The law firm of Clifford Chance announced that it has added litigation partners David Raskin, Christopher J. Morvillo, and Edward C. O’Callaghan to its New York office.
The trio served together as federal prosecutors in the United States Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of New York. They will reunite in early November at Clifford Chance where they will be a part of the firm’s New York-based White Collar, Regulatory Enforcement and Government Investigations practice group.
Raskin joins the firm directly from the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of New York. There, he has handled several of the most important criminal trials and international investigations in recent history. These include those that arose from the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001, and an ongoing probe into violations of the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act.
Morvillo and O’Callaghan, who left the U.S. Attorney’s Office six and three years ago, respectively, are among the most highly regarded white collar defense attorneys in Manhattan. Morvillo is a partner at the white collar boutique firm, Morvillo, Abramowitz, Grand, Iason, Anello & Bohrer, P.C., and O’Callaghan leads the Government Investigations and White Collar Defense Group at Nixon Peabody.
The trio brings varied law enforcement and defense experience to Clifford Chance, adding significant strength to the white collar and regulatory capabilities of the firm.
David DiBari, Clifford Chance’s U.S. Litigation & Dispute Resolution practice area leader was quoted as saying in a press release at the firm’s website: “It’s a rare occurrence when three litigators the caliber of David, Chris and Ed agree to move from different organizations to form, and join, a terrific team; we’re obviously thrilled they’re doing that with us. Their decision to reunite at Clifford Chance adds considerable depth and strength to our U.S. Litigation practice – especially in New York – while bolstering our firm’s strong litigation offerings worldwide.”
Craig Medwick, regional managing partner for Clifford Chance in the Americas, was quoted as saying: “Our Washington, D.C. office already features a superb cross-border investigatory and regulatory litigation team. The ability now to enhance our New York team with considerable white collar criminal defense and trial experience demonstrates our ongoing commitment to the execution of our U.S. litigation strategy.”
Jeremy Sandelson, global head of Clifford Chance’s Litigation & Dispute Resolution practice was quoted as saying: “We have been carefully searching for litigation partners in the U.S. who are not only world class in their capabilities, but well suited to our firm strategically and culturally. In David, Chris and Ed we have three partners who share our ambitious aspirations, as well as the collegial approach that helps define our firm. They’re a great fit for Clifford Chance and I am absolutely delighted to welcome them to our team.”
Raskin joined the U.S. Attorney’s Office in 1999, and rose to Chief of the Terrorism & National Security Unit. He has been pivotal in many of the most important criminal investigations and trials brought by the U.S. government during the past decade, including the prosecution of Zacarias Moussaoui, the so-called 20th hijacker in the September 11, 2001 terrorist attack.
Most recently, Morvillo was a partner at Morvillo, Abramowitz. In the past six years he has represented individual and corporate clients in federal and state white collar matters, parallel enforcement and civil proceedings, and internal investigations. In particular, Morvillo has extensive experience in representing individuals and entities in insider trading, corporate espionage and securities fraud investigations and prosecutions.
O’Callaghan is Nixon Peabody’s Government Investigations and White Collar Defense practice leader. He has represented several of the largest financial institutions in the world in various regulatory enforcement investigations and proceedings.
Clifford Chance is one of the world’s leading law firms, with 33 offices in 23 countries and over 3,200 legal attorneys.