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State + Local Government Enforcement

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Our team includes former state and federal prosecutors, former regulatory enforcement lawyers, and more. Learn about our government attorneys.

Case Studies

Association of Inspectors General 2023 Annual Training Conference

MoFo's Multidisciplinary Team Provides Insights on Ransomware and the Health Care Industry for HCCA

Carrie H. Cohen Analyzes the Intersection of State and Federal Law Regarding Sentencing

Carrie H. Cohen Discusses Careers in Public Service for Federal Bar Council’s First Decade Committee

Carrie H. Cohen Provides Insights on Public Corruption Investigations and Prosecutions Led by State + Local Enforcers

Carrie H. Cohen Co-Chairs and Presents Group Award at 2021 WWCDA Virtual Awards Gala

Events

MoFo’s State + Local Government Enforcement Newsletter 7/19/2023

MoFo’s State + Local Government Enforcement Newsletter May 2023

Key Takeaways from the National Association of Attorneys General 2023 Annual Symposium

MoFo’s State + Local Government Enforcement Newsletter

What Contractors Should Know About NY’s Russia Sanctions

State + Local Government Update: New Restrictions on Doing Business in Russia

Insights

MoFo and Carrie H. Cohen Named Finalists for The American Lawyer Industry Awards 2023

George Santos’ Bond Backed by Dad, Aunt, Court Docs Show

As the Supreme Court Leans on State Authority, Big Law Leans on State AG Practices

Brian R. Michael named Top 100 Lawyer by Los Angeles Business Journal for 2023

Partner Carrie H. Cohen honored by Crain’s New York Business as a Women of Influence ‒ Mentor

Distinguished SDNY Prosecutor, Edward Imperatore, Joins Morrison & Foerster in New York

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Carrie H. Cohen is global co-chair of the Investigations + White Collar Defense practice group as well as co-chair of the firm’s State + Local Government Enforcement team and Workplace Misconduct Investigations Task Force. Prior to joining the firm, Carrie served as an Assistant U.S. Attorney in the Southern District of New York (SDNY) and as Chief of the Public Integrity Bureau of the New York State Attorney General’s Office.As a former federal and state prosecutor, Carrie routinely advises and represents corporations, boards, and c-suite executives in government-facing investigative and regulatory matters with a particular focus on state and local government matters. Carrie’s extensive trial experience and distinguished record of success in high‑stakes, white collar defense and securities matters cement her position as a leading lawyer in these practice areas, and she is often called upon as trial counsel for particularly sensitive matters. Carrie’s trial and white collar expertise have been recognized by a variety of organizations including Chambers USA, which describes her as “. . . a terrific trial lawyer with great judgment and timing, [who] knows how to present complex cases in a digestible way.” Carrie also routinely prepares clients who are called to testify before Congress and state and city legislatures and works on matters that involve multijurisdictional investigations and significant media attention.While serving in the SDNY, Carrie investigated and tried public corruption, investment fraud, and securities cases, including obtaining the first convictions of former New York State Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver. She also served as Chief of the Public Integrity Unit in the Criminal Division in the New York State Attorney General’s Office and as an Assistant Attorney General in the Civil Rights Bureau, where she received the Louis J. Lefkowitz Memorial Award for outstanding service.Carrie is a recognized industry expert in public corruption and state and local government actions. Carrie is an Adjunct Professor at the University of Pennsylvania Law School, where she teaches a seminar on Public Corruption and the Law. Among other appointments, Carrie has served and presented written public reports as Special Counsel to the New York City Council, Special Independent Counsel to the City of Rochester, and Counsel to the California Department of Justice as well as being part of the Monitorship team appointed by the U.S. Department of Justice for the global Odebrecht corruption matter. She also was appointed by Governor Kathy Hochul to the Metropolitan Transit Authority Inspector General’s Board and now serves as its Acting Chair as well as having been appointed by the Chief Judge of the United States District Court for the Eastern District of New York as Counsel to the Court’s Grievance Committee.Carrie serves on multiple bar committees and task forces as part of her effort to promote the public interest through criminal justice reform. She was appointed Chair of the New York State Bar Association’s Task Force on Domestic Terrorism and Hate Crimes, whose report was adopted by the House of Delegates in June 2020 and as a member of the New York State Bar Association’s Task Force on Racial Injustice and Police Reform and Task Force on Wrongful Convictions. As a leader of the bar, Carrie serves as a Vice President and Trustee of the Federal Bar Council and Treasurer of its Inn of Court and was appointed to the Federal-State Judicial Advisory Council as well as prior service as a Vice President of the New York City Bar, Chair of its Executive Committee, and member of its Nominating Committee. Carrie also is a member of the Board of Directors of Volunteers of Legal Service, an organization that provides pro bono legal services to the New York community.Carrie has long been dedicated to advancing women in the legal profession, both in the United States and globally. She co-chairs Morrison & Foerster’s Women’s Strategy Committee, a group that works with firm leaders to ensure the advancement of women remains a strategic priority, and serves as a member of the New York City Bar’s Cyrus R. Vance Center for International Justice, where she spearheads a professional development program for women lawyers in Latin America and South Africa.Carrie co-authored the acclaimed New York State Bar Association report adopted by the American Bar Association “If Not Now, When? Achieving Equality for Women Attorneys in the Courtroom and in ADR” and the follow-up report adopted by the House of Delegates “The Time is Now: Achieving Equality for Women Attorneys in the Courtroom and in ADR.” She serves on the Steering Committee of the When There Are Nine Scholarship Project, which she founded with other alumnae from the United States Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of New York to honor the late Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg by providing law school scholarships and mentorship to the next generation of women leaders.<h4>Representative Matters</h4><ul><li>Public Corruption/Government Representation. Represent elected and appointed public officials, public entities, and individuals doing business with the government in a variety of public corruption-related matters with a focus on public-facing reports.<ul><li>Special Independent Counsel to the New York City Council related to investigations of certain Council Members for misconduct and corruption.</li><li>Special Counsel to the MTA related to an examination of time, attendance, and overtime, which included presenting a public report to the MTA Board.</li><li>Representation of the California Department of Justice’s Office of the Attorney General in leading and conducting an independent review of its public release of confidential personal information associated with firearms permit holders and applicants, which included the preparation and release of a public report.</li><li>Trial counsel for Rochester Mayor Lovely Warren for campaign finance charges; Hon. John A. Michalek for public corruption offenses; Hon. Sylvia Ash for obstruction of justice charges.</li></ul></li><li>Financial Institutions/Securities Matters. Represent banks and other financial institutions in investigations of regulatory and consumer-related matters. Represent corporations and individuals in a variety of criminal investigations and regulatory matters involving federal and state securities laws.</li><li>FCPA. Represent corporations in FCPA investigations. Service on the DOJ-appointed Monitorship team in the criminal prosecution of Odebrecht.</li><li>Workplace Misconduct. Conduct investigations for corporations and boards related to workplace misconduct and #MeToo issues and provide related advocacy and legal advice.</li><li>Cybersecurity. Conduct investigations of cybersecurity incidents and represent companies in related government and regulatory matters concerning disclosure of data breaches, theft of intellectual property, and other issues.</li><li>RICO/Civil Fraud/Commercial Litigation. Represent a wide variety of public and private corporations in civil fraud, RICO, and commercial litigation including at trial. Represent UPS at trial in SDNY case brought by the New York State Attorney General’s Office and the City of New York alleging illegal transportation of untaxed cigarettes.</li></ul>

