Practices: White Collar Criminal

Today's headlines make the risk clear: if your organization has significant financial assets or a sizeable number of employees, you potentially have illegal conduct within your operations. A manager's judgment in interpreting a regulation, or an executive's decision in structuring a transaction can involve subsequent allegations of illegal or criminal activity, no matter how spotless your organization's reputation. And once an allegation is made, your survival may be at stake. The only solution is a swift, thorough internal investigation of the charges, conducted by an experienced team with the resources to provide informed and confidential answers and forceful defense before regulators and prosecutors.

That's what we do at Ungaretti & Harris. Whether you serve as a corporate officer, director or in-house counsel, our thorough investigations and aggressive trial advocacy can help you fulfill your fiduciary duty to identify and resolve issues of questionable conduct, and defend you in litigation and regulatory proceedings that involve allegations of:

Wire and mail fraud.
Tax law violations.
Violation of the Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act (RICO).
Federal and state procurement fraud.
Fraudulent reimbursement of Medicare and Medicaid claims.
Environmental crimes and toxic torts.
Securities and commodities law violations.

Enforcement Insight

When you’re faced with white collar criminal or regulatory proceedings – as a target, a “subject of interest,” or a witness – a vital part of your defense is understanding the techniques that government investigators use and the key facts they are trying to uncover. Because members of our white collar team have been senior enforcement officials in both the United States Attorney’s and Illinois Attorney General’s offices, we know how to conduct internal investigations and litigation defenses that address all the critical issues head-on. And our extensive relationships with former FBI, DEA and IRS agents enable us to put superb investigative resources at your service. If your organization is involved in matters such as these, we have a proven record of success at handling them:

Grand jury investigations involving allegations of trade secret theft.
Commodities Futures Trading Commission investigations of potential market manipulation.
False Claims Act investigations of health care providers by the Office of Inspector General.
Corruption investigations of government entities and public officials.
Securities and financial fraud investigations

You can confidently turn to us knowing that we have represented individuals and companies like you in many hundreds of investigations, regulatory and court proceedings.

Compliance Counseling

Your most effective defense against white collar allegations is to implement programs that clearly define improper conduct and help bring it to light should it occur. Using our knowledge of how prosecutors apply the criminal law to alleged business crimes, we work with you to undertake compliance audits, draft compliance plans and implement them.

Whistleblower Allegations

The Sarbanes-Oxley Act has created new dangers from whistleblowers who allege they were fired for uncovering wrongdoing at their employer. You have to demonstrate that your actions as an employer were proper, and we have done that in a variety of disputes. Despite the notoriety that is sometimes involved, we excel at showing that an employer’s conduct was legitimate and that discharges were handled properly.

Fiduciary Responsibility

Corporations and public agencies, CEOs and CFOs, Boards of Directors, Audit Committees and independent auditors all turn to Ungaretti & Harris when they need help to investigate questionable financial or regulatory conduct in their organizations. We thoroughly understand the requirements of such investigations, whether in the context of securities and commodities law compliance or whistleblower allegations under the Sarbanes-Oxley Act, and provide you with:

Immediate response.
Thorough, professional and responsible investigations and interviews.
Detailed reporting on what actions the members of your organization took, whether those actions were proper, and what remedial steps are necessary.
Confidential advice on how directors and officers should meet their fiduciary responsibilities.
Effective guidance and strong advocacy in the event of litigation due to criminal conduct.

When questions of improper conduct arise, protecting your interest as a corporate fiduciary requires quick action, confidentiality and insight into the demands of prosecutors and regulators. That’s what you get from us.

Investigation Response

You may not learn that you face a government investigation until confronted with the need to respond. In this high-pressure situation we advise you when you’re confronted with search warrants, or subpoenaed to appear before or provide documents to grand juries and regulatory agencies. If government action against you is imminent, we work to prepare pre-charge and pre-indictment strategies, including advice regarding indemnification of corporate officers, directors or employees, joint defense agreements and public relations and corporate disclosure strategies.

Trial Advocacy

If a fight is unavoidable despite preparation, we are your effective courtroom advocate. You get trial representation from an experienced litigation partner, with a supporting trial team specifically designed to be lean, flexible and cost-effective. We are often able to negotiate pre-indictment or pre-trial settlements on behalf of clients, including agreements that avoid criminal sanctions. If that’s not possible, we fight for your interests at trial.

Best Result

The best result is the quietest one for any individual or company facing white collar criminal allegations. You want to stay out of the news, out of court and out of jail. Scores of executives and companies have looked to our lawyers for that kind of help, and we have the skill and experience to deliver.