Professor of Law, Elisabeth Haub School of Law at Pace University
Professor Ben Gershman is one of the original faculty members at Pace Law and has taught as a visiting professor at Cornell Law School and Syracuse Law School. While in private practice he specialized in criminal defense litigation. A former prosecutor with the Manhattan District Attorney’s office for six years, he is the author of numerous articles as well as two books on prosecutorial and judicial ethics. He served for four years with the Special State Prosecutor investigating corruption in the judicial system. He is one of the nation’s leading experts on prosecutorial misconduct. He is active on several Bar Association committees, and is a frequent pro bono litigator. Professor Gershman has taught in the London Law Program, and was named James D. Hopkins Professor for the 2007–2009 academic years.
Senior Counsel, Stroock & Stroock & Lavan LLP
Joel Cohen, an experienced white-collar criminal lawyer, joined the firm in 1985 after ten years as a prosecutor, first with the New York State Special Prosecutor’s Office and, second, as an Assistant Attorney-in-Charge with the U.S. Justice Department’s Organized Crime & Racketeering Section (E.D.N.Y.). In those positions, he concentrated in the investigation, prosecution and trial of organized crime figures and corruption cases involving high-ranking public officials in New York, including the top leadership of the Colombo crime family, many members of the elite narcotics division of the New York Police Department, and the first ever prosecution of a sitting FBI agent.
Since arriving at Stroock, Mr. Cohen has represented and actively counseled individuals and corporations that have been investigated and/or prosecuted for alleged federal racketeering, securities violations, tax evasion, bribery, fraud, corruption, obstruction of justice, money laundering, environmental offenses, and customs violations involving alleged international frauds. He has also represented attorneys on ethical issues and in disciplinary proceedings in a number of jurisdictions in the New York area.
Partner, Stone Pigman Walther Wittmann LLC
Mr. Thomson concentrates his practice in white collar criminal defense, government investigations, and corporate compliance. He has tried over 50 criminal trials to verdict in federal and state courts, and has experience in appellate litigation. His practice also includes civil litigation and information security. Prior to joining Stone Pigman, Mr. Thomson had a 23 year career as a federal prosecutor with the U.S. Department of Justice. He served on special assignment with the National Security Agency, where he worked on matters involving information assurance and intelligence collection.
Prior to private practice, Mr. Thomson was recognized numerous times by government agencies, including a Special Commendation Award given by the U.S. Attorney General for completing the Justice Department's Leadership Excellence and Achievement Program; Special Commendation by FBI Director for outstanding performance for successful corruption prosecution after Hurricane Katrina; Special Award from the U.S. Postal Service for prosecution of corrupt employee; Special Award by New Orleans Police Department, ATF and U.S. Department of Justice for his contributions to Project Exile; and Special Awards for Outstanding Contributions to Drug Law Enforcement from the Drug Enforcement Administration.
Partner, King & Spalding
Drew Hruska focuses on criminal and regulatory litigation and investigations, internal investigations, regulatory compliance and risk advice. A partner in our Special Matters and Investigations practice, Drew represents major financial services and industrial companies, family offices and prominent individuals.
Drew represents a variety of financial services clients, including securities, commercial banking, insurance, insurance brokerage, hedge funds and private equity funds, along with major industrial companies, concerning enforcement and national security investigations by government agencies, including the U.S. Department of Justice, OFAC, SEC, state attorneys general, and many others. Matters under investigation typically involve fraud, money laundering, international sanctions, foreign corrupt practices, banking regulation, false claims, taxation, data privacy and security, antitrust and immigration restrictions.
In addition, Drew consults with numerous multinational companies on a range of criminal, regulatory compliance, and risk issues. Drew speaks Russian and is frequently engaged on financial enforcement issues involving Russia and Eastern Europe. He has also served in independent roles a Monitor appointed by an international organization, an independent legal advisor for the Federal Reserve and Office of the Controller of the Currency, and as a court-appointed Examiner in bankruptcy.
Before joining our firm, Drew served as the Chief Assistant U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of New York, where he supervised the criminal and civil divisions. He also oversaw the office’s corporate fraud offensive, including investigations of Computer Associates and Symbol Technologies. Drew served as Acting U.S. Attorney for the prosecution of the New York Racing Association on tax conspiracy charges. He also led the criminal investigation of the Staten Island Ferry crash of October 15, 2003, that resulted in a manslaughter conviction for New York City’s Ferry Service Director.
