also represented clients in high stakes appeals and arbitrations. Mr. Ruzumna also handles high end art-related matters, including litigation, arbitration, and investigations. Mr. Ruzumna is a frequent commentator on issues of criminal law, U.S. economic sanctions, and asset forfeiture, and has appeared on Bloomberg Television and an affiliate of CNBC to discuss the insider trading laws and prosecutions involving alleged violations of the securities laws. Mr. Ruzumna also served as counsel to the Anti-Money Laundering and Financial Crimes Committee of the Securities Industry and Financial Markets Association (SIFMA), with a focus on anti-corruption compliance issues, for over a decade. Before joining Patterson Belknap in 2005, Mr. Ruzumna spent six years working at the United States Attorney's Office for the Southern District of New York, where he last served as Acting Chief of the Major Crimes Unit, a unit of more than 20 federal prosecutors dedicated to investigating and prosecuting economic crimes and financial frauds. As a federal prosecutor, Mr. Ruzumna investigated and prosecuted white collar criminal cases involving bank fraud, mail and wire fraud, health care fraud, securities fraud, criminal tax violations, and money laundering. He also prosecuted organized crime and handled civil and criminal asset forfeiture actions. In 2004, Mr. Ruzumna received the Department of Justice's highest honor, the John Marshall Award for Asset Forfeiture, and acted as a lecturer and instructor of trial advocacy at the Department’s National Advocacy Center. After graduation from law school, Mr. Ruzumna served as a Law Clerk to the late Hon. Jay C. Waldman, United States District Court for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania. Mr. Ruzumna then spent almost four years in private practice in Washington, D.C., before becoming a federal prosecutor.

Harry Sandick

Harry Sandick is a Partner in Patterson Belknap's Litigation department and a member of the firm’s White Collar Defense and Investigations team. A former Assistant U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of New York, Mr. Sandick focuses his practice on white collar criminal defense, internal investigations, securities fraud litigation, criminal antitrust and tax litigation, and civil and criminal appellate litigation. Mr. Sandick has represented clients at every stage of the criminal process, ranging from witnesses who require counsel for an interview with the government during a grand jury investigation, to those who have been indicted and sentenced for serious white-collar offenses. In addition to this work, Mr. Sandick also often advises clients on compliance issues and provides pre-litigation counseling in order to help prevent any investigation or lawsuit from ever beginning. During his career in private practice, Mr. Sandick has represented organizations and individuals in investigations and prosecutions in New York and around the world in many of the leading white-collar investigations conducted during the past several years. In addition to representing individuals and institutions in the banking and financial services industry, he has significant experience representing tax exempt organizations and clients in the art world in regulatory, white collar, counseling, and other litigation and pre-litigation matters. Mr. Sandick has extensive experience in leading internal investigations for institutional clients, including hedge funds, private equity portfolio companies, and tax-exempt organizations, where the client believes that there has been misconduct by company personnel. Some of these matters culminate in litigation or a referral to prosecutors or regulators. In addition to leading such investigations, Mr. Sandick also has been called upon to represent individual clients in internal investigations. Several of Mr. Sandick’s clients are the victims of financial crime. Mr. Sandick provides representation and counseling in connection with seeking restitution or other proceedings aimed at recovering stolen or defrauded assets. Mr. Sandick also represents clients, both as plaintiffs and defendants, in complex securities and business fraud litigation, including matters involving residential mortgage-backed securities transactions. Mr. Sandick has extensive experience in representing institutional plaintiffs in business tort litigation. Mr. Sandick also represents art galleries, museums, private collectors, and artists and their estates in a wide variety of civil, regulatory and criminal matters. In these cases, he combines his expertise as a litigator with an understanding of the business issues faced by his clients. In addition to his white collar practice, Mr. Sandick is a skilled and experienced appellate attorney. He has argued more than 35 appeals in both criminal and civil cases, in both federal and state court. He is regularly asked to represent clients who seek new counsel on appeal, as clients often seek a different perspective for their appeal. Mr. Sandick has also authored amicus briefs in the Supreme Court and other appellate courts for clients who wish to make their voices heard in connection with an important appeal. He is a member of the Criminal Justice Act panel for the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit and has won several reversals for convicted and sentenced defendants. Prior to joining the firm, Mr. Sandick served as an Assistant U.S. Attorney in the Criminal Division of the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of New York. During his nearly six years as a federal prosecutor, Mr. Sandick prosecuted a wide range of federal crimes, including financial fraud cases, acting as lead counsel in 12 trials and more than 20 appeals. He served as Deputy Chief for Criminal Appeals, supervising more than 80 appeals before the United States Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit, and as Acting Chief of the Violent Crimes Unit. Mr. Sandick oversaw matters involving securities fraud, business crimes, obstruction of justice, RICO, drug trafficking and terrorism issues. He successfully argued 19 appeals before the Second Circuit. Mr. Sandick served as the Chair of the Federal Courts Committee of the New York City Bar Association from 2019-2022, which addresses the operation of, and practice of law in, the federal courts. In 2023, he was elected to the American Law Institute and he is a member of the Members Consultative Group for the ALI Principles of the Law Project regarding Civil Liability for Artificial Intelligence.

