Another (!) Leading Law Firm Jumps Into White Collar Defense With Big Hires

Is there any practice area today that is as important to law firms – and to their clients – as white collar defense? We don’t believe so – just look at the continuing efforts that law firms are engaging in to enhance that practice with lateral hires, from the ranks of the government and from other law firms, and, indeed, to create a white collar defense practice. 

The most recent example is a big one: The former head of the Department of Justice’s Criminal Division and the longtime chair of the white collar practice at a leading law firm have both joined Seward & Kissel LLP. The lawyers – Rita Glavin and Michael Considine – will serve as co-heads of a newly established Government Enforcement and Internal Investigations group in Seward & Kissel’s New York office.
 
“We are excited to offer our clients enhanced capability in connection with internal and governmental investigations, regulatory enforcement, and regulatory compliance,” said John Tavss, chairman of Seward & Kissel’s Policy Committee. “The talent and experience Rita and Mike bring is extraordinary, and it will be particularly beneficial to our clients throughout the financial services industry who face a rapidly changing enforcement environment.” Tavss noted that Glavin and Considine, who collectively served almost 20 years at DOJ and tried dozens of cases, have core practices in advising corporate clients on regulatory issues, conducting complicated internal investigations, and representing individuals in government investigations and prosecutions.
 
Glavin, a former prosecutor in the U.S. Attorney’s Office in the Southern District of New York, served as second-in-command of the DOJ Criminal Division under President George W. Bush in 2008 and was appointed by President Barack Obama in January 2009 to oversee the DOJ Criminal Division during the transition period of the new administration. As head of that division, she supervised more than 700 DOJ employees in 18 different criminal sections, including the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act unit; oversaw high-profile investigations involving corporate crimes, corruption, fraud, national security matters, and cybercrime; worked to develop DOJ’s strategy for investigating large-scale financial crimes and establish the Financial Fraud Enforcement Task Force; coordinated investigations with the SEC’s Enforcement Division; and testified numerous times before Congress about the financial crisis and the Fraud Enforcement and Recovery Act of 2009.
 
While a line prosecutor, Glavin specialized in white collar cases, including prosecutions resulting from the FBI’s Wooden Nickel undercover operation into the financial industry, corruption matters involving federal and state officials, and investigations of entities and individuals involved in financial crimes. Most recently, Glavin led the white collar and government investigations practice for the New York office of Vinson & Elkins.
 
Considine chaired Day Pitney’s White Collar Defense and Internal Investigations practice for the last four years and was nominated by President Bush, in July 2008, to serve as the U.S. Attorney for the State of Connecticut. In more than 15 years of private practice, Considine has represented many corporations and individuals in a wide range of internal and government investigations. His numerous sensitive and complex engagements include his appointment by the Department of Justice to monitor a major international bank during the Enron probe; his participation on a team tasked by DOJ to monitor a large healthcare entity; and conducting internal investigations for financial institutions in response to government probes. Prior to entering private practice, Considine was a supervisory federal prosecutor within the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of New York. There he handled the trials and appeals in many cases involving bank fraud, tax fraud, and racketeering.