Find Lawyers in Florida, United States for Criminal Defense: White-Collar
Practice Area Overview
“White-collar defense” captures a broad set of substantive areas of the law, all of them arising from the myriad ways that local, state, federal, and foreign governments regulate businesses and entrepreneurs — what they say to investors and the general public about their own successes and failures (securities law); how they compete with one another (antitrust law); how they win business, deliver services, and seek payment when governments are themselves the customers (False Claims Act, Foreign Corrupt Practices Act); how businesses treat the environment; and whether they comply with general laws against theft, fraud, bribery, tax evasion and corruption. Public officials must navigate similar rules and thus present similar types of issues included under the broad category of white-collar defense.
The practice demands particularly versatile lawyers who deliver a range of services. White-collar lawyers try cases in court. They also specialize in risk management and compliance, training businesses and their individual employees about ways to minimize potential criminal and civil liability. Corporations engage white-collar lawyers to conduct internal investigations of their own business practices to assess and prepare for the risk of criminal and civil liability. Individuals and corporations demand white-collar representation as much when they are merely witnesses to alleged wrongdoing as when they are accused of it. White-collar litigation also involves assessing victims’ damages and their potential remedies as well as representing those accused of wrongdoing in administrative and court proceedings.
White-collar practices also must anticipate and prepare for the potential trajectory of a white-collar case. For example, an internal investigation identifying potential criminal or civil issues can lead to government enforcement actions and follow-up civil claims by alleged victims or competitors — all arising from the same conduct. The risk of criminal punishment and civil fines and liability potentially running into the billions of dollars, increase the complexity of white-collar matters and the demand for sophisticated counsel.
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Cities
A. Brian Albritton concentrates his practice on “white collar” criminal defense; False Claims Act and Qui Tam litigation; defending regulatory enforcement actions brought by government agencies, including unfair/deception trade practice actions brought by the Federal Trade Commission and state attorneys general; regulatory compliance; and complex commercial litigation, including the prosecution and defense of claims relating to trade secret theft, non-competition agreements and ot...
A former Assistant U.S. Attorney with a focus on public corruption and national security, Jacqueline Arango is co-chair of Akerman’s White Collar Crime & Government Investigations Practice. She leads a team including former federal prosecutors, senior enforcement lawyers at the SEC, and government lawyers representing corporations, financial institutions, boards of directors, and individuals in government investigations, regulatory enforcement matters, grand jury probes, internal in...
Robert J. Becerra is a Florida Bar Board Certified Specialist in International Law, one of approximately 50 lawyers in Florida with such a certification. He concentrates his practice in the areas of litigation and arbitration, white collar criminal defense, grand jury investigations, corporate compliance and internal investigations, and administrative and judicial proceedings related to international trade matters. Prior to opening his own firm, Becerra practiced at the Miami law firms of Dev...
Lee Bentley’s practice includes the defense of False Claims Act and qui tam cases, internal investigations, and white collar criminal matters. He specializes in telemedicine/telehealth, compound pharmacy, and urine toxicology cases, among other alleged fraud schemes. His experience also includes complex civil litigation involving government entities. Lee has handled trials and appeals in numerous federal and state courts, and has served as sole or lead counsel in almost 40 civil and cri...
Derek Byrd was born and raised in Sarasota. He graduated from Florida State University in 1990 with a B. A. in Criminology. He earned his Juris Doctorate Degree from Quinnipiac College of Law in Hamden, Connecticut in 1995 graduating cum laude. After being admitted to the Florida Bar in early 1996, Derek went to work for the Public Defender’s Office in Sarasota, where he gained extensive and valuable trial experience. He opened The Byrd Law Firm in 1998. Mr. Byrd is Board Certified in C...
Benton (Ben) Curtis, a former federal prosecutor and experienced trial attorney, focuses his practice on leading matters, both domestically and abroad, that involve government enforcement defense, internal investigations, compliance counseling, and due diligence regarding third parties and business transactions. Ben regularly represents clients before, and in litigation against, government agencies, including clients accused of health care fraud, kickback violations, Foreign Corrupt Practices...
James E. Felman has concentrated his practice of law in the defense of complex criminal matters and related civil litigation for over 30 years. Mr. Felman represents clients in federal and state matters in every phase of the criminal process -- investigation, trial, sentencing, appeal, and post-conviction proceedings. He has represented clients in a wide range of matters, including allegations of bank fraud, health care fraud, mail and wire fraud, securities fraud, public corruption, environm...