John Sare

John Sare is a partner in the tax-exempt organizations practice and the trusts and estates group of Patterson Belknap Webb & Tyler LLP. Mr. Sare has extensive experience in the representation of museums, colleges, private foundations and other types of exempt organizations, and in the representation of philanthropists. This work includes advising charities on the issues and options they face with respect to their endowment funds and other types of restricted gifts, including cy pres and deviation proceedings. Mr. Sare has significant experience representing tax-exempt organizations in connection with matters before the New York State Attorney General’s Office. Mr. Sare has advised multiple clients about the establishment of institutes, centers and prize programs within universities and museums. Mr. Sare also advises individuals and fiduciaries on legal issues involving works of art, charitable giving, estate planning, and the administration of estates and trusts. He taught the Seminar in Law and the Visual Arts at the Columbia University School of Law from 2001 until 2011 and is a co-author of Estate Planning for Artists and Authors, published by Tax Management, Inc. (2004); Splendid Legacy: The Guide to Creating Your Family Foundation, published by the National Center for Family Philanthropy (2002); and Splendid Legacy 2: Creating and Re-Creating Your Family Foundation (2017). He has also written and spoken about the New York Non-Profit Revitalization Act of 2013, the Uniform Prudent Management of Institutional Funds Act and the New York version of it, and many other exempt organization and charitable giving topics, such as gifts of art to museums and the implications of the COVID pandemic and other crises for nonprofit governance.

Lauren Schorr Potter

Lauren Schorr Potter is a Partner in Patterson Belknap's Litigation department and a member of its White Collar Defense and Investigations team. Ms. Potter’s practice includes representation of individuals, universities, sports leagues, and companies in sensitive, complicated and high-stakes criminal and regulatory matters, and internal investigations. Ms. Potter also represents companies in complex financial litigation. Ms. Potter has represented corporations and individuals in matters involving allegations of accounting fraud, cryptocurrency-related fraud, health care and medical device fraud, bribery, misuse of funds, money laundering, FDA-related violations, and violations of the False Claims Act. Prior to joining the firm, Ms. Potter served for more than six years as an Assistant United States Attorney in the United States Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of New York. As a co-chief of the Violent and Organized Crime Unit, Ms. Potter supervised more than 25 Assistant United States Attorneys in investigations, prosecutions, and trials involving racketeering (RICO), organized crime, sex trafficking, and gang-related and drug-related violence, among other offenses. Ms. Potter worked closely with federal and state agencies, including the FBI, HSI, ATF, and the NYPD, coordinating substantial cross-agency investigations. Notable cases Ms. Potter supervised include the prosecution of a fashion mogul on racketeering and trafficking charges, and the prosecution of an individual on extortion and money laundering charges in connection with his victimization of a group of college students. As a federal prosecutor in the Public Corruption and Violent and Organized Crime Units, Ms. Potter investigated and prosecuted a range of cases including matters involving bribery, wire fraud, health care fraud, and racketeering. Among other cases, Ms. Potter handled the prosecutions of law enforcement officials, a former prosecutor, and others for their roles in bribery schemes; an individual involved in a multimillion-dollar Ponzi scheme; and dozens of gang members for violent crimes in New York City. Her extensive litigation experience includes leading six federal criminal trials and arguing several appeals before the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit. Before joining the U.S. Attorney's Office, Ms. Potter was an associate at an international law firm in New York, where she handled white collar and commercial litigation matters. Ms. Potter previously served as a law clerk to the Hon. Ronnie Abrams of the United States District Court for the Southern District of New York and the Hon. Legrome D. Davis of the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania.

