Best Lawyers in America for Criminal Defense: White-Collar
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State
Beattie B. Ashmore is a top attorney recognized by Best Lawyers in the practice area(s) of Appellate Practice, Criminal Defense: General Practice, Criminal Defense: White-Collar and Personal Injury Litigation - Plaintiffs. Beattie B., who practices law in Greenville, South Carolina, has been recognized since 2015. This recognition is based on an exhaustive peer-review survey, reflecting the high esteem in which Beattie B. is held by other top lawyers in the same geographic and legal practice ...
A former Assistant U.S. Attorney with a focus on public corruption and national security, Jacqueline Arango is co-chair of Akerman’s White Collar Crime & Government Investigations Practice. She leads a team including former federal prosecutors, senior enforcement lawyers at the SEC, and government lawyers representing corporations, financial institutions, boards of directors, and individuals in government investigations, regulatory enforcement matters, grand jury probes, internal in...
Timothy Macht is a top attorney recognized by Best Lawyers in the practice area(s) of Criminal Defense: White-Collar. Timothy, who practices law in New York, New York, has been recognized since 2021. This recognition is based on an exhaustive peer-review survey, reflecting the high esteem in which Timothy is held by other top lawyers in the same geographic and legal practice area.
Lauri E. Cleary is a top attorney recognized by Best Lawyers in the practice area(s) of Appellate Practice, Commercial Litigation, Criminal Defense: White-Collar, Employment Law - Management, Litigation - Insurance and Litigation - Labor and Employment. Lauri E., who practices law in Bethesda, Maryland, has been recognized since 2018. This recognition is based on an exhaustive peer-review survey, reflecting the high esteem in which Lauri E. is held by other top lawyers in the same geographic ...
Sean R. McKenna is a top attorney recognized by Best Lawyers in the practice area(s) of Criminal Defense: White-Collar, Health Care Law and Litigation - Health Care. Sean R., who practices law in Dallas, Texas, has been recognized since 2015. This recognition is based on an exhaustive peer-review survey, reflecting the high esteem in which Sean R. is held by other top lawyers in the same geographic and legal practice area.
Michael Spafford is a partner in the Investigations and White Collar Defense practice of Paul Hastings and is based in the firm’s Washington, DC office. Mr. Spafford’s practice focuses on white-collar criminal defense, government investigations, regulatory enforcement, internal investigations, and related litigation. He has represented financial institutions, funds and other companies, as well as individual clients in numerous high-profile government investigations and parallel li...
Michael, a former prosecutor, graduated summa cum laude from University of Arizona College of Law in May 1993, where he served on the editorial board of the Arizona Law Review and was inducted into the Order of the Coif. Recognized nationally for his work in white collar criminal defense , Michael is listed in Best Lawyers America® , 21 st ed. and rated by Martindale Hubbell ® A-V 5/5 Preeminent. He has also been listed in Arizona Superlawyers ® as one of the top Tucson DUI lawyer...
Sydney Alexandra Scott is a top attorney recognized by Best Lawyers in the practice area(s) of Criminal Defense: White-Collar. Sydney Alexandra, who practices law in Houston, Texas, has been recognized since 2025. This recognition is based on an exhaustive peer-review survey, reflecting the high esteem in which Sydney Alexandra is held by other top lawyers in the same geographic and legal practice area.
Thomas “Tom” H. Bienert, Jr. is a trial attorney with decades of experience handling complex litigation, investigations, and appeals in state and federal courts. Based in San Clemente, California, Tom represents businesses, executives, professionals, and individuals in matters involving Commercial Litigation, Bet-the-Company Litigation, Appellate Practice , and Criminal Defense: White-Collar . He is a founding partner of Bienert Katzman Littrell Williams LLP (BKLW), a litigation-f...
Christopher Cestaro is a partner in the firm's White Collar Defense and Investigations Practice. Mr. Cestaro’s practice focuses on white-collar criminal matters, government enforcement actions, internal corporate investigations, due diligence reviews and compliance counseling. Mr. Cestaro’s unique experience includes more than eight years as a federal prosecutor focused on white-collar cases, three years working as a compliance counsel for a multinational oil services company and ...
Derek Adams is a top attorney recognized by Best Lawyers in the practice area(s) of Criminal Defense: White-Collar and Qui Tam Law. Derek, who practices law in Washington, District of Columbia, has been recognized since 2023. This recognition is based on an exhaustive peer-review survey, reflecting the high esteem in which Derek is held by other top lawyers in the same geographic and legal practice area.
David C. Greer is a top attorney recognized by Best Lawyers in the practice area(s) of Bet-the-Company Litigation, Commercial Litigation, Criminal Defense: White-Collar, Litigation - Intellectual Property, Litigation - Patent, Litigation - Trusts and Estates and Personal Injury Litigation - Defendants. David C., who practices law in Dayton, Ohio, has been recognized since 1983. This recognition is based on an exhaustive peer-review survey, reflecting the high esteem in which David C. is held ...
Valecia McDowell is a national thought leader in the areas of governmental and internal investigations, conduct risk management, and civil rights and racial equity assessments. Valecia is ranked in Chambers USA and Best Lawyers , included in national publications such as Bloomberg , American Banker , Corporate Compliance Insights , and Inside Counsel. Valecia was one of the ten “Innovative Legal Practitioners” identified by the London-based Financial Times in 2023 and on Forbes To...
Joel Green is deputy managing partner of WilmerHale. In that role he assists the managing partner, Anjan Sahni, in executing the firm’s overall strategic vision. Mr. Green is also a partner in WilmerHale’s Securities, Litigation, and Regulatory Departments, Co-Chair of the Congressional Investigations Practice and a member of the Firm’s Management Committee.
Our Methodology
Recognition by Best Lawyers is based entirely on peer review. Our methodology is designed to capture, as accurately as possible, the consensus opinion of leading lawyers about the professional abilities of their colleagues within the same geographical area and legal practice area.
The Process
Best Lawyers employs a sophisticated, conscientious, rational, and transparent survey process designed to elicit meaningful and substantive evaluations of the quality of legal services. Our belief has always been that the quality of a peer review survey is directly related to the quality of the voters.