Four Decades for Justice
Cravath is a trusted adviser to the world’s leading companies, their boards of directors and senior executives in the full range of corporate crises, regulatory enforcement proceedings and white collar criminal defense matters. Our reach in the white collar arena is global, extending to cross‑border issues involving Asia, Africa, the Middle East, Europe and the Americas for clients in diverse industries.
We regularly lead complex internal investigations, based on company initiative and in response to whistleblower claims and shareholder demands, and guide companies through sensitive government investigations. Known as trial-ready attorneys, we also defend our clients in parallel or related regulatory or civil proceedings that can arise from investigations. Boards of directors and their executives turn to us for advice on corporate governance, corporate transaction risks, potential areas of exposure and preventive measures to help deter regulatory intervention and lawsuits. We also perform compliance risk assessments and design compliance programs that meet DOJ and SEC standards. Our practice extends to defending board members, senior executives and other individuals in investigations and related litigation.
Our experience runs the gamut. Our team has handled three of the most complex multi-agency, multi‑country investigations on the public record, two of which involved alleged violations of the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act. Domestic and international clients rely on our prompt and practical counsel on trade and economic sanctions and export controls to run their businesses. We also investigate and advise clients on digital assets; the FCPA; accounting and disclosure issues; environmental, social and governance (ESG) matters; insider trading; tax evasion; potential executive misconduct; securities fraud; money laundering and anti‑money laundering controls; healthcare fraud; and criminal antitrust matters. In addition, as the legal landscape undergoes rapid change in the wake of increasingly complex cybersecurity technology, our team of Data Security and Privacy attorneys are poised to address the full range of our clients’ cyber‑related concerns.
The hallmark of our Investigations and Regulatory Enforcement Practice is our interdisciplinary approach to solving our clients’ problems. Our team of seasoned litigators and corporate advisory attorneys includes senior U.S. Department of Justice officials, senior SEC lawyers and prosecutors from the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern and Eastern Districts of New York. We bring that experience to bear when advising clients in the boardroom and defending them before domestic and foreign government agencies and in courtrooms nationwide.
Since its inception, Cravath’s Investigations and Regulatory Enforcement practice has been ranked among the top in the nation, with The Legal 500 US calling us a “go‑to firm for handling government and internal investigations, regulatory compliance and white‑collar defense.” Cravath is recognized as a leading firm for its Investigations and Regulatory Enforcement practice by Benchmark Litigation, Chambers Global, Chambers USA, Global Investigations Review, The Legal 500 US and Best Lawyers Best Law Firms. We have also been named a Law360 “Practice Group of the Year” in Compliance and received the Gold Award for Best U.S. Law Firm for Investigations & White Collar by the International Legal Alliance Summit & Awards. Our “strong bench of criminal defense attorneys” and “strength in handling investigations and litigation involving securities fraud and anti‑corruption matters” set us apart. (Chambers USA)
Our attorneys have earned repeat praise from clients and the market, including:
We regularly lead complex internal investigations, based on company initiative and in response to whistleblower claims and shareholder demands, and guide companies through sensitive government investigations. Known as trial-ready attorneys, we also defend our clients in parallel or related regulatory or civil proceedings that can arise from investigations. Boards of directors and their executives turn to us for advice on corporate governance, corporate transaction risks, potential areas of exposure and preventive measures to help deter regulatory intervention and lawsuits. We also perform compliance risk assessments and design compliance programs that meet DOJ and SEC standards. Our practice extends to defending board members, senior executives and other individuals in investigations and related litigation.
Our experience runs the gamut. Our team has handled three of the most complex multi-agency, multi‑country investigations on the public record, two of which involved alleged violations of the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act. Domestic and international clients rely on our prompt and practical counsel on trade and economic sanctions and export controls to run their businesses. We also investigate and advise clients on digital assets; the FCPA; accounting and disclosure issues; environmental, social and governance (ESG) matters; insider trading; tax evasion; potential executive misconduct; securities fraud; money laundering and anti‑money laundering controls; healthcare fraud; and criminal antitrust matters. In addition, as the legal landscape undergoes rapid change in the wake of increasingly complex cybersecurity technology, our team of Data Security and Privacy attorneys are poised to address the full range of our clients’ cyber‑related concerns.