Carrie H. Cohen

Partner

Haima Marlier is co-chair of Morrison Foerster’s Securities Litigation, Enforcement, and White Collar Defense Group. Drawing on her experience as a former Securities and Exchange Commission Senior Trial Counsel, Haima represents public and private companies, financial services providers, and individuals in SEC and other government investigations, Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA) investigations, and internal investigations, as well as in related litigation. She has extensive experience litigating in federal, state, and administrative courts, leading complex negotiations, and representing her clients in mediation. She also routinely counsels clients regarding, and is a speaker on, SEC enforcement developments, trends, and enforcement risk mitigation.Haima joined the firm after nine years at the SEC’s New York office, which bears responsibility for regulating the largest concentration of SEC-registered financial institutions in the nation. While at the SEC, Haima served as lead counsel on a number of prominent enforcement litigations and investigations involving public companies, registered investment advisers, broker-dealers, banks, and individuals in matters arising under the federal securities laws. She has also worked closely with foreign securities regulators, numerous U.S. Attorney’s Offices, and FINRA.Haima serves on the Board of Trustees of the SEC Historical Society, a non-profit dedicated to preserving the knowledge and history of financial regulation; mentors Penn State students of color who aspire to become lawyers; and is a member of the Board of Directors of, and a volunteer running coach for, Girls on the Run New Jersey, a nonprofit dedicated to inspiring girls to recognize their inner physical and emotional strength. She also maintains an active pro bono practice.Haima was recently named among Crain’s New York Business’ Notable Diverse Leaders in Law and Legal 500 US has consecutively named her as a recommended lawyer in “Corporate Investigations and White Collar Criminal Defense.” While at the SEC, Haima was honored with numerous SEC Division of Enforcement Director’s Awards and was the New York Regional Office nominee for the SEC’s Manual F. Cohen Award.Haima received her J.D. from Boston College Law School and her B.A. from The Pennsylvania State University.Haima’s notable private and public sector experience includes:<ul><li>Representing a private investment fund in a COVID-19 related SEC insider trading investigation with no action taken by the SEC.</li><li>Representing a private investor in an SEC investigation related to a reverse merger involving a cryptocurrency company with no action taken by the SEC.</li><li>Representing an audit committee of a public company in an internal investigation resulting from a whistleblower complaint alleging accounting and disclosure issues.</li><li>Representing two former executives of a Nasdaq-traded company in SEC and internal investigations and in Delaware Court of Chancery litigation.</li><li>Representing a leading public company in an internal investigation resulting from a whistleblower complaint alleging accounting and disclosure issues.</li><li>Representing a cryptocurrency exchange platform in responding to SEC subpoenas and other requests for information.</li><li>Representing numerous public companies in an SEC cybersecurity enforcement sweep.</li><li>Advising numerous public companies on the efficacy of their cybersecurity disclosure controls and procedures and the materiality of cybersecurity incidents.</li><li>Representing a broker-dealer in a for-cause FINRA examination into anti-money laundering and other issues.</li><li>Representing a leading international company in government investigation into pharmaceutical drug pricing.</li><li>Obtaining a successful settlement for a venture capital fund in a securities class action concerning an unregistered digital token offering.</li><li>Representing a biotech company in a Massachusetts Securities Division investigation concerning securities registration exemptions and representations to investors regarding securities registration with no action taken by the state regulator.</li><li>Obtaining a successful resolution for a pre-IPO biotech company in a wrongful termination lawsuit brought by a co-founder and former CEO terminated by the board of directors.</li><li>Representing the SEC in all stages of federal and administrative proceedings, including at trial and on appeal, in matters involving violations of the federal securities laws, including:</li><ul><li>Matter of Anthony: Trial victory against eight individuals charged with participating in a $100+ million Ponzi scheme.</li><li> SEC v. Bronson: U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit summary judgment victory imposing over $12 million in civil penalties and disgorgement in complex microcap matter.</li><li>SEC v. Laidlaw Energy Group, Inc.: Favorable judgment against company and its CEO for insider trading, misleading SEC filings, and Section 5 registration violations.</li></ul></ul>

