US Attorney Fired By Donald Trump Hired To Lead Fried Frank White Collar Practice

Fried, Frank, Harris, Shriver & Jacobson LLP announced today that Geoffrey S. Berman, former US Attorney for the Southern District of New York (SDNY), has joined as head of the White Collar Defense, Regulatory Enforcement & Investigations Practice and member of the Firm’s Governance Committee. Mr. Berman will be based in New York.

“I’m delighted to welcome Geoff to the Firm. Our clients will benefit from his extensive government experience as a prosecutor and in the private sector,” said David J. Greenwald, chairman of Fried Frank. “His skills and proven leadership ability will further strengthen our White Collar Practice and Litigation Department, and be of great value in helping to drive our broader strategy.”

“Geoff is one of the most respected prosecutors in the United States, and his expertise trying major cases and leading high-profile investigations will translate seamlessly into his new role as head of our White Collar Practice,” said James D. Wareham, global chair of Fried Frank’s Litigation Department.

At Fried Frank, Mr. Berman, who served as US Attorney for the Southern District of New York from 2018 to 2020, will represent individuals and corporations in white-collar cases, internal investigations, and complex commercial litigation. During his time at the SDNY, he supervised an office of approximately 230 Assistant US Attorneys, who handle a high volume of many of the nation’s most important cases, including international sanctions violations, white collar crime, securities and commodities fraud, public corruption, money laundering, organized crime, and civil rights violations, among others. Notably, Mr. Berman spearheaded a series of high profile cases, including the prosecutions of former congressman Chris Collins for insider trading, Michael Avenatti for extortion, Jeffrey Epstein for sex trafficking, Lev Parnas and Igor Fruman for campaign finance violations, and HalkBank for sanctions violations. Prior to his role as US Attorney, Mr. Berman was a partner at an international Am Law 100 law firm. He also previously served as Assistant US Attorney for SDNY from 1990 to 1994 and Associate Counsel in the Office of Independent Counsel for the Iran/Contra matter, where he successfully prosecuted a former CIA employee for tax fraud.

“I am thrilled to join Fried Frank’s litigation and white collar team,” said Mr. Berman. “The Firm is well known for its cutting-edge counsel to top tier companies and high-profile individuals and I am looking forward to working with the team to advance the practice’s key client initiatives and priorities.”

Mr. Berman received a JD from Stanford Law School, where he was a note editor for the Stanford Law Review, and a BS and BA, magna cum laude, from the University of Pennsylvania. He is a visiting professor at Stanford Law School and a visiting fellow at the Stanford Rock Center for Corporate Governance.

Fried Frank has a longstanding record of attorneys serving in the public sector. Most recently, the Firm welcomed back former Principal Deputy Assistant Attorney General of the US Department of Justice’s (DOJ) Antitrust Division Bernard “Barry” A. Nigro Jr. Mr. Nigro joined as chair of the Firm’s Global Antitrust and Competition Department.

Fried Frank’s White Collar Defense, Regulatory Enforcement & Investigations Practice has an international reputation for success in defending corporations and individuals under investigation for alleged securities, commodities, and other financial frauds, insider trading, market manipulation, anti-corruption violations, money laundering, RICO violations, and procurement and healthcare fraud. The team’s deep bench of litigators, which includes multiple former federal prosecutors, has extensive trial and appellate experience, having tried dozens of federal criminal cases to verdict and argued numerous criminal appeals before state and federal appellate courts, as both prosecutors and defense counsel.