Cox Padmore Skolnik & Shakarchy represents businesses and individuals involved in Federal, state and local law enforcement investigations, grand jury proceedings, subpoenas, arrests, indictments, arraignments, pre-trial motions, plea negotiations, trials and appeals of criminal matters.
We focus on aspects of White Collar criminal law that impact businesses and executives, and laws relating to corporate accountability; the Federal Sentencing Guidelines; and the trend by the federal government to use various federal criminal laws (such as Mail Fraud, Wire Fraud, and Securities Fraud) to effectively control and regulate business conduct. We are also mindful of the growth of parallel federal and state administrative investigations and civil proceedings in such matters, and the impact on businesses and their operations. In recent years, Congress has enacted far reaching laws intended to reform business conduct and corporate governance, including provisions within the Sarbanes-Oxley Act; the Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations (RICO) Act; tax crimes and currency reporting violations, securities laws (including the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act); workplace injury crimes; and environmental crimes, among others. In addition, federal agencies have been empowered to administer far reaching sanctions, such as suspensions, exclusions, and debarments. We are aware of the issues involving the government's efforts to regulate the conduct of businesses by criminal investigation and prosecution, instead of the administrative process, and its encroachment into areas historically governed by the states.
Our goal is to prevent the prosecution of our clients by advising them of prophylactic measures which would minimize such exposure. Proper examination and analysis of business and personal practices are geared to assist our clients in avoiding criminal entanglements. We also assist clients with internal investigations and implementation of compliance procedures designed to reduce risks associated with practices which can lead to governmental scrutiny.
To this end, we have experience in providing legal advice in criminal matters for businesses and individuals, such as corporate officers, businessmen, doctors and lawyers in areas including fraud, public corruption, bribery, foreign corrupt practices act violations, false claims, environmental violations, securities violations, DWIs, assaults, sex crimes, drug violations and other cases. We also have significant experience in handling SEC, HUD, attorney general and IRS civil investigations, which can lead to criminal prosecution. We represent plaintiffs and defendants in quasi-criminal civil matters, such as civil RICO.
Should a criminal prosecution take place, we have extensive experience in navigating clients through the complicated areas of arrest, arraignment, grand jury presentation, indictment, pre-trial motions, plea negotiation, trial and appeals of criminal convictions. With former a senior prosecutor on staff to lend an insider's view, CPSS is able to deliver a holistic view of the process from both a prosecutor's and defense attorney's stance, providing our clients with the best representation possible from start to finish.