Gabriel Imperato’s personal practice includes representing individuals and organizations accused of healthcare fraud and assisting and advising healthcare organizations on corporate governance and compliance matters. Mr. Imperato is board certified as a specialist in Health Law by the Florida Bar. He is also certified in Health Care Compliance (CHC) by the Society of Corporate Compliance and Ethics and the Health Care Compliance Association (SCCE/HCCA). This national accreditation refle...
Matthew R. Kachergus has devoted his career to representing a wide array of clients ranging from the criminally accused, those whose constitutional rights have been violated, to numerous others needing counsel for civil litigation. As a result of Mr. Kachergus’ tireless efforts in advocating for the interest of his clients, he is listed in Best Lawyers in America, in the fields of white collar and non-white collar criminal defense law, as well as Super Lawyers. Mr. Kachergus is a member...
With more than 30 years of trial experience, Gregory W. Kehoe has a national and international practice focusing on representation of individuals, corporations and financial institutions. This includes representation before federal and state courts as well as international tribunals. Mr. Kehoe recently represented General Ante Gotovina in his complete acquittal before the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia. Mr. Kehoe also represented General Mohammed Hussein Ali before ...
Mr. Lauro has an extensive national practice as a trial lawyer with over 30 years of experience. He is a native New Yorker, and his firm has offices in New York and Florida. Mr. Lauro graduated from the Georgetown University Law Center, where he was an editor of the Georgetown Law Journal. He began his practice with the international law firm of Morgan, Lewis. Mr. Lauro was an Assistant U.S. Attorney in the Eastern District of New York, where he prosecuted international narcotics and white co...
Maria Neyra specializes in white-collar criminal defense, complex investigations, grand jury practice, and complex civil litigation. She combines both legal and Wall Street experience in her approach to federal and state cases involving claims of financial wrongdoing, including securities fraud, mail fraud, healthcare fraud, bribery, public corruption, RICO and tax evasion offenses. Born in Cardenas, Cuba, Ms. Neyra is fluent in Spanish and proficient in French. She joined the firm in 1995 an...
Jackie Perczek joined the firm in 1997 and became a partner in 2001. Her practice focuses on the defense of white collar federal offenses, and she handles significant representations for the Firm. She has defended clients in complex grand jury investigations and trials throughout Florida and in other federal districts in the United States. Ms. Perczek’s practice includes the management and defense of massive federal cases involving millions of documents and hundreds of witnesses and exp...
Jon A. Sale is Of Counsel in the Miami office of Nelson Mullins Broad & Cassel where he is co-chair of the firm’s White Collar & Government Investigations Practice Group. He is a leading white collar criminal defense attorney who is one of two attorneys in the state of Florida designated by Chambers U.S.A. as an “eminent practitioner” in the white collar field.He is a member of the Southern District of Florida Federal Judicial Nominating Commission, which interviews ...
With more than 40 years of experience as an appellate lawyer, and more than 2,000 appeals in state and federal courts, Elliot brings a practical and client-centered approach to his work. Elliot's practice covers a wide range of substantive law, which enables him to counsel his clients on both their legal rights and structuring their transactions. He is the co-chair of the firm's National Appellate Practice Group.
Thomas Scott was the U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of Florida from 1997-2000. During this time, his accomplishments include prosecution of racketeering and conspiracy charges against some of South Florida's most violent street gangs, Medicare fraud cases against four major health care companies, sweeping reforms in airline and airport security (with prosecutions ranging from cases against baggage handlers to airlines) for issues including drug smuggling and cargo safety, and prosecu...
Edward Shohat is a partner in the Litigation Practice Group, where he focuses on white collar criminal defense. Edward focuses his practice on state and federal white collar crime and related forfeitures, as well as the defense of civil RICO cases and matters involving the US Patriot Act, Sarbanes Oxley, and corporate compliance issues. He represents clients in criminal and civil litigation involving allegations of criminal conduct, including corporate and civil counsel consultation on potent...
