David M. Rosenfield, Counsel in the Litigation Department, concentrates his practice in white collar criminal defense, corporate internal investigations and securities and commodities regulation and litigation, representing both corporations and senior executives. David represents and defends clients before federal agencies including U.S. Attorneys' Offices, the SEC, and the Department of Health and Human Services; state agencies, such as the New York State Attorney General's Office and the New Jersey Division of Criminal Justice; and self-regulatory agencies, such as the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority.
In August 2011, David began serving his 3-year term as chairperson of the White Collar Crime Committee of the American Bar Association's Business Law Section. He regularly speaks at seminars and authors articles for publication on government investigations, corporate internal investigations, securities industry regulation and anti-money laundering compliance. David appears regularly on CNBC, PBS and Bloomberg Television to discuss white collar criminal matters such as the Madoff and Rajaratnam cases, and has been quoted on white collar issues in various national publications.
Prior to joining Herrick, David was Senior Counsel and Manager of Legal Process at The Bank of New York, where he provided legal counsel to the Anti-Money Laundering Committee and taught the laws and regulations section of the Advanced Anti-Money Laundering Seminar. He also conducted several internal investigations for the bank and coordinated its responses to inquiries from federal and state bank regulators. David also supervised the bank's 15-person Legal Process Department, which processed and responded to legal papers served on the bank.
Prior to that, David was a prosecutor in the Frauds Division of the U.S. Attorney's Office for the District of New Jersey in Newark. He prosecuted white collar criminal cases, including three complex securities fraud cases in which he supervised detailed, lengthy investigations and coordinated the activities of Assistant U.S. Attorneys, federal law enforcement agents and investigators from regulatory agencies.
One of the cases, which resulted in 14 guilty pleas and the conviction of two others following a jury trial, involved a "boiler-room" brokerage firm in which fraudulent sales practices were used to defraud customers out of more than $100 million. The other two cases involved the market manipulation of low-priced stocks, as a result of which investors lost tens of millions of dollars. The two manipulation cases involved lengthy jury trials and resulted in convictions. David received letters of commendation from the Attorney General of the United States and the Director of the FBI for his successful prosecution of U.S. v. Eric Wynn, et al. (D.N.J.), a market manipulation securities fraud case.
David was previously a Staff Attorney in the Division of Enforcement of the Securities and Exchange Commission in Washington, D.C. where he co-authored a paper entitled "An Overview of Market Manipulation: Legal and Practical Aspects."
Memberships & Associations
American Bar Association, Business Law Section, Chairman of the White Collar Crime Committee
Matters
Ongoing
Brokerage Firm - FINRA Examination
Representation of a brokerage firm in a Financial Industry Regulatory Authority examination of customer trades in foreign bonds and the firm's anti-money laundering procedures.
Ongoing
Medical Device Company Executive - Grand Jury and Regulatory Investigations
Representation of a medical device company's former Vice President of Sales in parallel federal grand jury and Health and Human Services Department investigations of alleged pay-offs to doctors.
Ongoing
Witness - SEC Action
Representation of a key witness in an SEC lawsuit charging kickbacks, failures to disclose and overvaluing of assets involving the owners of a registered investment adviser which claimed to have had over $130 million in assets under management.
2011
Futures Commission Merchant - Fraud Claims
Defended a Futures Commission Merchant against federal claims alleging that a former employee assisted employees of a bank to overvalue the bank's over-the-counter natural gas options book.
2011
Investment Adviser - Successful Conclusion to Internal Investigation
Conducted an internal investigation for a nationally recognized investment adviser to a series of hedge funds following a whistleblower's complaint concerning SEC compliance and operational issues. Upon submission of a report of our investigation, which determined that the whistleblower's allegations had no merit, the SEC never brought charges.
2011
Brokerage Firm President - SEC Action
Representation of the former president and owner of a brokerage firm in post-trial proceedings following an SEC lawsuit involving the alleged employment of a barred person.
2010
Manufacturing Company Executive - Grand Jury Investigation
Representation of a manufacturing company executive who was the target of a federal grand jury investigation into alleged violations of the Arms Export Control Act. Convinced the government not to charge the client.
2010
Insider Trading - SEC Action
Representation of a Canadian investor in an SEC insider trading lawsuit.
2010
Real Estate Company - Grand Jury Investigation
Representation of a prominent regional real estate development company in a federal grand jury investigation of political campaign contributions.
