About Us

Criminal defense practice is a complex area of the law.  It requires a deep understanding and knowledge of the most effective defenses available for a client and, especially in the government investigations area, a strong facility with other areas of the law (e.g., securities regulation, banking regulation, tax laws) that might also relate to the client’s potential exposure and defense strategy. At 30 years in business, we are among the most established litigation boutique law firms in New York with notable criminal defense and government investigations experience.

We are aggressive trial lawyers unafraid of doing battle in and out of court. We have repeatedly demonstrated our skills in defending against fraud charges, government investigations, white collar crime charges, as well as violent crime allegations, in local, state and federal courts across the United States through some of the most high-profile cases at the criminal bar.

Our attorneys have counseled clients and been involved in government investigations focused on a range of issues, including FCPA violations, allegations of Medicaid fraud, allegations of embezzlement, and probes into international mail/wire fraud allegations, securities fraud, bank fraud and theft of intellectual property.

We have produced successful results for clients before the U.S. Department of Defense, the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), the U.S. Internal Revenue Service, and the U.S. Department of Justice. Additionally, a number of our attorneys have previously received Top Federal Security Clearance.

Even though plea bargaining has become the essence of criminal justice in the United States, our firm’s culture is rooted in fighting to defend our clients’ rights even if that means proceeding to a trial.  Sometimes our clients are best protected by working out a plea (or accepting the terms of a government settlement offer); however, that is hardly ever our starting point. We are never fearful in requiring government prosecutors and regulators to meet their burden of proof.

As trial lawyers, we represent clients at all stages of white-collar criminal litigation in federal, state and local courts across the United States.  Our experience ranges from advising individuals who are targets of grand jury investigations to representing clients through indictment, pretrial and negotiation phases, as well as representing clients at trial and on appeal.

Our attorneys have counseled clients and been involved in corporate internal investigations focused on a range of issues, including FCPA violations, allegations of insider trading schemes, Medicaid fraud, allegations of embezzlement, and probes into international mail/wire fraud allegations.  In this capacity, we can lead focused, effective, and efficient internal investigations even where the company already has existing outside counsel for general corporate purposes.  When we take these assignments, we prefer to work directly as counsel to the Board of Directors or be retained by the company’s general counsel.  Through this approach, we can best assure the integrity of the internal investigation and isolate our review from potential internal conflicts.

Where relevant in internal investigations, we also employ the assistance of forensic investigators to support our legal review and analysis.  The combination of our forensic investigators and the firm’s attorneys provides a single source solution for corporate clients involved in internal investigations.

Our experience in internal investigations extends across industries ranging from financial services companies to metals and mining businesses.  In this regard, we have worked with companies across North America.

Complex civil and commercial litigation matters require lawyers that are adept at achieving efficient solutions for their clients, whether the matter requires out-of-court resolution or effective advocacy during trial or on appeal.  We have those skills. 

We represent both plaintiffs and defendants and are especially skilled in handling high-profile matters, whether for government officials, high-net worth individuals, businesses or financial institutions.  Our criminal law expertise makes us sensitive to the criminal and regulatory implications of highly sensitive civil matters.

As part of the natural evolution of our firm, we developed a practice area called Civil Litigation, Securities and Regulatory to address the particular civil and regulatory litigation needs of our clients.  With particular strengths in the financial services arena, lawyers in this practice group regularly appear before FINRA on regulatory matters or as plaintiff’s or defense counsel in FINRA arbitration matters.  Our work in this respect ranges from commencing actions against former officers of a broker-dealer on behalf of the firm to defending individual brokers against FINRA investigations and enforcement actions. 

The Civil Litigation, Securities and Regulatory team has also handled a wide range of matters before the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC)—ranging from high-profile insider trading actions to violations of the Investment Advisers Act.  We have experience responding to Wells Notices, filing Wells Submissions, defending against SEC complaints and settling matters brought by the SEC. 

We have prosecuted civil complaints in Federal court and have extensive experience in motion practice before the Federal bar.  Furthermore, we have also served as litigation co-counsel in bankruptcy matters representing debtors and their financial services industry subsidiaries.

Given the modern approach of concurrent civil government and criminal prosecutions, our expertise in both areas gives our clients greater value because we are in a position to address both aspects in an efficient and highly coordinated manner.

In the area of corporate internal investigations, we are conflict-free and able to perform independent evaluations of potential violations of state and/or federal criminal statutes and regulations on behalf of company executive management and/or Boards of Directors.

The firm maintains a strategic alliance with The Valletti Baldi Law Firm based in Rome, with offices also in London, Beijing and Shanghai, to assist its growing efforts to manage crossborder, international criminal law and regulatory issues. Valletti Baldi is a full-service law firm with practices in both complex civil litigation and criminal defense. Especially in an era in which prosecution of businesses and individuals for financial and economic crimes has become a significant focus of governments around the world, whether related to the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act or bank fraud, our firm’s partnership with Valletti Baldi is a clear competitive advantage in delivering an efficient, effective and informed defense.

We employ a team approach to every client matter. This ensures that our combined strengths and experiences help to define the initial approach, regardless of the stage at which the matter comes to us, whether a government investigation, a civil matter, criminal matter or a civil or criminal appeal either in state or Federal courts across the country. 

We continue to take a team approach throughout the “life” of every matter in order to assure that we support the best and most effective approach to each legal issue as it develops. The team is led by the firm’s founder and managing partner, Robert C. Gottlieb. Mr. Gottlieb started the firm in 1983 with the goal of attaining excellence in the practice of law.  Our attorneys have been honored by bar associations and attorney organizations, and we have educated attorneys’ groups in legal procedure and trial skills. We are routinely called upon to provide legal commentary and analysis in television, radio and print media.

We pride ourselves in providing close, personal attention to each of our clients, whether the client is a corporation or an individual. Our client approach is a hallmark of our practice. We are committed to managing costs without sacrificing the quality of legal representation and the time and effort necessary to protect our clients’ legal interests. We achieve this balance by carefully selecting matters in which we believe our firm can offer outstanding representation while delivering a competitive advantage.