Previously, Drew served as Senior Counsel to U.S. Deputy Attorney General Larry Thompson, and as an Assistant District Attorney in the Manhattan District Attorney’s Office, where he prosecuted major securities, bank and insurance fraud cases as a member of the Frauds Bureau.
Drew is recognized by Chambers, Benchmark Litigation, Legal 500, and Who’s Who Legal. He serves on the World Jewish Congress President’s Security Advisory Committee and on the Dewey Medal Prize Committee for the New York City District Attorneys’ Offices.
Gerald B. Lefcourt, PC
Gerald B. Lefcourt has spent his legal career practicing principally in the areas of criminal law and complex civil litigation. He is recognized as one of the country's foremost trial attorneys and is frequently called upon to represent individuals and corporations charged with the most serious crimes. In his thirty years practicing law, his clients have spanned the spectrum, from Yippie founder Abbie Hoffman and Black Panther Party leaders to Drexel Burnham Lambert securities trader Bruce Newberg, real estate mogul Harry Helmsley, actor Russell Crowe, New York State Assembly Speaker Mel Miller, and hip hop music promoter and Murder Inc. record label head Irv Gotti.
Mr. Lefcourt serves as the Speaker of the N.Y.S. Assembly's designee to the Statewide Commission on Judicial Nomination, which committee recommends to the Governor a slate of candidates for the New York Court of Appeals. He also serves on the Magistrate Selection Committee of the Southern District of New York. In the past, he has been a member of numerous other governmental and professional committees, including those addressing representation of the indigent, sentencing guidelines and the attorney-client privilege.
Mr. Lefcourt is currently President of the Criminal Justice Foundation of the National Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers. He also serves as program co-chair of the annual White Collar Crime Conference at Fordham Law School sponsored by the National Association of Criminal Defense Attorneys.
Mr. Lefcourt served for several years as the Chair of the Criminal Advocacy Committee of the Association of the Bar of the City of New York and other committees. He is past president of the National Association of Criminal Lawyers; a founder of the New York State Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers; and founder and past president of the New York Criminal Bar Association. He has been recognized in New York Magazine's survey of Outstanding Practitioners and in both Who's Who in the Criminal Defense Bar and in theInternational Who’s Who of Business Crime Defence and is AV rated.
Mr. Lefcourt has also been recognized by fellow practitioners as an outstanding lawyer, including by receipt of the Robert C. Heeney Memorial Lifetime Achievement Award from the National Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers; the Thurgood Marshall Lifetime Achievement Award from the New York State Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers; New York State Bar Association's Outstanding Practitioner Award; and New York University School of Law's Milton S. Gould Award for Outstanding Oral Advocacy. He was recently the Guest of Honor at a dinner sponsored by the New York Criminal Bar Association in recognition of "the distinction and commitment [he has] brought as an advocate for the rights of criminal defendants."
Mr. Lefcourt has also been recognized by Super Lawyers in each of 2006, 2007, 2008, 2009, 2010 and 2011 as among New York City's Best Criminal Lawyers.
Mr. Lefcourt was named in the 2010 edition of New York Area's Best Lawyers in the categories of both Criminal Defense: White-Collar and Criminal Defense: Non White-Collar.
Mr. Lefcourt is a graduate of New York University (B.A. Political Science 1964); Brooklyn Law School (J.D. 1967); and New York University School of Law (L.L.M. Tax 1968). He is admitted to practice in New York, the United States District Courts for the Southern and Eastern Districts of New York, and numerous Circuit Courts of Appeals.
Executive Vice President, The Federalist Society
Dean Reuter is Executive Vice President at the Federalist Society for Law and Public Policy Studies. He has served in two federal government agency Offices of the Inspector General, as Counsel to the Inspector General and Deputy Inspector General, responsible for policing the use of federal funds granted and contracted through those agencies. As such, he helped conduct and oversee criminal investigations across the country. He is the principal author of the non-fiction book, The Hidden Nazi: The Untold Story of America's Deal with the Devil, and editor of Liberty’s Nemesis: The Unchecked Expansion of the State and Confronting Terror: 9/11 and the Future of American National Security. He was appointed by the President and served as Vice-Chairman of the Board of Directors of the Corporation for National and Community Service, and recently served as an appointee on the U.S. Commission on Presidential Scholars. He is a graduate of Hood College (BA with Honors) and the University of Maryland School of Law.
Partner, King & Spalding LLP
Former U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of California, a 34-county district with an area that stretches from the Oregon border to Bakersfield, Greg Scott is an experienced trial lawyer who represents major companies facing government investigations and litigation, with a focus in the healthcare, retail, and construction industries. He has extensive knowledge on matters involving consumer protection, construction disputes, the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA) and the False Claims Act (FCA).