2010
Hedge Fund - SEC Investigation
Successful defense of a prominent hedge fund in connection with an SEC investigation of alleged misrepresentations and the alleged failure to disclose material facts to investors. We prepared a Wells Submission which resulted in decision by the SEC to drop the investigation.
2004-2009
Labor Union - Ethical Practices Counsel
Advised the Ethical Practices Counsel of a major international labor union concerning allegations of organized crime influence and corruption.
2009
General Counsel - Options Backdating Class Action
Representation of the former General Counsel of a major technology company in a class action against the company concerning stock options backdating.
2008
Hedge Fund Collapse - SEC Investigation
Representation of the chief operating officer of a major hedge fund in connection with an SEC investigation into the fund's collapse and liquidation.
2008
Insurance Company - Internal and Grand Jury Investigations
Conducted an internal investigation on behalf of the board of directors of a mid-sized insurance company concerning allegations that a company officer was bribed by a company vendor. Also represented the company in a related New Jersey state grand jury investigation.
2008
National Food Processing Co. - Criminal Anti-trust Investigation
Representation of a prominent national food processing company in a criminal price fixing investigation by the U.S. Department of Justice. Convinced the government not to charge the company.
2007
Commodities Broker - Civil Litigation
Representation of a leading futures and options broker in a civil litigation stemming from a $200 million fraud perpetrated by a hedge fund manager.
2007
Retail Brokerage - NYSE Investigation
Representation of a national retail brokerage firm in claims brought by the Enforcement Division of the New York Stock Exchange relating to proxy procedures used on an industry-wide basis. The case was resolved after discovery.
2007
Regional Food Products Company - Accounting Fraud
Representation of the CEO of a regional food products company in a federal grand jury investigation of accounting fraud at one of the company's customers.
2006
Retail Brokerage Branch Manager - NASD Charges
Successful defense of the branch manager of a national retail brokerage firm. Following a hearing, the hearing panel dismissed all of the NASD's charges, including allegations of supervisory failures. The dismissal was upheld on appeal by the NASD to the NASD's National Adjudicatory Council.
2006
Retail Brokerage - Federal Investigation
Representation of a national retail brokerage firm in a joint U.S. Attorney/SEC investigation of illegal "frontrunning" trading activity.
2006
Pharmaceutical Company - Insider Trading Investigation
Representation of the senior management of a pharmaceutical company in an SEC insider trading investigation of a PIPE offering.
2006
Corporate Executive - Internal Investigation
Representation of the division head of a corporation's food services division in an internal investigation of alleged embezzlement and diversion of corporate opportunities.
2005
Financial Services Company - Internal and Grand Jury Investigations
Conducted an internal investigation for a major international financial services corporation concerning allegations that company employees had provided false customer account information to another financial institution. We also represented the company in a related New York state grand jury investigation.
2005
Boards of Directors - Internal and SEC Investigations
Conducted an insider trading investigation on behalf of the boards of directors of two affiliated publicly owned computer software companies, and represented them in a related SEC investigation.
Case Studies
1999 - Present
Metropolitan National Bank - Formation and General Outside Counsel
What differentiates Herrick from most other firms that do banking work? We're bankers. In 1987, we organized and chartered a new federal savings bank, which we sold a decade later at a significant profit. Then we did it again. In 1999, Herrick identified a niche that was underserved by banks in New York --high net worth individuals looking to be active in the middle market...
News
A New Resource from the ABA White Collar Crime Committee
March 6, 2012 -- Corporate Counsel
This article notes that the White Collar Crime Committee of the ABA's Business Law Section, which Herrick attorney David Rosenfield chairs, has begun publishing a thrice-yearly newsletter that will cover the latest trends in how white collar crime affects businesses.
Media Mention
Former Prosecutor Rosenfield on Insider Trading Arrests
January 18, 2012 -- Public Broadcasting System's Nightly Business Report
In a live interview on the evening's lead story, David Rosenfield discusses the filing of criminal insider trading charges by the Department of Justice against a number of people who had managed now-defunct hedge funds, and the SEC's civil charges against the fund managers and two of the now-demised funds. David notes that the charges were brought a year after a number of FBI raids, and he opines that the Department of Justice and SEC are looking to bring additional insider trading cases.