The hallmark of our Investigations and Regulatory Enforcement Practice is our interdisciplinary approach to solving our clients’ problems. Our team of seasoned litigators and corporate advisory attorneys includes senior U.S. Department of Justice officials, senior SEC lawyers and prosecutors from the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern and Eastern Districts of New York. We bring that experience to bear when advising clients in the boardroom and defending them before domestic and foreign government agencies and in courtrooms nationwide.
Since its inception, Cravath’s Investigations and Regulatory Enforcement practice has been ranked among the top in the nation, with The Legal 500 US calling us a “go‑to firm for handling government and internal investigations, regulatory compliance and white‑collar defense.” Cravath is recognized as a leading firm for its Investigations and Regulatory Enforcement practice by Benchmark Litigation, Chambers Global, Chambers USA, Global Investigations Review, The Legal 500 US and Best Lawyers Best Law Firms. We have also been named a Law360 “Practice Group of the Year” in Compliance and received the Gold Award for Best U.S. Law Firm for Investigations & White Collar by the International Legal Alliance Summit & Awards. Our “strong bench of criminal defense attorneys” and “strength in handling investigations and litigation involving securities fraud and anti‑corruption matters” set us apart. (Chambers USA)
Our attorneys have earned repeat praise from clients and the market, including:
Deals & Cases
February 14, 2024
Cravath represented the underwriters in connection with the $1.5 billion offering of depositary shares representing preferred stock of State Street Corporation, a provider of a broad range of financial products and services to institutional investors worldwide. The transaction closed on January 31, 2024.
Deals & Cases
January 11, 2024
AerCap Holdings N.V, the world’s largest commercial aircraft leasing company, which Cravath is representing in connection with U.S. sanctions and export controls matters, has secured over $1.2 billion in related insurance recoveries involving Russian airlines’ refusal to return over 100 aircraft leased from AerCap following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in February 2022. In September 2023, in the first announced insurance settlement of its kind, Cravath represented AerCap in obtaining authorizations from the U.S. Office of Foreign Assets Control (“OFAC”) and the U.S. Department of Commerce’s U.S. Bureau of Industry and Security (“BIS”) for an agreement to enable payment of approximately $645 million to AerCap to resolve claims against certain Russian insurers and airlines as to a substantial number of AerCap aircraft. Cravath also represented AerCap before BIS and OFAC in connection with AerCap’s subsequent, $572 million insurance settlements with Russian insurers and airlines announced in December 2023.
Deals & Cases
December 20, 2023
On December 20, 2023, Aon plc (“Aon”), a leading global professional services firm, announced the signing of a definitive agreement to acquire NFP, a leading middle‑market property and casualty broker, benefits consultant, wealth manager and retirement plan advisor, from funds affiliated with NFP’s main capital sponsor, Madison Dearborn Partners, and funds affiliated with HPS Investment Partners. Under the terms of the transaction, Aon will acquire NFP for a total consideration estimated to be $13.4 billion at the time of close, which will be funded by $7 billion of cash and $6.4 billion of Aon stock. Cravath is representing Aon in connection with the transaction.
Deals & Cases
October 16, 2023
On October 16, 2023, Consolidated Communications Holdings, Inc. (“Consolidated Communications”), a top 10 fiber provider in the United States, announced it has entered into a definitive agreement to be acquired by affiliates of Searchlight Capital Partners, L.P. (“Searchlight”) and British Columbia Investment Management Corporation (“BCI”) in an all‑cash transaction with an enterprise value of approximately $3.1 billion, including the assumption of debt. Under the terms of the agreement, Searchlight and BCI will acquire all of the Consolidated common stock not already owned by Searchlight for $4.70 per share in cash. The proposed transaction has been unanimously approved by a special committee of independent and disinterested directors of Consolidated Communications’ Board of Directors (the “Special Committee”), advised by independent legal and financial advisors, formed to evaluate and consider the proposal and other potential strategic alternatives. The Board of Directors of Consolidated Communications, following recusals of directors affiliated with Searchlight and BCI, has approved the proposed transaction on the unanimous recommendation of the Special Committee. Cravath is representing the Special Committee in connection with the transaction.
Deals & Cases
September 01, 2023
Cravath represented Robinhood Markets, Inc. (“Robinhood”) in its Share Purchase Agreement (the “Share Purchase Agreement”) with the United States Marshals Service (the “USMS”), acting for and on behalf of the United States, pursuant to which Robinhood agreed to purchase 55,273,469 shares of the company’s Class A common stock (the “Shares”) from the USMS for an aggregate purchase price of $605,694,411.59, or approximately $10.96 per share. The transaction closed on August 31, 2023.
