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Defense Lawyer

About Defense Lawyer Jason Pickholz

jason pickholz - securities attorney

Since 1995, defense lawyer Jason Pickholz has been representing securities and white collar clients in investigations by the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (“SEC”), Commodity Futures Trading Commission (“CFTC”), U.S. Department of Justice (“DOJ”), U.S. Attorney’s Offices (“USAO”), State authorities such as the New York Attorney General’s Office (“NYAG”), self regulatory organizations like FINRA and the NYSE, and more.

Mr. Pickholz defended a public company and its CEO in the SEC’s COVID-19 investigations; a company in an enforcement action brought by the CFTC involving cryptocurrency and binary options; a former United States Senator in connection with an investigation into a public pension fund; a senior executive officer in an SEC investigation of a billion dollar mutual fund family; and a leading specialist in the NYSE Floor Specialists cases.  He was counsel in the first disciplinary case brought by FINRA; the first anti-money laundering case brought by FinCen and the NYSE together against an NYSE member firm; and in two cases that Crain’s New York Business referred to as among the largest stock fraud cases of the early 21st century involving New York-based companies.

Mr. Pickholz’s clients have come from across the United States, as well as from more than a dozen foreign countries.  For additional examples of some of the cases that Mr. Pickholz has been involved in, please click on the “Our Cases & Results” link on the right side of this page or click here and open the various tabs on that page.

Mr. Pickholz is an author of the 2-volume book Securities Crimes, and he has written articles on such subjects as securities fraud, FINRA disciplinary proceedings, and international law enforcement, among others.  He has appeared on television and radio, taught continuing legal education courses for lawyers on “Defending An SEC Investigation” and “Corporate Compliance and Internal Investigations”, and spoken publicly on many topics including white collar and securities enforcement activity, parallel proceedings, securities fraud, anti-money laundering, and more (for a full list, see here).

In addition to having been a partner at two national law firms, Mr. Pickholz has served as an Advisory Board Member of a national law firm, as a Director of the NYU School of Law Alumni Board of Directors, as a Board Member of the joint American Banker’s Association / American Bar Association Money Laundering Enforcement Conference Advisory Board, and as an invited Member of the American Bar Association’s Global Anti-Corruption Initiatives Task Force.

In recognition of his achievements, Mr. Pickholz was nominated and elected by his legal peers to be a Fellow of the New York Bar Foundation, an honor that is limited to just 1% of the 74,000 members of the New York State Bar Association.

Defense lawyer Jason Pickholz on conflicts of interest in defending SEC investigations (Lawline 2020)

Defense lawyer Jason Pickholz and Baker Botts senior partner Seth Taube on some of the benefits of having separate counsel in government investigations

WHAT DEFENSE LAWYERS DO

A defense lawyer may help people or companies that are involved with investigations by the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (the “SEC”) or another federal agency, the U.S. Department of Justice (“DOJ”), a U.S. Attorney’s Office (“USAO”), a State regulator or prosecutor, or a self-regulatory organization (“SRO”) like FINRA. This does not necessarily mean that the government or agency views the person or company as a wrongdoer. Sometimes the person or company may be just a witness. Other times the government or agency may just be calling in everyone who worked in a particular company, division, or office to find out who if anyone knows anything about whatever the government thinks may have happened. The lawyers who represent any of these types of people or companies in government or agency investigations are often referred to as “defense” lawyers.

Law chess concept

Defense lawyers may also serve as trial counsel for people or companies who are accused of wrongdoing in cases brought in court by the SEC or another federal agency, the DOJ, a USAO, or a State regulator or State prosecutor. A defense lawyer may also represent clients in administrative proceedings brought by a regulator. In a disciplinary proceeding brought by an SRO, the lawyer representing the individual or company against the SRO may be a defense lawyer.

When a company thinks that one or more of its employees may have violated the law, the company may hire a defense lawyer to conduct an internal investigation at the company to find out what happened.

A defense lawyer may also represent people or companies in courtroom trials or in arbitrations against other people or companies. In this context, the term “defense lawyer” is used to refer to the lawyer who is representing the person or company that is being accused of having done something that harmed the plaintiff or the claimant in that particular case.

A defense lawyer may do all of the above things, or may focus on one or more specific areas. These are only examples of some of the things that defense lawyers may do.  Other defense lawyers may do additional things or different kinds of things.

If you would like to speak with a securities or white collar defense lawyer, please call The Pickholz Law Offices today at 347-746-1222.

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Jason Pickholz - pickholzlaw.com

The Pickholz Law Offices represents U.S. and international clients in securities and white collar cases. The Firm has helped whistleblowers report frauds to the SEC, CFTC, and IRS, and has defended clients in investigations by the SEC, CFTC, DOJ, FINRA, and other financial and securities enforcement regulators.

The Firm’s founder, Jason Pickholz, is the author of the two-volume book Securities Crimes, has appeared on tv and radio, and has taught continuing legal education courses. A former BigLaw partner, he has been representing clients in financial and securities fraud cases since 1995. In recognition of his many achievements, Mr. Pickholz was elected by his legal peers to be a Fellow of The New York Bar Foundation, an honor limited to just 1% of all attorneys in the New York State Bar Association.

Mr. Pickholz has been counsel in many high-profile cases. He was the first attorney ever to win an SEC whistleblower award on appeal to the Commission, which Inside Counsel magazine called one of the five key events in the history of the SEC whistleblower program. On the defense side, Mr. Pickholz has defended clients in the SEC’s COVID-19 investigations, the CFTC’s cryptocurrency cases, and a former US Senator, among others.

If you want to speak with a CFTC, IRS, or SEC whistleblower lawyer, or with a white collar defense lawyer, you can call the Firm at 347-746-1222.

The above information is not and should not be construed as providing legal advice. It is not and should never be considered as a substitute for consulting with your own lawyer. The use of this web site or this page does not constitute or create any attorney-client, fiduciary, or confidential relationship between The Pickholz Law Offices LLC and anyone using this web site, or anyone else. The information contained on this website is for informational purposes only. The content of this web site may not reflect current developments. Prior results do not guarantee a similar outcome. Results of prior cases or matters contained on this web site are not indicative of future results or outcomes, and should not be taken as a prediction, promise, or guarantee of any future result or outcome. No one who accesses this web site should act or refrain from acting based on anything contained on this web site. For additional terms-of-use and conditions governing the use of this web site, please view our full Terms and Conditions.