King & Spalding has a ‘strong bench of lawyers’ specializing in white-collar crime and civil fraud matters, routinely representing clients in investigations conducted by both US and global enforcement agencies. The team is especially well-placed to represent companies in the financial services, tech, and life sciences and healthcare sectors, as well as senior executives and high-ranking officials. The practice is jointly led by Mark Jensen in Washington DC, who specializes in investigations, white-collar litigation, regulatory enforcement actions, and internal reviews, and Zachary Fardon in Chicago, who has extensive experience with sensitive white-collar defense and investigations matters. The group in DC also includes securities enforcement specialist Alec Koch, Alicia O’Brien, who is experienced in crisis management and government investigations, John Richter, a seasoned white-collar practitioner in both criminal and civil investigations, as well as Robert Hur and William S McClintock, who both advise on a broad range of civil and criminal enforcement matters. In Atlanta, criminal investigations expert Sally Yates, and Heather Saul, are key names, while seasoned litigator Craig Carpenito, and Yelena Kotlarsky, are notable practitioners in New York.
Legal 500 Editorial commentary
Testimonials
Collated independently by Legal 500 research team.
‘Broad bench of lawyers with great experience with various regulators and government agencies, including Congress. They work seamlessly with civil litigators on parallel government and civil litigation.'
‘Michael Pauzé, Raphael Larson and Alec Koch are all trusted advisors in this space. Pauzé is excellent for DOJ and Congressional matters and is also experienced with PCAOB and SEC. Raphael Larson has particular PCAOB experience and Alec Koch has strong SEC experience.’
‘The team that K&S had very relevant experience with both DOJ and SEC practices and personnel.’
‘They display thoroughness and the ability to think through the implications of different steps over the course of the investigation.’
- ‘Strong bench of lawyers with experience dealing with various regulators and government agencies, including DOJ, SEC, PCAOB, FDIC, Congress, and more.'
- ‘This team has deep experience in responding to government investigations. What makes this team unique is that the leaders of the practice not only themselves were former prosecutors but that they maintain meaningful relationships with current government officials.'
Key clients
- Trader's Global Group and Murtuza Kazmi
- Michael Babich, former President and CEO of Insys Therapeutics
- Ali Akbar Shokouhi
- Kimora Lee Simmons
- Medallion Financial Corp., Andrew Murstein
- Tim Brown, CISO of SolarWinds Corp.
- Terren Peizer, the former CEO of Ontrak, Inc.
Work highlights
Defeated a CFTC case targeting simulated forex trading, where $300m in assets were frozen based on flawed evidence.
Represented Michael Babich, former CEO of Insys Therapeutics, in an opioid-related prosecution involving novel RICO theories.
Representing Medallion Financial Corp. and its President in an SEC lawsuit alleging inflated valuations and illegal touting to boost stock prices amid declining taxicab medallion values.
Lawyers
Next Generation Partners: Advice to corporates
Junior partners with significant recognition from clients and peers in the market and key roles on multiple matters.
Practice head
Mark Jensen; Zach Fardon
Other key lawyers
Alec Koch; Alicia O’Brien; John Richter; Robert Hur; William S McClintock; Sally Yates; Heather Saul; Craig Carpenito; Yelena Kotlarsky; Andrew C. Hruska; Patrick Montgomery; Brandt Leibe; Michael Pauzé; Raphael Larson; Adam Baker