Activities & Publications
March 25, 2024
On March 21, 2024, Cravath partner Benjamin Gruenstein participated in Global Investigations Review Live’s Annual Investigations Meeting DC 2024, which took place in Washington, D.C. Ben moderated a panel entitled “How to Get a Full Cooperation Credit,” which discussed recent pronouncements by the US Department of Justice about cooperation and self‑reporting by corporations, and how corporations can obtain full cooperation credit in settlements with the Department.
Activities & Publications
March 21, 2024
Five Cravath partners were selected to serve on Law360’s 2024 Editorial Advisory Boards: Wes Earnhardt (Media & Entertainment), Evan Norris (Cybersecurity & Privacy), Helam Gebremariam (Securities), Bethany A. Pfalzgraf (Mergers & Acquisitions) and Maurio A. Fiore (Private Equity). As Editorial Advisory Board members, they will provide feedback on Law360’s coverage and expert insight on how best to shape future coverage.
Activities & Publications
March 18, 2024
On March 14, 2024, Cravath hosted its 2024 Web3 Regulatory Forum at its offices in New York. The event brought together lawyers from the Firm, market participants, executives, investors and others for presentations by practitioners, current and former regulators, and interactive roundtables examining the most significant regulatory developments in the digital assets and Web3 space.
Activities & Publications
March 18, 2024
On March 12, 2024, Cravath’s Jeffrey A. Rosen delivered keynote remarks at the Free State Foundation’s Sixteenth Annual Policy Conference at the National Press Club in Washington, D.C. The event convened senior officials and prominent experts from the Federal Communications Commission, other government agencies, industry, academia and think tanks to discuss communications and internet policy, competition policy, regulatory policy, and other law and policy issues. During his keynote, entitled “The Pen and the Phone, and the Regulatory Pendulum Problem,” Mr. Rosen examined the regulatory dynamic that results from the ability of federal agencies to achieve policy goals through regulation and the subsequent challenges as later administrations remove such rules, and then later ones restore them, because agency rules do not necessarily have the same durability as legislation.
Activities & Publications
February 20, 2024
Cravath partner John D. Buretta authored a chapter on cooperating with U.S. authorities in Global Investigation Review’s “The Practitioner’s Guide To Global Investigations – Eighth Edition,” which was published on January 10, 2024. The chapter, co‑authored by of counsel Megan Y. Lew and associate Benjamin S. Spiegel, reviews how U.S. government authorities define cooperation, identifies the pros and cons of cooperating with the authorities and highlights special considerations in multi‑agency and cross‑border investigations.
Deals & Cases
February 14, 2024
Cravath represented the underwriters in connection with the $1.5 billion offering of depositary shares representing preferred stock of State Street Corporation, a provider of a broad range of financial products and services to institutional investors worldwide. The transaction closed on January 31, 2024.
Deals & Cases
January 11, 2024
AerCap Holdings N.V, the world’s largest commercial aircraft leasing company, which Cravath is representing in connection with U.S. sanctions and export controls matters, has secured over $1.2 billion in related insurance recoveries involving Russian airlines’ refusal to return over 100 aircraft leased from AerCap following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in February 2022. In September 2023, in the first announced insurance settlement of its kind, Cravath represented AerCap in obtaining authorizations from the U.S. Office of Foreign Assets Control (“OFAC”) and the U.S. Department of Commerce’s U.S. Bureau of Industry and Security (“BIS”) for an agreement to enable payment of approximately $645 million to AerCap to resolve claims against certain Russian insurers and airlines as to a substantial number of AerCap aircraft. Cravath also represented AerCap before BIS and OFAC in connection with AerCap’s subsequent, $572 million insurance settlements with Russian insurers and airlines announced in December 2023.
Deals & Cases
December 20, 2023
On December 20, 2023, Aon plc (“Aon”), a leading global professional services firm, announced the signing of a definitive agreement to acquire NFP, a leading middle‑market property and casualty broker, benefits consultant, wealth manager and retirement plan advisor, from funds affiliated with NFP’s main capital sponsor, Madison Dearborn Partners, and funds affiliated with HPS Investment Partners. Under the terms of the transaction, Aon will acquire NFP for a total consideration estimated to be $13.4 billion at the time of close, which will be funded by $7 billion of cash and $6.4 billion of Aon stock. Cravath is representing Aon in connection with the transaction.
