White Collar Criminal Defense Practice Forum

(On Campus Interviews, Summer Associate positions, Firm Reviews, Tips, ...)
Forum rules
Anonymous Posting

Anonymous posting is only appropriate when you are revealing sensitive employment related information about a firm, job, etc. You may anonymously respond on topic to these threads. Unacceptable uses include: harassing another user, joking around, testing the feature, or other things that are more appropriate in the lounge.

Failure to follow these rules will get you outed, warned, or banned.
Anonymous User
Posts: 428122
Joined: Tue Aug 11, 2009 9:32 am

White Collar Criminal Defense Practice

Post by Anonymous User » Fri Jul 01, 2011 12:47 pm

I'll be doing OCI in the fall and am intersted in working in white collar criminal defense. I have a passion for criminal law; civil law, not so much.

I'm curious how associates are brought into white collar defense groups and how these groups tend to function. Do they consist mostly of lawyers who have had work experience in criminal law? How likely is it for a 1L associate to be placed into a white collar practice group? And finally, is it OK to express this as my number 1 field of interest during OCI interviews and not, say, doing corporate transactions or litigation? FWIW, I'm lookign at DC firms and am at median at HYS.

Thanks in advance.
Last edited by Anonymous User on Fri Jul 01, 2011 12:48 pm, edited 1 time in total.

Aston2412

Bronze
Posts: 466
Joined: Wed Apr 21, 2010 11:23 am

Re: White Collar Criminal Defense Practice

Post by Aston2412 » Fri Jul 01, 2011 12:48 pm

This thread is relevant to my interests.

Anonymous User
Posts: 428122
Joined: Tue Aug 11, 2009 9:32 am

Re: White Collar Criminal Defense Practice

Post by Anonymous User » Fri Jul 01, 2011 12:56 pm

Anonymous User wrote:I'll be doing OCI in the fall and am intersted in working in white collar criminal defense. I have a passion for criminal law; civil law, not so much.

I'm curious how associates are brought into white collar defense groups and how these groups tend to function. Do they consist mostly of lawyers who have had work experience in criminal law? How likely is it for a 1L associate to be placed into a white collar practice group? And finally, is it OK to express this as my number 1 field of interest during OCI interviews and not, say, doing corporate transactions or litigation? FWIW, I'm lookign at DC firms and am at median at HYS.

Thanks in advance.
It will still be litigation. So you can just say you are interested in litigating and are interested in white collar defense as well. A lot of white collar defense departments are really small inside law firms, though, so I might tell people that you are interested in litigation, particularly white collar defense. I don't know if you want to peg yourself as one dimensional, as you'll be doing what they give you probably and they'd want you to have flexibility I would imagine. If you say your main interest is in one of their smaller departments, that might turn them off. Just conjecture, though.

Not to mention at least to me, the work doesn't seem like traditional "criminal" work like you would do with a public defender or a prosecutor. The cases are mostly insurance fraud or money laundering or governmental regulation stuff, etc. So not traditional crimes, and maybe things that seem a bit more like civil law. As long as that's still what you're passionate about, go for it.

User avatar
GeePee

Silver
Posts: 1273
Joined: Fri Jul 03, 2009 7:35 pm

Re: White Collar Criminal Defense Practice

Post by GeePee » Fri Jul 01, 2011 1:00 pm

White Collar Practices are far more common in NY, where there is, unsurprisingly, more potential for white collar crime. There are some exceptions to this -- DC, for example, probably has more cases that involve government contracts. The practice is very document-based; often, the issues turn on the level of proof that circumstantial transactions provide for an allegation of fraud, insider trading, or the like. Also, most of the time representation and investigation begins before formal charges have been pressed. As long as you're okay with document-heavy practice, my impression is that it's okay to express interest in this field as your #1 at OCI. I would qualify it, however, by saying that you're also interested in litigation more generally, but WCC appeals to you in particular due to X, Y, and Z.

User avatar
BruceWayne

Gold
Posts: 2034
Joined: Sat Aug 14, 2010 9:36 pm

Re: White Collar Criminal Defense Practice

Post by BruceWayne » Fri Jul 01, 2011 1:05 pm

GeePee wrote:White Collar Practices are far more common in NY, where there is, unsurprisingly, more potential for white collar crime. There are some exceptions to this -- DC, for example, probably has more cases that involve government contracts. The practice is very document-based; often, the issues turn on the level of proof that circumstantial transactions provide for an allegation of fraud, insider trading, or the like. Also, most of the time representation and investigation begins before formal charges have been pressed. As long as you're okay with document-heavy practice, my impression is that it's okay to express interest in this field as your #1 at OCI. I would qualify it, however, by saying that you're also interested in litigation more generally, but WCC appeals to you in particular due to X, Y, and Z.
D.C is pretty loaded with White Collar work too. I know that W&C, Covington, Hogan, Kirkland, Gibson, Latham, Sidley, and Baker Botts do a ton of it. With median at HYS and his interests OP should target Baker Botts DC.

Want to continue reading?

Register now to search topics and post comments!

