Explosive Growth In Law Firms' White Collar Criminal Defense Continues: Three More Lawyers Join Arnold & Porter

The explosive growth of white collar criminal defense practices at law firms across the country continues:  Arnold & Porter has strengthened its white collar criminal defense practice with the addition of two partners, John Nassikas and Baruch Weiss, and counsel Laura Lester, all of whom have joined the firm in Washington, D.C.

Nassikas is a former Assistant U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of Virginia (1991-1995) and headed the white collar defense and government investigations practice group at his former firm. He advises and defends companies, executives, and foreign governments and handles complex parallel criminal and civil litigations and internal corporate investigations, particularly in the areas of healthcare fraud, financial fraud, antitrust, and securities enforcement. He will be undertaking the lead coordinating role for Arnold & Porter's white collar group.
 
Weiss has held senior positions at the U.S. Department of Homeland Security and the U.S. Treasury, and served as an Assistant U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of New York (1984-2002). He represents individuals, national and international corporations, and a foreign government in a variety of matters, including parallel SEC and DOJ securities fraud investigations, FCPA investigations, criminal and civil OFAC enforcement matters, internal investigations, public corruption prosecutions, and criminal and administrative immigration enforcement actions against employers.
 
Lester represents individual and institutional clients in federal and state criminal healthcare, antitrust, public corruption, and government contracts investigations nationwide. Her recent work includes leading defense teams in large FDA criminal litigations as well as representing numerous individuals and organizations in investigations by DOJ's Public Integrity Section, HUD's Office of Inspector General, DOJ's Antitrust Division, GAO, and federal prosecutors around the country and at the Justice Department in Washington, D.C.
 
Last year, Arnold & Porter expanded its white collar practice when Marcus Asner, former Assistant U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of New York, who served as Chief of the Major Crimes and Computer Hacking/Intellectual Property Unit, joined the firm in New York. In addition to Asner, members of the team include Craig Stewart, former Deputy Chief of the Criminal Division and Chief Appellate Attorney for the Criminal Division in the Southern District of New York (1987-1998), and James W. Cooper, former Deputy Chief of the Criminal Division in the US Attorney's Office in the District of Columbia, Assistant U.S. Attorney, and Trial Attorney in DOJ's Public Integrity Section (1994-2007).