Press Release
Awards and Rankings
January 13, 2011

Goodwin Procter Selected as a “White Collar Group of the Year” by Law360

Goodwin Procter was honored as one of the leading white collar practices in the country in 2010 by Law360, which named five firms for “not only for their all-star representation of corporations and individuals in an increasingly complicated regulatory environment, but for playing a role in litigation that had a significant impact on the fast-changing legal landscape in this area of the law over the past year.” 

In making their selection, a panel of Law360 editors said “Goodwin Procter LLP has evinced an ability to face down even the most potentially explosive white collar cases.  Staffed with former high-powered government attorneys, Goodwin Procter’s white collar crime and government investigations group won several of the most important white collar cases that were decided in 2010.”

One of those victories was the first-ever insider trading case involving credit default swaps, U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission v. Rorech.  The case marked the first time the SEC had attempted to bring insider trading claims involving then-largely unregulated swap transactions.  In June, Judge John G. Koeltl of the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York ruled that the SEC had failed to demonstrate any evidence that Rorech either received or shared  confidential information.

Richard M. Strassberg, chair of the firm’s white collar practice, said “I think this case now is must-reading for anyone that has a case involving the credit markets.”

“This was a case where we actually refused any type of settlement.  We fought back.  We were able to show that you can fight the SEC, go to court and win,” added Roberto M. Braceras, who led Rorech’s defense alongside Strassberg.

In addition to the Rorech case, Goodwin Procter led the successful defense in U.S. v. Schiff et al., a case involving allegations of channel stuffing at Bristol-Myers Squibb Co.

The editors of Law360 also cited the fact that, despite Goodwin’s success in the courtroom against the government, the firm is often sought out when the government needs help with a wide range of sensitive cases. 

They range from the selection of partner Paul Ware by the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court to investigate widespread political patronage hiring within the state’s Probation Department to the appointment of a Goodwin Procter partner as receiver for Ascot Partners LP, a major Madoff feeder fund, to the firm’s representation of Kenneth Feinberg as he handles claims stemming from the Deepwater Horizon explosion and resulting massive oil leak.

“We have a large group of former government lawyers who have trial experience and who have experience in determining whether a case has merit and should be tried,” said Braceras.  “We are willing to fight, and we are willing to take cases to trial.  We are willing to be tough in the courtrooms as well as being tough on the papers.”

Goodwin Procter’s white collar team is made up of 26 partners and 30 associates in offices in Boston, New York, Washington, Los Angeles, San Francisco and Hong Kong.

“I think that we are tireless workers who are devoted to our clients,” said Strassberg in the Law360 profile.  “We are very experienced in helping clients navigate the maze that can often be a white collar case.  We are not afraid to go to trial.”

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