Best Lawyers in District of Columbia, United States for Criminal Defense: White-Collar
Jay R. Nanavati is an accomplished litigator, a former federal tax prosecutor, and a founding partner of Kostelanetz LLP's Washington, D.C., office. He has developed an enviable record of success in persuading the government to terminate investigations of his clients and in defeating the government in court. Mr. Nanavati maintains a nationwide practice, focusing on white-collar criminal defense with an emphasis on tax-related matters. He represents individuals and entities facing investigatio...
David Schertler is widely recognized as one of the top white–collar criminal defense attorneys in the Washington area and nationwide. He founded Schertler & Onorato, LLP, in 1996 and has built the firm’s reputation as a premier litigation boutique through his broad experience with criminal and civil investigative and trial matters and the results that he has achieved for his clients. Mr. Schertler is known for his skilled and tenacious representation of individuals and entitie...
Robert P. Trout has over 40 years' experience in civil and criminal litigation. His practice has concentrated primarily on complex commercial litigation and white-collar criminal defense, as well as the defense of administrative agency enforcement actions. He began his legal career at the Department of Justice, where he served for two years in the Criminal Division, followed by four years as an Assistant United States Attorney in Baltimore, Maryland. Mr. Trout served as Associate Deputy Indep...
Roscoe C. Howard, Jr. is a top attorney recognized by Best Lawyers in the practice area(s) of Criminal Defense: White-Collar. Roscoe C., who practices law in Washington, District of Columbia, has been recognized since 2006. This recognition is based on an exhaustive peer-review survey, reflecting the high esteem in which Roscoe C. is held by other top lawyers in the same geographic and legal practice area.
Michael Leotta conducts internal investigations and represents corporations and individuals in white collar criminal law and regulatory enforcement matters. He regularly represents US consumer banks, global correspondent banks, broker-dealers, investment advisers, and FinTech companies in a broad range of matters, including defending financial institutions’ compliance with the Bank Secrecy Act and related anti-money laundering (AML) rules, securities law, and the Foreign Corrupt Practic...
John E. Kelly is a top attorney recognized by Best Lawyers in the practice area(s) of Criminal Defense: White-Collar and Health Care Law. John E., who practices law in Washington, District of Columbia, has been recognized since 2024. This recognition is based on an exhaustive peer-review survey, reflecting the high esteem in which John E. is held by other top lawyers in the same geographic and legal practice area.
Adam Hoffinger's litigation and trial practice focuses on complex civil and white‑collar criminal matters, including securities, health care, Foreign Corrupt Practices Act, False Claims Act, export controls, money laundering, antitrust, and bankruptcy. He counsels corporations and individuals in compliance matters, internal investigations, and Congressional and regulatory matters. He also represents corporations and individuals in high stakes civil litigation. Mr. Hoffinger has defended numer...
Seth Waxman is a former federal prosecutor and nationally recognized white collar criminal defense with more than two decades of experience handling high profile sensitive criminal and civil matters. Seth handles a wide array of challenging cases, ranging from the Flint water criminal investigation to complex internal investigations for Fortune 500 companies. Seth is a seasoned trial lawyer, having been lead counsel in more than sixty jury trials, thirty bench trials, and fifteen matters on a...
Courtney M. Brown is a top attorney recognized by Best Lawyers in the practice area(s) of Criminal Defense: White-Collar. Courtney M., 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 Courtney M. is held by other top lawyers in the same geographic and legal practice area.
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.
Brenda Lee represents companies, universities, and individuals in a broad range of investigations and related proceedings, including white collar criminal, securities enforcement, anti–money laundering (AML), and anti-discrimination matters. She has significant experience representing financial institutions, tech companies, and individuals in parallel proceedings, including overlapping criminal and civil investigations. The vice-chair of the firm’s Anti-Discrimination Practice, Ms...
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.