Absolutely FREE!


User avatar
GeePee

Silver
Posts: 1273
Joined: Fri Jul 03, 2009 7:35 pm

Re: White Collar Criminal Defense Practice

Post by GeePee » Fri Jul 01, 2011 1:09 pm

BruceWayne wrote:
GeePee wrote:White Collar Practices are far more common in NY, where there is, unsurprisingly, more potential for white collar crime. There are some exceptions to this -- DC, for example, probably has more cases that involve government contracts. The practice is very document-based; often, the issues turn on the level of proof that circumstantial transactions provide for an allegation of fraud, insider trading, or the like. Also, most of the time representation and investigation begins before formal charges have been pressed. As long as you're okay with document-heavy practice, my impression is that it's okay to express interest in this field as your #1 at OCI. I would qualify it, however, by saying that you're also interested in litigation more generally, but WCC appeals to you in particular due to X, Y, and Z.
D.C is pretty loaded with White Collar work too. I know that W&C, Covington, Hogan, Kirkland, Gibson, Latham, Sidley, and Baker Botts do a ton of it.
The practice groups are generally smaller, though. I was more saying that so that OP would consider NY if he's interested in White Collar, rather than limiting himself to D.C. where the work is usually done by more selective firms with smaller practice groups. By no means should he give up on D.C. if he wants to be there.

Anonymous User
Posts: 428122
Joined: Tue Aug 11, 2009 9:32 am

Re: White Collar Criminal Defense Practice

Post by Anonymous User » Fri Jul 01, 2011 1:23 pm

Look at profiles of current white collar crime associates in some of the firms mentioned above in DC and NY. I don't know what this will reveal, but you may be able to figure out whether it seems feasible (e.g., there are some associates who are '08, '09, etc. grads v. everyone in the practice group is older/clerked/worked at USAO, etc.)

As mentioned above, my sense is that they tend to be smaller practice groups, which makes them tougher to break into early on.

I know a former U.S. Attorney who is now head of a white collar practice at a big firm, and from what I recall, many of the partners and associates in his group are former AUSAs.

If it were me, I would lead in with being interested in litigation, and not make too much of a thing of WCC on the off chance that it isn't really realistic, lest they think you will not stick around the firm.

Anonymous User
Posts: 428122
Joined: Tue Aug 11, 2009 9:32 am

Re: White Collar Criminal Defense Practice

Post by Anonymous User » Fri Jul 01, 2011 2:02 pm

Anonymous User wrote:I know a former U.S. Attorney who is now head of a white collar practice at a big firm, and from what I recall, many of the partners and associates in his group are former AUSAs.[/b]

If it were me, I would lead in with being interested in litigation, and not make too much of a thing of WCC on the off chance that it isn't really realistic, lest they think you will not stick around the firm.
This is TITCR. I also know a former AUSA who started in BigLaw lit generally, then went to the USAO, and now does White Collar Crime for a big firm. If white collar work is really your goal, you're a hazard to jump ship early, so tread carefully.

Anonymous User
Posts: 428122
Joined: Tue Aug 11, 2009 9:32 am

Re: White Collar Criminal Defense Practice

Post by Anonymous User » Fri Jul 01, 2011 8:41 pm

I am very interested in White Collar work too. I do not really have anything to contribute, but I would love if people could describe more of the practice of a white collar associate/attorney? I want to use it as a stepping stone to AUSA (don't worry, I know how difficult this is) and would also love to hear thoughts about this.

Want to continue reading?

Register for access!

Did I mention it was FREE ?


User avatar
thesealocust

Platinum
Posts: 8525
Joined: Mon Oct 20, 2008 8:50 pm

Re: White Collar Criminal Defense Practice

Post by thesealocust » Fri Jul 01, 2011 8:43 pm

White collar defends SOUNDS like defending a CEO in court from evil corruption charges.

The real practice in modern times has a lot to do with corporate internal investigations and certain regulatory regimes (foreign corrupt practices act is HUGE). Kind of a "buyer beware" thing - your "criminal law" may quickly turn into endless review of internal documents on investigations that never get made public.

Or you could be defending Clinton at his impeachment hearings. It definitely is a broader practice than you might intuit based on its title.

Anonymous User
Posts: 428122
Joined: Tue Aug 11, 2009 9:32 am

Re: White Collar Criminal Defense Practice

Post by Anonymous User » Fri Jul 01, 2011 9:06 pm

thesealocust wrote: Kind of a "buyer beware" thing - your "criminal law" may quickly turn into endless review of internal documents on investigations that never get made public.
Sure, but just like joining a litigation practice does not mean as a first year associate you will be running trials, similarly I do not expect to working on defending Clinton either. I was talking to a State deputy AG who works in white collar and he loves the prosecution side (chasing down the money as he puts it, combing through all these documents to piece together the facts, etc.). I understand as a biglaw lawyer and being on the defense things will be different, and the pace at which I get meaningful responsibility will be slow, but that does sound like something I am interested in right now. I figure firms will allow me some time to do some work before I have to commit, no? and do not associates, at least in some firms, work across sub-practice litigation groups to get broader exposure to this buyer-regret problem? It would be cool if there was some book or something from a white-collar lawyer's perspective or something, as I think you suggested in another thread exists for aspiring corporate lawyers.