Brian Shrader is the founder of Shrader Mendez & O’Connell. His focus is on litigation and trials relating to all of the firm’s four practice areas. Brian has an AV Rating by Martindale Hubble, reflecting the highest rating by his peers and judges. In addition, Brian was selected as a multiple-year Superlawyers Rising Star, an honor reflecting a peer review rating in the top 2.5% of lawyers under the age of 40. As a respected trial attorney, Brian has been hired by other law f...
Howard Srebnick plays a major role in the Firm’s criminal division, chairs the Firm's appellate practice, and handles select high-stakes, commercial litigation. He helps set the standard for the thorough, zealous representation that our practice delivers. Selected by his peers for inclusion in The Best Lawyers in America,® clients agree "he's thorough and creative, preempts everything and leaves no stone unturned." Chambers and Partners recognizes him as being a "great tactician and...
Ed Suarez is an accomplished trial lawyer who, as a result of his nearly thirty years of hard work and zealous representation, has earned the respect of his peers, as well as local and national commendations. Although renowned for his trial skills, the hallmark of Mr. Suarez’s career has been his ability to identify subtle issues, foresee alternative legal and factual scenarios, and carefully construct litigation strategies unique to each matter.Mr. Suarez places a high value on discret...
Susan J. Tarbe has been practicing law for over 25 years, with 13 years of experience in the areas of commercial litigation and white collar criminal defense. Prior to joining Greenberg Traurig as Assistant General Counsel, Susan was a Partner with Colson Hicks Eidson from 2001-2009. She was Of Counsel in the Litigation Department in Greenberg Traurig's Miami office from 1999-2001 and she held the position of General Counsel, Executive Vice President and Chief Compliance Officer for a publicl...
David Weinstein is the Managing Shareholder of GT’s Tampa office. With over 30 years of experience, David is a “go to” litigator and strategist for high-stakes and complex civil and white-collar litigation, including business, environmental, toxic tort, real estate, land use, health care, and other challenging matters. An accomplished litigator who takes pride in his courtroom advocacy, David also works to help clients find practical and effective out-of-court approaches to ...
David Weinstein is a partner in the Litigation Practice Group and a member of the corporate compliance and white collar defense team. He draws on his prosecutorial experience to help clients avoid, respond to, and defend against law-enforcement investigations and lawsuits. With more than two decades of experience as a federal and state prosecutor and more than a decade in private practice, David Weinstein advises and represents individuals and companies in a broad range of white collar crimin...
Jayne Weintraub is Of Counsel in the Miami office of Nelson Mullins Broad & Cassel where she represents individuals under investigation or charged with criminal offenses in federal courts throughout the United States and Puerto Rico as well as in various local state courts. She concentrates on pre-trial preparation, defense strategies and is an accomplished trial lawyer. She has brought more than 100 jury trials to verdict. During her time as an Assistant State Attorney, she tried more th...
Since 1980, Elizabeth “Betsy” White has established an excellent and widespread reputation as a top lawyer in the fields of criminal defense, civil rights, and appeals. Her experience includes extensive litigation on behalf of criminal defendants as well as litigation to protect the constitutional and civil rights of individuals and groups, including women, minorities and prisoners. She has litigated at all levels of the judicial system, including the United States Supreme Court. ...
Katherine Earle Yanes was born in Los Angeles, California. She graduated from Williams College, magna cum laude, with honors in economics, in 1993. In 1997, she graduated from Stetson University College of Law, magna cum laude, as valedictorian of her class. She was an associate member of the Stetson Law Review. Following law school, Ms. Yanes served as a law clerk to Chief Judge Elizabeth A. Kovachevich, United States District Court for the Middle District of Florida. Since 1999, she has rep...
Brandon K. Breslow is a seasoned trial and appellate attorney with a nationwide practice. Mr. Breslow handles appeals and litigation support in civil and criminal cases, from briefing through oral argument and post-decision motions. His civil cases often involve complex issues and catastrophic injuries. He has also achieved favorable dismissals, resolutions, and trial verdicts for clients charged with serious violent and financial crimes. Mr. Breslow has been named to the Florida Super Lawyer...
Giovanni Giarratana assists clients faced with civil and criminal investigations, enforcement actions, and compliance issues across various industries. He also has experience representing clients in complex litigation and issues related to securities fraud, shareholder disputes, employment discrimination, and patent infringement. While in law school, Giovanni participated in the Honors Program. He also served on the editorial board of the Stetson Law Review as an articles and symposia editor ...
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