Seeing From Both Sides of the Table
When clients of Akin’s global white collar and regulatory practice ask what the other side is thinking, former federal prosecutors Michael Asaro and Charles Connolly know the answer.
CCBJ: Please share your backgrounds and information about your respective practices. Michael Asaro: I started my career at the SEC’s Division of Enforcement. Then I went to the DOJ, first in the Southern and then Eastern District in New York, as a prosecutor primarily focused on white collar matters. I came to Akin Gump about 13 years ago. My practice tends to be SEC, CFTC [Commodity Futures Trading Commission], and DOJ focused. I work closely with our investment funds clients, doing investigation defense and internal investigations, responding to subpoenas, bringing in witnesses for government interviews and testimony, and doing a fair amount of compliance consulting, even when there is no subpoena, to keep our clients from getting sideways with the SEC or other regulators. We have over a dozen partner-level, former government lawyers in different capacities, from the SEC to the DOJ, to the FCA [Financial Conduct Authority] in the UK. Our main clients are banks and hedge funds, and we do a lot of public company board representations, and individual representations of corporate executives as well. Charles Connolly: Like Mike, I spent almost 11 years at the DOJ, first I spent five years as a prosecutor in the Eastern District of Virginia in the white collar, financial crimes, and public corruption unit. I then worked as a counselor and acting deputy chief of staff for U.S. Attorney General Michael Mukasey before returning to the Eastern District, where I ultimately served as Chief of the financial crimes and public corruption unit. In that role I supervised approximately a dozen AUSAs investigating and prosecuting complex financial crimes. 20
JULY • AUGUST 2020
I joined Akin Gump in 2013. In my role here, I represent both individuals and companies in criminal and regulatory matters, and conduct internal investigations. My focus is on complex financial frauds and corruption matters. We regularly coordinate and partner on investigations with our international trade group, which has a big focus on sanctions enforcement. In D.C., our group includes a strong Congressional investigations practice, which is composed of former DOJ and Congressional investigators. How does your experience in public service inform your practice and how you work with government officials? Connolly: It is critical to being a successful white collar partner in this space. Having spent a decade putting together complex financial crimes, from investigation, to charging, and ultimately for presentation to the jury, I understand the thinking of a prosecutor. Clients often want to know: “What is the other side thinking?” My experience allows me to say, “Here’s how I would have analyzed this. Here are the steps they are taking. Here are the steps they will likely take next.” Understanding the process and what the prosecutor may be thinking, allows you to communicate that to your client and helps you evaluate strategy. It also helps when you’re dealing with government officials. They know that you appreciate what they’re doing and what they’re looking at, and it helps you communicate to them and identify issues that you know they’re thinking about, even if they haven’t articulated it. This allows you to address high-level concerns early on and raise issues you think the prosecutors may be sensitive to. Our prior government experience helps us build credibility with prosecutors, so when we’re making representations, officials take that seriously. That has served us well in a number of investigations over the past few years. Asaro: Having been in that seat gives you a unique insight as to what is persuasive when you are advocating to the