Deals & Cases
October 16, 2023
On October 16, 2023, Consolidated Communications Holdings, Inc. (“Consolidated Communications”), a top 10 fiber provider in the United States, announced it has entered into a definitive agreement to be acquired by affiliates of Searchlight Capital Partners, L.P. (“Searchlight”) and British Columbia Investment Management Corporation (“BCI”) in an all‑cash transaction with an enterprise value of approximately $3.1 billion, including the assumption of debt. Under the terms of the agreement, Searchlight and BCI will acquire all of the Consolidated common stock not already owned by Searchlight for $4.70 per share in cash. The proposed transaction has been unanimously approved by a special committee of independent and disinterested directors of Consolidated Communications’ Board of Directors (the “Special Committee”), advised by independent legal and financial advisors, formed to evaluate and consider the proposal and other potential strategic alternatives. The Board of Directors of Consolidated Communications, following recusals of directors affiliated with Searchlight and BCI, has approved the proposed transaction on the unanimous recommendation of the Special Committee. Cravath is representing the Special Committee in connection with the transaction.
Deals & Cases
September 01, 2023
Cravath represented Robinhood Markets, Inc. (“Robinhood”) in its Share Purchase Agreement (the “Share Purchase Agreement”) with the United States Marshals Service (the “USMS”), acting for and on behalf of the United States, pursuant to which Robinhood agreed to purchase 55,273,469 shares of the company’s Class A common stock (the “Shares”) from the USMS for an aggregate purchase price of $605,694,411.59, or approximately $10.96 per share. The transaction closed on August 31, 2023.
Activities & Publications
March 25, 2024
On March 21, 2024, Cravath partner Benjamin Gruenstein participated in Global Investigations Review Live’s Annual Investigations Meeting DC 2024, which took place in Washington, D.C. Ben moderated a panel entitled “How to Get a Full Cooperation Credit,” which discussed recent pronouncements by the US Department of Justice about cooperation and self‑reporting by corporations, and how corporations can obtain full cooperation credit in settlements with the Department.
Activities & Publications
March 21, 2024
Five Cravath partners were selected to serve on Law360’s 2024 Editorial Advisory Boards: Wes Earnhardt (Media & Entertainment), Evan Norris (Cybersecurity & Privacy), Helam Gebremariam (Securities), Bethany A. Pfalzgraf (Mergers & Acquisitions) and Maurio A. Fiore (Private Equity). As Editorial Advisory Board members, they will provide feedback on Law360’s coverage and expert insight on how best to shape future coverage.
Activities & Publications
March 18, 2024
On March 14, 2024, Cravath hosted its 2024 Web3 Regulatory Forum at its offices in New York. The event brought together lawyers from the Firm, market participants, executives, investors and others for presentations by practitioners, current and former regulators, and interactive roundtables examining the most significant regulatory developments in the digital assets and Web3 space.
Activities & Publications
March 18, 2024
On March 12, 2024, Cravath’s Jeffrey A. Rosen delivered keynote remarks at the Free State Foundation’s Sixteenth Annual Policy Conference at the National Press Club in Washington, D.C. The event convened senior officials and prominent experts from the Federal Communications Commission, other government agencies, industry, academia and think tanks to discuss communications and internet policy, competition policy, regulatory policy, and other law and policy issues. During his keynote, entitled “The Pen and the Phone, and the Regulatory Pendulum Problem,” Mr. Rosen examined the regulatory dynamic that results from the ability of federal agencies to achieve policy goals through regulation and the subsequent challenges as later administrations remove such rules, and then later ones restore them, because agency rules do not necessarily have the same durability as legislation.
Activities & Publications
February 20, 2024
Cravath partner John D. Buretta authored a chapter on cooperating with U.S. authorities in Global Investigation Review’s “The Practitioner’s Guide To Global Investigations – Eighth Edition,” which was published on January 10, 2024. The chapter, co‑authored by of counsel Megan Y. Lew and associate Benjamin S. Spiegel, reviews how U.S. government authorities define cooperation, identifies the pros and cons of cooperating with the authorities and highlights special considerations in multi‑agency and cross‑border investigations.
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