Greg represents corporations under investigation by state district attorneys concerning potential violations of consumer protection laws, as well as corporations operating senior assisted livingfacilities under investigation by the state attorney general regarding potential violations of elder abuse laws. In addition, he represents construction companies under investigation by state district attorneys when employees are involved in serious accidents at worksites.
A retired Lieutenant Colonel after serving more than 20 years in the California Army National Guard & United States Army Reserve, Greg went on to become a deputy district attorney in Contra Costa County and twice-elected District Attorney of Shasta County. He also served as an Adjunct Professor of National Security Law at the University of the Pacific, McGeorge School of Law following his first term as U.S. Attorney for the E.D. of California. Between his two terms as U.S. Attorney for the E.D. of California, Greg was the vice chair of the white-collar defense and corporate investigations practice at an AmLaw 50 firm.
Partner, Jenner & Block
Thomas P. Sullivan has handled civil and criminal trial and appellate litigation for over 55 years. He has been with the firm since 1954, except for his time as U. S. Attorney for the Northern District of Illinois, 1977-81. He has argued many cases in the Illinois Supreme Court, the U.S. Supreme Court, and many federal Courts of Appeal. He served as Co-Chair of Illinois Governor George Ryan’s Commission on Capital Punishment (2000-02), and the Illinois General Assembly’s Capital Punishment Reform Study Committee, whose reports recommending sweeping changes to Illinois homicide law and procedure were influential in Governor Ryan’s decision in 2003 to clear Illinois’ death row, and Governor Quinn’s signing the bill abolishing Illinois’ death penalty in 2010. He has represented many indigent persons in civil and criminal litigation, including prisoners incarcerated at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba.
Mr. Sullivan is a member of the Firm’s White Collar Defense and Investigations and Class Action practices. He serves as an arbitrator in a wide variety of business disputes. He is also a lecturer and author on civil and criminal trial and appellate litigation.
Gerald B. Lefcourt, PC
Gerald B. Lefcourt has spent his legal career practicing principally in the areas of criminal law and complex civil litigation. He is recognized as one of the country's foremost trial attorneys and is frequently called upon to represent individuals and corporations charged with the most serious crimes. In his thirty years practicing law, his clients have spanned the spectrum, from Yippie founder Abbie Hoffman and Black Panther Party leaders to Drexel Burnham Lambert securities trader Bruce Newberg, real estate mogul Harry Helmsley, actor Russell Crowe, New York State Assembly Speaker Mel Miller, and hip hop music promoter and Murder Inc. record label head Irv Gotti.
Mr. Lefcourt serves as the Speaker of the N.Y.S. Assembly's designee to the Statewide Commission on Judicial Nomination, which committee recommends to the Governor a slate of candidates for the New York Court of Appeals. He also serves on the Magistrate Selection Committee of the Southern District of New York. In the past, he has been a member of numerous other governmental and professional committees, including those addressing representation of the indigent, sentencing guidelines and the attorney-client privilege.
Mr. Lefcourt is currently President of the Criminal Justice Foundation of the National Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers. He also serves as program co-chair of the annual White Collar Crime Conference at Fordham Law School sponsored by the National Association of Criminal Defense Attorneys.
Mr. Lefcourt served for several years as the Chair of the Criminal Advocacy Committee of the Association of the Bar of the City of New York and other committees. He is past president of the National Association of Criminal Lawyers; a founder of the New York State Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers; and founder and past president of the New York Criminal Bar Association. He has been recognized in New York Magazine's survey of Outstanding Practitioners and in both Who's Who in the Criminal Defense Bar and in theInternational Who’s Who of Business Crime Defence and is AV rated.
Mr. Lefcourt has also been recognized by fellow practitioners as an outstanding lawyer, including by receipt of the Robert C. Heeney Memorial Lifetime Achievement Award from the National Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers; the Thurgood Marshall Lifetime Achievement Award from the New York State Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers; New York State Bar Association's Outstanding Practitioner Award; and New York University School of Law's Milton S. Gould Award for Outstanding Oral Advocacy. He was recently the Guest of Honor at a dinner sponsored by the New York Criminal Bar Association in recognition of "the distinction and commitment [he has] brought as an advocate for the rights of criminal defendants."
Mr. Lefcourt has also been recognized by Super Lawyers in each of 2006, 2007, 2008, 2009, 2010 and 2011 as among New York City's Best Criminal Lawyers.
