White Collar Defense

Government investigations have become a fact of life even for the most reputable companies, but few realize that these investigations operate under a very different set of rules. Too often, business owners underestimate the significance of an investigator’s "routine" visit. Criminal investigations are nothing like the civil litigation our business clients already know. Investigations are not contests of equals. Agencies are well-funded, aggressive, and less deterred by the costs of a case than are companies answerable to shareholders. Informed CEOs have learned the importance of proactive compliance efforts, and they aggressively investigate internal reports of wrongdoing should those efforts break down. Ice Miller attorneys draw from experience on both sides of these controversies. We can guide clients through the hazards of the investigative process.

Led by former U.S. Department of Justice officials, Brad Williams and Jack Thar, Ice Miller attorneys represent clients in white collar criminal investigations, as well as in trial, grand jury, regulatory, and administrative proceedings. Before joining Ice Miller, Brad and Jack served a combined 20 years as supervisory Assistant United States Attorneys for the Southern District of Indiana. Both were tapped at different times by the Attorney General of the United States to serve as interim United States Attorneys. They know and work with the prosecution authorities at the federal, state, and local level, and prosecution authorities know them.

Ice Miller’s White Collar Defense team has first-chair experience in dozens of investigations, trials and appeals. We frequently advise clients in areas such as:

• civil and criminal tax audits and prosecutions,
• health care fraud and abuse matters,
• qui tam investigations and civil lawsuits under federal and state False Claims Acts,
• environmental crimes and enforcement proceedings,
• grand jury proceedings,
• SEC criminal investigations and civil enforcement proceedings,
• criminal antitrust investigations, and
• investigations involving the pharmaceutical industry.

We understand just how important the outcome of a criminal investigation can be to management, employees, shareholders, and the public, and thus we are committed to providing our clients with the most skillful, discrete, cost-effective legal representation available.