Practice Areas

Our team defends individuals and institutions against federal and state white collar criminal charges, including healthcare fraud, public corruption, extortion, wire fraud, bank fraud, tax fraud, RICO, money laundering, conspiracy, Anti-Kickback Statute violations, Environmental Protection Act violations, antitrust violations, Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA) violations, ERISA fraud, securities fraud, insider trading, immigration offenses, export control violations, cyber crimes, conspiracy, academic fraud and research misconduct, Food Drug & Cosmetic Act violations, and identity theft. We routinely take cases to trial, having collectively tried over 200 cases to a jury as both defense counsel and as prosecutors.  And where it is in our clients’ best interests, we have had great success negotiating favorable pre-trial resolutions. In addition, Partner Sara Silva serves on the United States Sentencing Commission’s Practitioner’s Advisory Group, and we leverage her deep expertise in the complexities of the federal Sentencing Guidelines to craft creative arguments that achieve the best possible outcomes for our clients. 

Institutional clients frequently engage us to conduct internal investigations of employee misconduct and whistleblower allegations, and to guide them through the self-disclosure process when necessary. We also have deep experience conducting internal investigations in tandem with government enforcement actions to ensure that our clients can confront the government’s allegations from a place of preparedness and confidence. In addition, we have served as trusted advisors to numerous secondary schools and universities who rely on us to investigate allegations of sexual misconduct and other violations of Title IX. These matters are complex, requiring sensitivity to the interests of numerous constituents simultaneously, and they carry serious reputational risk for the institutions involved. We help our clients navigate all of these issues with the unfailing judgment and compassion that come with years of experience.

Our team has extensive experience defending individuals and entities in both federal and state court against a wide variety of fraud charges, with a particular emphasis on frauds involving government funds, agencies, or programs. Our practice spans criminal and civil litigation, and related civil penalty and forfeiture proceedings, involving accusations of healthcare fraud, Pandemic Relief program fraud (e.g. the Paycheck Protection Program and the Economic Injury Disaster Loan Fund), tax fraud, unemployment insurance fraud, securities fraud and misrepresentation of financial products, False Claims Act violations, and false statements. Our clients have included healthcare and life sciences companies, medical device manufacturers, consulting companies, labor unions, laboratories, insurers, pharmacy benefit managers, and small businesses, as well as executives and employees from each of these industries. We frequently leverage our civil and white collar experience to help defendants navigate parallel proceedings brought simultaneously by criminal prosecutors, federal and state regulators, and private plaintiffs.

We are often engaged to assist individual and corporate clients in regulated industries navigate complex False Claims Act (FCA) investigations and litigation. The stakes in these matters are high, as defendants face not only treble damages and statutory penalties, but also potential criminal liability, debarment, and exclusion from both state and federal programs. FCA matters straddle the civil and white collar litigation divide. Because of our deep experience in both, clients seek out our counsel at every stage of the process, including internal investigations, responding to civil investigative demands, presentations to the government, and qui tam litigation.

In the licensed professions, such as healthcare and the practice of law, accusations of misconduct often put an individual's license or accreditation in jeopardy, even if those accusations do not lead to criminal charges. Our team is well-positioned to assist medical, legal, and other licensed professionals in navigating proceedings before the various licensing boards in Massachusetts, including the Board of Registration in Medicine and the Board of Bar Overseers.  We also represent clients in connection with school disciplinary matters, including those arising from allegations of sexual misconduct in violation of Title IX.  We have experience supporting both respondents accused of sexual misconduct and survivors of sexual assault in these particularly sensitive proceedings, which can lead not only to academic discipline, but also to criminal and civil litigation.

We defend clients in a variety of complex commercial litigation matters, including breach of contract, breach of fiduciary duty, Mass. G.L. Chapter 93A violations and other unfair and deceptive trade practices claims, non-competition agreements, multi-district litigation, and other commercial disputes. We have successfully tried cases before juries in both federal and state court, and we have guided numerous clients to favorable settlements through mediation. Our clients return to us for our ability to execute innovative strategies, our cost-effective, pragmatic approach, and our sensitivity to the business implications of litigation.

Numerous issues can arise during a product’s life cycle that put the product's reputation and the manufacturer's business at risk.  We defend product liability claims by developing a detailed understanding of our client's industry and business, and tailoring a strategy that bests protect their unique interests. Our team counsels clients with the goal of mitigating and reducing the risks of litigation, government investigations, and enforcement actions. And when litigation is initiated, our clients have entrusted us with the defense of everything from single-plaintiff lawsuits to mass tort proceedings and multi-district litigation involving thousands of related cases. We are well-positioned to handle these cases from the initial pleading stage through trial and appeal, including by coordinating a broader defense team in multiple state and federal courts simultaneously.