Patterson Belknap Webb & Tyler LLP

White Collar Defense and Investigations; Structured Finance Workouts and Litigation; Complex Commercial Actions; Litigation; Securities, Enforcement, and Litigation; False Claims Act and Whistleblower Defense; Appellate; Class Action Litigation; State Attorneys General; Art and Museum Law

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.

Admitted in: United States Supreme Court; U.S. Court of Appeals, Second Circuit; Fourth Circuit; Seventh Circuit; Ninth Circuit; D.C. Circuit; U.S. District Court, Southern, Eastern and Northern Districts of New York, District of Connecticut, Northern District of Illinois; New York

The American Law Institute (2023-present); New York Council of Defense Lawyers (Member, Board of Directors, (2022-present), Member, Amicus Brief Committee (2019-present)); New York City Bar Association (Federal Courts Committee (2017-2022; Chair, 2018-2022), Professional Responsibility Committee (2008–2011), Secretary, Committee on Pro Bono and Legal Services (1997–2000)); New York State Bar Association (Section on Federal and Commercial Litigation, 2006–2012), (Committee on White Collar Criminal Litigation, 2006–2012), (Chair, Subcommittee on Sentencing, 2008-2012); New York American Inn of Court (2004–2016), (Program Chair, 2014-2016), (White Collar Crime Team Co-Leader, 2007-2013); Adjunct Professor, New York Law School (2009-2011) (Criminal Procedure: Sentencing); New York Crime Commission, Lawyers Council (2012-present); Member, Board of Editors, Business Crimes Bulletin (Law Journal Press) (2017-present)

J.D., cum laude, Harvard Law School; B.A., magna cum laude, University of Pennsylvania