Media Mention
Rajaratnam's Insider Trading Sentence
October 13, 2011 -- Public Broadcasting System's Nightly Business Report
David Rosenfield says the sentence of 11 years in prison that convicted insider trading defendant Raj Rajaratnam received is likely to deter other Wall Street traders who are contemplating violating securities laws. This segment notes that the sentence was a record for an insider trading case, but significantly less than what the prosecution had requested. To see David's segment, fast forward to the 5:23 mark.
Media Mention
Galleon's Rajaratnam convicted on all counts
May 11, 2011 -- CNBC
David Rosenfield tells a live network audience that the government scored a huge win in getting convictions on all 14 counts related to Raj Rajaratnam's trading activities. David says that based on the convictions, he envisions more insider trading cases, more use of wiretaps in financial investigations and an empowered and energized Department of Justice. He adds that traders should avoid talking to employees of companies -- making their trading decisions on information already in the public domain -- or, at the very least, to use extreme caution when having those discussions and acting on information gleaned. To see David's portions of this segment, go to the 0:35 and 6:45 marks.
Media Mention
Rajaratnam Goes to Trial
March 7, 2011 -- CNBC's Power Lunch
David Rosenfield tells a live network audience that Raj Rajaratnam, an insider trading defendant, faces an uphill fight, but could potentially be acquitted. His roadmap to possible acquittal is his defense team's attacking the credibility and motivations of the cooperators who will testify against him, and the team convincing the jury that wiretapped conversations are snippets taken out of context to bolster an overzealous prosecution's case.
Media Mention
SEC Fixed or Still Broken?
December 10, 2010 -- CNBC's Power Lunch
The SEC was extremely negligent in its handling of the Madoff scheme but has improved markedly since then, David Rosenfield tells a live network audience on the two-year anniversary of Madoff's arrest. David says more and better staff, specialization in the SEC's units, and a new chair and director of enforcement have made the SEC far more effective.
Media Mention
Chairman of the White Collar Crime Committee
August 2011 -- ABA's Business Law Section
David Rosenfield started his three-year term as Chairman of the White Collar Crime Committee of the American Bar Association's Business Law Section.
Accolade
SEC Inspector General's Madoff Report, Senate Banking Committee Holds Hearings
September 10, 2009 -- Bloomberg Television
David Rosenfield appears live to analyze the SEC Inspector General's report on the SEC's failed investigations of the Bernard Madoff fraud, as well as the Senate Banking Committee hearings that the report triggered.
Media Mention
Why Didn't the SEC Stop Madoff 17 Years Ago?
September 3, 2009 -- The Today Show
David Rosenfield appears live in a segment entitled "Why Didn't the SEC Stop Madoff 17 Years Ago?" to discuss the SEC Inspector General's report on the SEC's failure to adequately investigate the Madoff fraud.
Media Mention
SEC & the Madoff Investigation
September 2, 2009 -- CNBC
David Rosenfield appears live to discuss the SEC Inspector General's report on the SEC's failure to adequately investigate the Madoff fraud.
Media Mention
DiPascali Fallout
August 12, 2009 -- CNBC
In light of the guilty plea of Madoff associate Frank DiPascali, David Rosenfield says the scope of the fraud appears wide and deep. Prosecutors are hoping that DiPascali will help them unravel how the fraud was perpetrated and who was involved.
Media Mention
Madoff Gets 150 Years
June 29, 2009 -- CNBC Reports
David Rosenfield analyzes what factors a judge considers when pronouncing sentence in a white collar criminal matter, in this live segment about Madoff's sentence.
Media Mention
Madoff Hearing Underway
March 12, 2009 -- CNBC's Squawk On The Street
David Rosenfield gives a live overview of the criminal case against Madoff as his plea hearing begins.
Media Mention
Too Late for Madoff to be Sorry
March 12, 2009 -- CNBC's Squawk On The Street
David Rosenfield opines that Madoff's mea culpa before the federal judge handling his criminal case will not lessen his eventual sentence.
Media Mention
Madoff Admits to Ponzi Scheme
March 12, 2009 -- CNBC's Squawk Box
David Rosenfield weighs in on Madoff's likely lifetime incarceration and other aspects of the criminal case against him in a live segment from CNBC's set at the New York Stock Exchange.
Media Mention
Madoff Guilty Plea
March 12, 2009 -- CNBC's Squawk On The Street
As Madoff pleads guilty at the nearby federal courthouse, David Rosenfield gives live analysis of a number of facets of the criminal case against him.