Mr. Lefcourt was named in the 2010 edition of New York Area's Best Lawyers in the categories of both Criminal Defense: White-Collar and Criminal Defense: Non White-Collar.
Mr. Lefcourt is a graduate of New York University (B.A. Political Science 1964); Brooklyn Law School (J.D. 1967); and New York University School of Law (L.L.M. Tax 1968). He is admitted to practice in New York, the United States District Courts for the Southern and Eastern Districts of New York, and numerous Circuit Courts of Appeals.
Executive Vice President, The Federalist Society
Dean Reuter is Executive Vice President at the Federalist Society for Law and Public Policy Studies. He has served in two federal government agency Offices of the Inspector General, as Counsel to the Inspector General and Deputy Inspector General, responsible for policing the use of federal funds granted and contracted through those agencies. As such, he helped conduct and oversee criminal investigations across the country. He is the principal author of the non-fiction book, The Hidden Nazi: The Untold Story of America's Deal with the Devil, and editor of Liberty’s Nemesis: The Unchecked Expansion of the State and Confronting Terror: 9/11 and the Future of American National Security. He was appointed by the President and served as Vice-Chairman of the Board of Directors of the Corporation for National and Community Service, and recently served as an appointee on the U.S. Commission on Presidential Scholars. He is a graduate of Hood College (BA with Honors) and the University of Maryland School of Law.
Partner, King & Spalding LLP
Former U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of California, a 34-county district with an area that stretches from the Oregon border to Bakersfield, Greg Scott is an experienced trial lawyer who represents major companies facing government investigations and litigation, with a focus in the healthcare, retail, and construction industries. He has extensive knowledge on matters involving consumer protection, construction disputes, the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA) and the False Claims Act (FCA).
Greg represents corporations under investigation by state district attorneys concerning potential violations of consumer protection laws, as well as corporations operating senior assisted livingfacilities under investigation by the state attorney general regarding potential violations of elder abuse laws. In addition, he represents construction companies under investigation by state district attorneys when employees are involved in serious accidents at worksites.
A retired Lieutenant Colonel after serving more than 20 years in the California Army National Guard & United States Army Reserve, Greg went on to become a deputy district attorney in Contra Costa County and twice-elected District Attorney of Shasta County. He also served as an Adjunct Professor of National Security Law at the University of the Pacific, McGeorge School of Law following his first term as U.S. Attorney for the E.D. of California. Between his two terms as U.S. Attorney for the E.D. of California, Greg was the vice chair of the white-collar defense and corporate investigations practice at an AmLaw 50 firm.
Partner, Jenner & Block
Thomas P. Sullivan has handled civil and criminal trial and appellate litigation for over 55 years. He has been with the firm since 1954, except for his time as U. S. Attorney for the Northern District of Illinois, 1977-81. He has argued many cases in the Illinois Supreme Court, the U.S. Supreme Court, and many federal Courts of Appeal. He served as Co-Chair of Illinois Governor George Ryan’s Commission on Capital Punishment (2000-02), and the Illinois General Assembly’s Capital Punishment Reform Study Committee, whose reports recommending sweeping changes to Illinois homicide law and procedure were influential in Governor Ryan’s decision in 2003 to clear Illinois’ death row, and Governor Quinn’s signing the bill abolishing Illinois’ death penalty in 2010. He has represented many indigent persons in civil and criminal litigation, including prisoners incarcerated at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba.
Mr. Sullivan is a member of the Firm’s White Collar Defense and Investigations and Class Action practices. He serves as an arbitrator in a wide variety of business disputes. He is also a lecturer and author on civil and criminal trial and appellate litigation.
The Grand Jury: A Bulwark Against the State? [POLICYbrief]
Bennett L. Gershman, Joel Cohen
The grand jury has been called a sword and shield for the people, but is...
The Fifth Amendment’s Act of Production Doctrine: An Overlooked Shield Against Grand Jury Subpoenas Duces Tecum
Peter M. Thomson
Note from the Editor: The Federalist Society takes no positions on particular legal and public...
International Criminal Discovery
Andrew C. Hruska
I. Introduction While money moves at the speed of light across national boundaries, law enforcement...
Grand Jury Reform
Gerald B. Lefcourt, Dean Reuter, McGregor W. Scott, Thomas P. Sullivan
The Fifth Amendment of the U.S. Constitution states that in federal criminal cases, "no person...
Grand Jury Reform
Criminal Law & Procedure Practice Group Teleforum
Teleforum