Anonymous User
Posts: 428122
Joined: Tue Aug 11, 2009 9:32 am

Re: White Collar Criminal Defense Practice

Post by Anonymous User » Fri Jul 01, 2011 9:11 pm

Anon from above.

I've spoken with a couple of AUSAs who came over from doing white collar defense, and my impression was that the actual life of a white collar associate is a lot of internal records review/investigative work (as stated by above poster), doing a lot of internal interviews, summarizing internal documents, etc. to determine what type of case the DOJ/USAO could potentially establish.

In reality, it doesn't include that much actual litigation, since almost all white collar defense-type cases end up with a plea bargain/fine situation, oftentimes far in advance of any actual motion practice, let alone trial work. As indicated above, a lot of it also revolves around doing internal corporate investigations before there is actually even a case.

seatown12

Silver
Posts: 614
Joined: Fri Feb 20, 2009 9:16 pm

Re: White Collar Criminal Defense Practice

Post by seatown12 » Fri Jul 01, 2011 11:42 pm

If you really love crim law don't do this to yourself; stay strong and don't give in to the money.

Register now!

Resources to assist law school applicants, students & graduates.

It's still FREE!


Anonymous User
Posts: 428122
Joined: Tue Aug 11, 2009 9:32 am

Re: White Collar Criminal Defense Practice

Post by Anonymous User » Sat Jul 02, 2011 2:20 pm

Anonymous User wrote:Anon from above.

I've spoken with a couple of AUSAs who came over from doing white collar defense, and my impression was that the actual life of a white collar associate is a lot of internal records review/investigative work (as stated by above poster), doing a lot of internal interviews, summarizing internal documents, etc. to determine what type of case the DOJ/USAO could potentially establish.

In reality, it doesn't include that much actual litigation, since almost all white collar defense-type cases end up with a plea bargain/fine situation, oftentimes far in advance of any actual motion practice, let alone trial work. As indicated above, a lot of it also revolves around doing internal corporate investigations before there is actually even a case.
This. I'm an SA at a NY firm that is known for its white collar practice, and 80%+ of the work is internal investigations. Lots of large firms shy away from actual criminal defense because (1) the number of individual defendants that can pay big firm rates is tiny, and (2) even in cases where they can, there are collection problems (convicted defendants just refuse to pay, company refuses to cover legal costs of convicted executive, etc).

It bears mentioning, however, that this is a lot of what many AUSAs and DOJ attorneys do, especially in large cities. Sure, as a first or second year you'll do a bunch of smaller-fry drug trafficking cases, but at a more senior level, substantial manpower in places like SDNY or main justice is devoted to massive investigations (Enron, insider trading, etc).

keg411

Platinum
Posts: 5923
Joined: Tue Apr 21, 2009 9:10 pm

Re: White Collar Criminal Defense Practice

Post by keg411 » Sat Jul 02, 2011 5:14 pm

OP, if you're really interested in criminal law, but want big firm work, check out Wilentz in New Jersey. They are mostly know for their plaintiff side tort work, but I know they do some criminal defense as well. The only negative is that they haven't hired SA's for the past couple of years now and I don't know if they're bringing the program back at all (I do think they hire post-clerkship though).

User avatar
shepdawg

Bronze
Posts: 477
Joined: Thu Sep 10, 2009 8:00 pm

Re: White Collar Criminal Defense Practice

Post by shepdawg » Sat Jul 02, 2011 7:05 pm

From the informational interviews I've done, most guys have to start out in the DA's office, kick ass there to get the white collar crimes division. Then lateral into a defense firm to make the $$$.

User avatar
Grizz

Diamond
Posts: 10564
Joined: Mon Jan 04, 2010 6:31 pm

Re: White Collar Criminal Defense Practice

Post by Grizz » Sat Jul 02, 2011 7:10 pm

Echoing what people say about internal investigations. You may also get some qui tam/false claims stuff, which may have a criminal component.

Anonymous User
Posts: 428122
Joined: Tue Aug 11, 2009 9:32 am

Re: White Collar Criminal Defense Practice

Post by Anonymous User » Sat Jul 02, 2011 7:47 pm

keg411 wrote:OP, if you're really interested in criminal law, but want big firm work, check out Wilentz in New Jersey. They are mostly know for their plaintiff side tort work, but I know they do some criminal defense as well. The only negative is that they haven't hired SA's for the past couple of years now and I don't know if they're bringing the program back at all (I do think they hire post-clerkship though).
OP here. Thanks for the suggestion, keg, but given my interests I am limiting myself to DC.

Everyone else--thanks for your input. I learned quite a few things from your replies.

Get unlimited access to all forums and topics

Register now!

I'm pretty sure I told you it's FREE...


Post Reply Post Anonymous Reply  

Return to “Legal Employment”