Saul Shapiro

Saul Shapiro is a Partner and Chair of Patterson Belknap's Media and Entertainment Practice Team. He is the immediate past Chair of the firm's Litigation department, which he headed for two terms. His practice focuses on complex commercial litigation, as well as intellectual property disputes. He has won the dismissal of numerous cases on pre-trial motions. He has also been lead counsel in seven trials, as well as multiple arbitrations, and he has been victorious in all four of the jury trials he has taken to verdict. Mr. Shapiro is an experienced appellate lawyer, and has conducted numerous internal investigations.

Susan Vignola

Susan Vignola is Partner in Patterson Belknap's Tax-Exempt Organizations department, where she advises nonprofit and tax-exempt organizations and their affiliates, donors, partners, and other stakeholders in the philanthropy sector. Ms. Vignola's clients include a wide range of mission-based organizations, including national and international funding intermediaries; aggregators and accelerators; community foundations and donor-advised fund sponsors; operational/direct service charities; social justice and advocacy organizations; private, family and corporate foundations; schools and universities; museums and cultural institutions; 501(c)(4) social welfare organizations and 501(c)(6) trade associations; along with other entities, affiliates, and trusts. Ms. Vignola also counsels individual, family, and corporate donors and investors on philanthropic planning and engagement. Ms. Vignola regularly advises nonprofit boards and executives on compliance, risk, and related regulatory matters; corporate and board structuring and governance; lobbying and political campaign activity; fiscal sponsorship, donor advised funds, designated funds, and other intermediary matters; establishing and working with affiliates, public-private partnerships and joint ventures; international and cross-border philanthropy; management and expenditure of endowments and investments; impact and mission-related investing; and related corporate, tax, and regulatory matters, investigations, and disputes. Ms. Vignola has extensive expertise working with charitable intermediaries, 501(c)(3) and 501(c)(4) affiliations, navigating the rules relating to lobbying and political activity, equity and compliance reviews, and risk management. Ms. Vignola regularly speaks at conferences and seminars and delivers client trainings on a variety of topics. Recent talks have focused on pursuing equity goals and compliance amid policy and regulatory shifts, corporate governance, navigating lobbying and political campaign activity, managing restricted funds and endowment funds under New York law, and intellectual property issues for nonprofit organizations. Ms. Vignola is a member of the Exempt Organizations Committee of the American Bar Association, the New York State Bar Association, and the New York City Bar Association. Prior to becoming a lawyer, Ms. Vignola spent over a decade working for non-profit institutions in the U.S. and overseas. She received her J.D. from New York University School of Law, M.A. from the George Washington University, and B.A. from the University of North Carolina-Chapel Hill.

Millie Warner

Millie Warner is a Partner in Patterson Belknap’s Litigation Department and is a member of its Employment Group. Ms. Warner advises clients on a wide range of employment law and human resource issues. She represents clients in employment litigation, conducts sensitive internal investigations, crafts and litigates employee non-compete agreements, advises on enforcement actions, and provides other strategic counseling to help corporations minimize legal, compliance, and reputational risks. Ms. Warner counsels clients on disciplinary processes, termination of employees, and day-to-day human resources matters including drafting employment agreements, separation agreements, confidentiality and restrictive covenant agreements, and employment policies. She also has extensive experience, both in and out of the courtroom, handling employee non-compete and non-solicit agreements to safeguard companies’ interests and trade secrets. When complaints of wrongdoing arise, Ms. Warner conducts thorough internal investigations to address issues in-house and to prepare clients for possible outside enforcement or legal actions. During enforcement actions, she draws on her years of experience with state and federal agencies to effectively represent clients in government investigations. Ms. Warner also maintains an active pro bono practice, representing clients in need in a wide variety of matters. Her pro bono work includes representing various trade organizations in filing an amicus brief challenging the FTC’s noncompete rule.

