By Sara Kropf One thing you quickly learn as defense counsel is that the government has considerably more power than you do. In pre-indictment discussions, if I push back too hard on the government, the prosecutor could decide to add more charges to the indictment or...
What Is A Joint Defense Agreement in Criminal Defense?
By Dan Portnov Sometime this summer, perhaps as soon as mid-August, former National Security Advisor Michael Flynn will be sentenced by U.S. District Court Judge Emmet Sullivan. Flynn’s sentencing piques both pro-Trump and anti-Trump interest because he was one of the...
A Podcast About Representing Executives in Internal Investigations Featuring . . . Me
By: Sara Kropf Sometimes I'm asked whether this blog has led to clients. That's a hard question to answer. The simple answer is probably no. I don't write this blog for SEO purposes, and I don't write it for the person-on-the-street. Most of my readers are lawyers,...
Keep Your Friends Close – The Second Circuit Strengthens Common Interest Privilege
By: Sara Kropf The common interest (sometimes called “joint defense”) privilege serves an invaluable strategic role in complex white-collar cases. It allows the targets of an investigation to work together, without fear that the government will discover their...
Will the New DOJ Policy End Joint Defense Agreements?
white collar world is abuzz about DOJ’s new policy requiring companies to identify the individuals involved in wrongdoing to get cooperation credit. Joint defense agreements between companies and their executives allow the targets of a criminal investigation to work...