Haimavathi V. Marlier

Nathan Reilly is a member of the firm’s Investigations + White Collar Defense practice group and its State + Local Government Enforcement team. As a former federal and state prosecutor, Nathan is uniquely situated to assist clients in navigating parallel investigations by multiple law enforcement agencies. Nathan has vast experience working on federal and state investigations and enforcement actions involving allegations of public corruption, bribery, anti‑money laundering violations, financial crime, cybercrime, and national security-related issues, among others.Prior to joining Morrison & Foerster, Nathan served in the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ), most recently as senior litigation counsel in the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of New York (EDNY). Nathan also served as chief of the Public Integrity Section for EDNY.In those roles, he supervised more than a dozen federal prosecutors, agents, and staff in investigations and prosecutions of corruption and fraud by elected and appointed officials, government contractors, and public sector employees. Nathan also oversaw various transnational investigations into potential violations of the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA), the Foreign Agent Registration Act (FARA), the Bank Secrecy Act (BSA), and anti-money laundering (AML) statutes. He also led EDNY’s coordination with numerous law enforcement partners, including the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), the Internal Revenue Service (IRS), and the DOJ’s Public Integrity Section and the Office of the Special Counsel in Washington, D.C. He received the 2017 DOJ Director’s Award for Superior Performance as an Assistant U.S. Attorney.Nathan also served in the Office of the New York State Governor as Special Assistant to the Secretary to the Governor where he drafted legislative and policy initiatives and served as an Assistant Attorney General for the Office of the New York State Attorney General.Nathan earned his J.D., cum laude, from Harvard Law School and his B.A., magna cum laude, from Yale University. Nathan clerked for the Honorable Jed S. Rakoff for the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York.<h4>Representative Experience</h4><ul><li>A matter involving a sitting member of Congress who was criminally charged for tax fraud, perjury, and obstruction of justice.</li><li>A matter involving a sitting state senator who was criminally charged for embezzlement and fraud against a healthcare charity.</li><li>A matter involving a senior staff person to a member of the New York Assembly charged with wire fraud for theft of campaign funds.</li><li>A matter involving employees of a publicly traded utility company charged as a result of participation in a wide-ranging bribery scheme aimed at securing commercial contracts, which involved hundreds of thousands of dollars in alleged bribes and tens of millions of dollars in contracts.</li><li>A matter involving a three-week trial regarding four defendants accused of an international wire fraud and money laundering scheme involving $36 million dollars.</li><li>A matter involving 20 defendants who were criminally charged for participation in a bribery scheme involving government employees.</li><li>A matter involving a presidential appointee who was charged in a cyber-harassment case. The matter ultimately resulted in a presidential pardon.</li><li>Several matters involving alleged violations of the FCPA, FARA, BSA, and AML statues.</li><li>Several matters involving international narcotics dealers who faced extradition in connection with criminal money laundering charges.</li></ul>