Steven Zalesin

Steve Zalesin is a nationally renowned trial lawyer with extensive experience in advertising litigation, intellectual property, and complex commercial matters. He has successfully tried cases and argued appeals in numerous courts throughout the United States. For more than 30 years, Mr. Zalesin has represented the nation’s leading consumer products companies in a series of precedent-setting cases that have shaped the landscape of advertising litigation, while helping to preserve and grow the markets for our clients’ products. Among other noteworthy victories, he has won dismissal of several high-profile “greenwashing” cases, in which our clients were accused of misrepresenting the environmental impact of their operations. In addition, he has successfully defended multiple clients in putative class actions that alleged that their products contained dangerous contaminants. Mr. Zalesin is currently defending major beverage, consumer healthcare, and confectionary companies in litigation over their product labeling and advertising. Earlier this year, Mr. Zalesin achieved a significant victory for a major pharmaceutical company in a Lanham Act suit brought by a competitor over a study comparing the efficacy of the parties’ prostate cancer medications. The court ruled that the study, which found that our client’s medication is associated with a 51% reduction of overall risk of death compared to the competitor’s drug, employed “reliable” and “widely-accepted” scientific methods and data sources. The court therefore denied the requested injunction. Mr. Zalesin was named “Litigator of the Week” by The American Lawyer for his work on the case (April 24, 2026). The prior month, he obtained summary judgment dismissing a public nuisance suit on behalf of the world’s leading beverage company, for which he was featured in The American Lawyer’s “Litigator of the Week” column (March 20, 2026). Mr. Zalesin is also known for having secured a federal jury verdict in a landmark dispute over juice labeling. He initially obtained summary judgment dismissing the claims against our client, and successfully defended that ruling before the Ninth Circuit. The U.S. Supreme Court then vacated the Ninth Circuit’s decision and remanded the case for trial. The Los Angeles jury rejected the competitor’s claims in full, returning a verdict in our client’s favor after a six-day trial and less than a day of deliberation. As a result, Mr. Zalesin was named “Litigator of the Week” by The American Lawyer (March 24, 2016). Mr. Zalesin also maintains an active pro bono practice. In 2020, he obtained a noteworthy dismissal of a class action complaint that targeted a leading online petitioning platform and its efforts to promote racial justice following the murder of George Floyd.

Justin Zaremby

Justin Zaremby is a Partner in Patterson Belknap's Tax-Exempt Organizations department where he represents a wide range of public charities and private foundations. His clients include universities, museums and other cultural institutions; artist endowed and family foundations; donor-advised funds; human rights organizations; business leagues; social clubs and other tax-exempt entities. Mr. Zaremby acts as counsel to his clients on all aspects of their operations and management, providing strategic support at each critical stage of operation—from formation to expansion, from strategic planning to restructuring, and from ongoing compliance to crisis management. Mr. Zaremby has significant experience advising tax-exempt organizations in connection with corporate governance, transformational charitable giving, commercially driven mission activities, unrelated business income tax issues, compensation, modification of endowed funds through cy pres proceedings, investment management, and other state and federal regulatory matters. He helps organizations respond to regulatory oversight from the New York State Attorney General and has extensive experience counseling boards in crisis. His practice includes a special focus on the intersection of corporate transactions and tax-exempt organizations, helping clients with program and mission-related investments; structuring joint ventures with for-profit companies; and advising on mergers, financing, and restructuring. In addition, he has broad experience helping organizations to develop international subsidiaries and international grantmaking programs. Mr. Zaremby regularly speaks about non-profit organizations on a variety of topics. Recent presentations have focused on board leadership, private foundation grantmaking, collaborative funding structures, the intersection of art law and charities law, social media risk and global structuring. In 2020, he was named a Pathfinder by the Leadership Council on Legal Diversity. He currently serves as a trustee and Vice-Chair of the Wenner-Gren Foundation for Anthropological Research, as a trustee of the William C. Bullitt Foundation, and as a member of the Committee on Nonprofit Organizations at the Association of the Bar of the City of New York. From 2010 to 2011, Mr. Zaremby served as a Law Clerk to the Hon. José A. Cabranes of the United States Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit. Prior to joining Patterson Belknap, Mr. Zaremby advised for-profit companies on complex commercial transactions and corporate governance matters at a New York-based law firm.