White-Collar Defense

A law enforcement agent calls to request "a voluntary interview" in connection with an ongoing criminal investigation. A grand jury subpoena is served requiring testimony or the production of records. A search warrant is executed at a home or business location. These are just some examples of events that can instantly imperil individuals and corporations – and that require seasoned white-collar defense counsel to protect your interests.

David H. Laufman brings an uncommon breadth and quality of experience to the defense of individuals and corporations in government enforcement investigations. He understands the perspectives of law enforcement agents and federal prosecutors, having previously served as an Assistant United States Attorney, a Trial Attorney in the Criminal Division of the Department of Justice ("DOJ"), a senior DOJ official in the Office of the Deputy Attorney General, and an Associate Independent Counsel.

Consequently, he possesses the expertise to counsel and defend individuals and corporations in all phases of criminal matters, from the earliest stage of an investigation through trial and appellate proceedings. He also represents clients in investigations by Offices of Inspector General and federal regulatory agencies.

When possible, Mr. Laufman seeks to avoid or mitigate criminal charges for his clients by persuading agents and prosecutors, on the basis of facts and law, that their position is unwarranted. When necessary, he is a tenacious and dynamic courtroom advocate who pursues every appropriate strategy and argument to prevail at trial and in other proceedings.

Representative Matters

• Represented a senior official of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Tobacco (ATF) in parallel investigations of "Operation Fast and Furious" by the House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform, the Senate Judiciary Committee, the Office of the Inspector General of the U.S. Department of Justice, and the Office of Special Counsel.
• Represented a senior official of the Office of the Inspector General of an Executive Branch department in a federal grand jury investigation.
• Represented a Trial Attorney in the Fraud Section of the Criminal Division of the U.S. Department of Justice in an investigation by the Office of Professional Responsibility of the U.S. Department of Justice.

• Represented an FBI agent in a criminal prosecution by the U.S. Department of Justice regarding the misuse of a government computer system.

• Presented a successful trial defense in United States v. Alavi, where the Department of Justice had charged an Iranian-American engineer employed at a major nuclear power plant in Arizona with violations of U.S. export control laws and other offenses relating to the plant's computer software. Despite being retained as counsel only three weeks before trial, Mr. Laufman obtained a mistrial of the main charge in the case, resulting in the government's subsequent offer of a plea agreement to lesser charges which dramatically minimized the defendant's sentence.
• Obtained a misdemeanor plea in United States v. Yontz, a criminal prosecution by DOJ for the unlawful accessing of information from electronic passport records of the U.S. Department of State.
• Represented an official of the Central Intelligence Agency in a criminal investigation by DOJ relating to the treatment of terrorism detainees. No charges were brought against the official.
• Served as outside ethics counsel to the City of New Orleans in connection with ongoing criminal investigations.
• Represented a former DOJ official in a criminal investigation by the Public Integrity Section of DOJ's Criminal Division regarding financial grants by DOJ. No charges were brought against the former official.
• Resolved issues regarding compliance with a federal grand jury subpoena on behalf of a corporation in a criminal investigation of procurement fraud.
• Persuaded the Department of Justice to implement an international treaty transfer that enabled a convicted defendant in a fraud case to serve the remainder of her sentence in her country of origin.

Related Publications

• It Ain't Over 'Till It's Over: Legal Implications of a House Contempt Vote in the "Fast and Furious" Controversy, Huffington Post, June 28, 2012
• For Whom the Law Tolls: Afghanistan, Iraq, and the Wartime Suspension of Limitations Act, Ethisphere, Q1, 2012
• Managing Risk and Compliance Under the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act, Pharmaceutical Outsourcing, January/February 2010
• Strategies for Avoiding FCPA Liability, Life Science Leader, June 2009
• Doesn't Pay to Bribe Foreign Officials, Connecticut Law Tribune, March 30, 2009 (co-authored with Paul McCurdy)
• When Congress Hauls in Your CEO, Legal Times, March 9, 2009 (co-authored with John Heintz)
• Procurement Rules Are Changing, National Law Journal, March 9, 2009
• Tougher Rules: Mandatory Disclosure Regime Raises Stakes for Government Contractors, National Defense, February 2009
• Litigating Intent in Export Control Prosecutions, The Export Practitioner, January 2009
• Give Justice a Break, Legal Times, August 18, 2008

Related Speaking Engagements

• FCPA Bootcamp, law enforcement training conference sponsored by the Department of Justice and Securities and Exchange Commission, Washington, DC, June 27, 2011 (panelist)
• Handling Import Violations in a New Enforcement Era, American Bar Association Section of International Law, Spring Meeting, Washington, DC, April 17, 2009 (panelist)
• Climate Change: The New Ethics Compliance and Enforcement Regime for Government Contractors, 27th Annual Government Contract Management Conference, National Contract Management Association, Bethesda, Maryland, November 20, 2008
• The Justice Department's Changing Guidelines on Corporate Prosecution, 2008 Administrative Law Conference, Administrative Law and Regulatory Practice Section, American Bar Association, Washington, DC, October 17, 2008
• Maneuvering the Minefield: The New Ethics Compliance and Enforcement Regime Confronting Government Contractors, 2008 Annual Business Ethics and Compliance Conference, Ethics and Compliance Officers' Association, Orlando, Florida, September 24, 2008

Related Teaching

• Collision Course: The Coming Struggle Over Cooperation in Corporate Fraud Prosecutions, Continuing Legal Education Seminar, New York, New York, January 14, 2009