NEW YORK, Jan. 6, 2015 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- Fried, Frank, Harris, Shriver & Jacobson LLP announced today that Evan T. Barr will join and Lawrence Gerschwer has joined the Firm as partners in the White Collar Criminal Defense and Securities Enforcement Practice, resident in the New York office. Mr. Barr and Mr. Gerschwer served as Assistant United States Attorneys for the Southern District of New York, where Mr. Barr was the chief of the Major Crimes Unit; they also worked together in the Public Corruption Unit and collaborated on several investigations. Both currently represent numerous individuals and institutions in a range of ongoing domestic and cross-border criminal, regulatory and civil investigations and proceedings. In addition, both have tried criminal securities fraud cases, acting on the defense side.
"We are pleased to welcome Evan and Larry, who bring to Fried Frank years of practice at the highest level and a shared commitment to excellent client service," said David Greenwald, chairman of Fried Frank. "Given the needs of our clients, we are committed to the growth of our White Collar Criminal Defense and Securities Enforcement Practice. Evan and Larry have deep experience in enforcement matters, government investigations and internal investigations that will be of tremendous value to our clients."
For more than 20 years, Mr. Barr has represented the government, individuals and companies in high-profile and sensitive investigations and prosecutions conducted by the Department of Justice, various US Attorneys' Offices, the US Securities and Exchange Commission, the Internal Revenue Service, the New York State Attorney General's Office, FINRA and the Manhattan District Attorney's Office. In addition, Mr. Barr has extensive experience in the areas of asset forfeiture and money laundering. He has also represented numerous clients in matters involving restraining orders, seizure warrants, petitions for remission and ancillary proceedings.
Currently Mr. Barr represents numerous clients in criminal antitrust investigations involving alleged price fixing in the foreign exchanges and insider trading matters. Mr. Barr will be joining Fried Frank from his position as a partner in Steptoe & Johnson's New York office, where he concentrated on white collar criminal defense and complex regulatory matters. As chief of the Major Crimes Unit at the US Attorney's Office for the Southern District of New York, Mr. Barr supervised approximately 25 prosecutors specializing in an array of white collar crimes; he also served in the Securities and Commodities Fraud Task Force, the Public Corruption Unit and the Asset Forfeiture Unit. Mr. Barr has tried 12 criminal cases to verdict in federal court and has briefed and argued numerous cases before the Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit.
In addition, Mr. Barr served as a law clerk to the Honorable Edmund Ludwig in the US District Court for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania. He received a JD from Harvard Law School in 1989 and a BA, magna cum laude, from Harvard University in 1985.
Mr. Gerschwer's practice focuses primarily on white collar criminal and regulatory matters, including government investigations of securities and commodities fraud as well as fraud in government. Currently he represents a number of clients in pending matters related to Libor and ISDAfix issues. In addition, Mr. Gerschwer has defended numerous clients facing investigations and enforcement actions conducted by the Department of Justice, the US Securities and Exchange Commission, the US Commodity Futures Trading Commission, the Internal Revenue Service and banking regulators, including federal and state criminal investigations, and related civil litigation.
Before joining Fried Frank, Mr. Gerschwer was a partner in Morrison & Foerster's New York office. Prior to that, he served as an Assistant US Attorney for the Southern District of New York for almost nine years, where he was a member of the Securities and Commodities Fraud Unit and the Public Corruption Unit. In that role, Mr. Gerschwer investigated and tried a variety of criminal cases and argued numerous appeals before the US Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit, including cases related to the massive accounting fraud schemes at Adelphia Communications and US Foodservice. Mr. Gerschwer also investigated and prosecuted numerous defendants for their participation in a municipal corruption scheme to bribe New York City property tax assessors; Mayor Michael Bloomberg described the scheme, which resulted in charges of RICO Act violations, mail fraud, wire fraud and bribery, as "the largest and most financially damaging corruption scheme ever conducted within city government."
In addition, Mr. Gerschwer served as a law clerk to the Honorable Wilfred Feinberg in the US Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit. He received a JD from Columbia Law School in 1993 and a BA from Binghamton University in 1983. While in law school, Mr. Gerschwer served as senior editor of Columbia Law Review.
About Fried Frank
Fried, Frank, Harris, Shriver & Jacobson LLP is a leading international law firm with offices in New York; Washington, DC; London; Paris; Frankfurt; Hong Kong; and Shanghai. Approximately 450 Fried Frank lawyers regularly serve the world's leading corporations and financial institutions with regard to their most critical legal needs and business opportunities. More information can be found at www.friedfrank.com.
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