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Blank Rome LLP

Blank Rome LLP

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United States • Dispute resolution

5

Corporate investigations and white-collar criminal defense

A ‘great team of white-collar criminal defense attorneys', Blank Rome LLP excels in both civil and criminal white-collar matters, and has notable expertise in areas such as securities, business and tax fraud, the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act and public corruption, government contracting, and the False Claims Act. Co-leading the practice, Linda Imes in New York specializes in white-collar criminal defense, regulatory investigations and proceedings, and civil litigation, and William Lawler in Washington DC represents corporations, government entities, and individuals in a broad range of enforcement matters and investigations before regulatory agencies and Congress.
Legal 500 Editorial commentary

Testimonials

Collated independently by Legal 500 research team.

  • ‘Blank Rome has a very strong corporate white-collar criminal defense practice, particularly in the New York office. ’

  • ‘Jennifer Achilles has a tremendous amount of experience representing corporations involved in government investigations. She has a wonderful reputation in the defense bar and is known as a trusted advisor and advocate. ’

  • ‘Blank Rome has a great team of white-collar criminal defense attorneys, and their recent lateral hires served to solidify that reputation. ’

  • ‘Linda Imes and David Spears are among the most experienced, effective white collar criminal defense attorneys in the country. They truly care for their clients and put everything into their representation. They are extremely highly regarded by the bench and bar, including their government adversaries. ’

  • ‘David Spears and Linda Imes are first-rate white collar criminal defense lawyers.’

  • ‘David Spears and Linda Imes are outstanding in every respect.’

  • ‘From my experience working with the firm, the practice is distinctive for combining strong legal expertise with a consistently commercial, solutions-focused approach. The team provides clear, actionable advice, anticipates issues early, and communicates in a disciplined, client-friendly way—making them feel like an extension of the in-house team rather than an external provider.

  • ‘Bradley Henry is an excellent lawyer, client-focused and very collaborative. He is proactive and decisive, communicates clearly, and consistently provides practical solutions. That makes working with them both efficient and reassuring, particularly on time-sensitive or complex matters.

  • ‘The team from Blank Rome was absolutely on top of matters, very sharp and very fast. It was a pleasure to work with them. ’

  • ‘David Spears is excellent overall coordination and interaction with stakeholders.'

Key clients

  • Christopher Payne
  • Oyvind Ervik
  • Caitlyn Jenner and Sophia Hutchins
  • Vipin Kumar

Work highlights

Represented NCAA in two jury trials where the plaintiffs asserted negligence and fraud claims against the NCAA for failing to warn or protect against the alleged risk of neurodegenerative disease.
Representing Fracht USA in connection with a multi-jurisdictional investigation of an air cargo flight chartered by Fracht USA that travelled from Venezuela to Mexico and then to Argentina and may have violated US sanctions.
Defending Caitlyn Jenner and Sophia Hutchins in a putative class action litigation by investors in Ms. Jenner’s meme coin called $JENNER.
Practice head

Linda Imes; William Lawler

Other key lawyers

Jennifer Short; Shawn Wright; Jennifer Achilles; Bradley Henry; David Spears; Jerry Bernstein