Media Mention
Madoff Plea Deal
March 6, 2009 -- CNBC Reports
David Rosenfield tells CNBC viewers why a plea deal in the Madoff case is likely and what a plea would mean to all parties.
Media Mention
Prosecutor: Madoff gifts included diamond necklace
January 6, 2009 -- USA Today
David Rosenfield tells USA Today that bail in federal criminal cases is to prevent defendants from fleeing or causing harm to the community, and that, by those standards, Madoff seems to be a candidate for bail, notwithstanding the public outcry against it.
Media Mention
Congress Probes SEC
January 5, 2009 -- CNBC Reports
David Rosenfield live, alongside former SEC Chairman Harvey Pitt, analyzes the SEC's failure to uncover the Madoff scheme.
Media Mention
The Madoff Agenda
December 31, 2008 -- CNBC's Power Lunch
David Rosenfield, in a live appearance during the trading day, analyzes which of Madoff's victims will have access to relief from SIPC, Madoff's likely disclosures to federal authorities about his remaining assets, whether he likely acted alone, and whether an insanity defense might fly.
Media Mention
Madoff & His Hidden Money
December 30, 2008 -- CNBC Reports
David Rosenfield appears in a live, prime-time segment discussing Herrick, Feinstein's lawsuit against the SEC over its failure to adequately investigate the Madoff Ponzi scheme, what the litigation landscape may look like, and other Madoff-related topics.
Media Mention
DOJ Seeks Credit Crisis Roots, Increased Probes Likely
October 14, 2008 -- Compliance Week
David Rosenfield is quoted about possible charges arising from the FBI's criminal investigation into the meltdown of the financial sector. He speculates that Congress may initiate legislation that would be analogous to the Patriot Act or Sarbanes-Oxley.
Media Mention
Opening The Vaults; Is Bank Secrecy Over?
July 2, 2008 -- ABC.com
David Rosenfield is quoted regarding the possibility that tax evasion is merely the tip of the iceberg in the case involving secret foreign bank accounts held by US citizens.
Media Mention
Amnesty: If You Can't Be First, At Least Be Second
January 7, 2008 -- Ethisphere.com
David Rosenfield is quoted in an article on why some companies choose not to self-report violations to gain amnesty from criminal prosecution in antitrust cases.
Media Mention
Qwest Memo Indicates Chief Got Early Sign of Troubles
January 24, 2006 -- The New York Times
David Rosenfield is quoted in the article "Qwest Memo Indicates Chief Got Early Sign of Troubles."
Media Mention
Verdict Weakens Ignorance Defense
March 16, 2005 -- The Washington Post
David Rosenfield is quoted in the article "Verdict Weakens Ignorance Defense."
Media Mention
Events
Past Events:
Defending Public Corporations in High Stakes Criminal Trials
March 24, 2012 -- American Bar Association
David Rosenfield spoke on a panel at the ABA Business Law Section's 2012 Spring Meeting in Las Vegas concerning a federal criminal trial in which a public energy company was acquitted by a jury on charges of health and safety violations.
Obstruction of Justice
August 5, 2011 -- American Bar Association
David Rosenfield spoke on a panel at the ABA's Annual Meeting in Toronto on federal charges of obstruction of justice filed against an in-house attorney in connection with a document production.
Voluntary Disclosure
May 5, 2011 -- American Bar Association
David Rosenfield moderated a panel on Voluntary Disclosure by corporations at the ABA's "Third Annual National Institute on Internal Corporate Investigations and Forum for In-House Counsel" in New York City. David was also on the Planning Committee for the Institute.
Whistleblowers
April 14, 2011 -- American Bar Association
David Rosenfield spoke on a panel on the "whistleblower" provisions of the Dodd-Frank Act at the ABA Business Law Section's 2011 Spring Meeting in Boston.
Dealing with Government Interviews
February 16, 2011 -- New York State Society of CPAs
David Rosenfield spoke at a New York State Society of CPAs meeting on "How to Deal with Government Interviews or Questioning."
How False Statements Can Land You in Jail
October 6, 2010 -- Jamison Webinar
David Rosenfield and Steve Feldman spoke on a Jamison webinar for investment advisers entitled "How False Statements Can Land You in Jail."
A Case Study: The Good, the Bad and the Ugly
May 5, 2010 -- American Bar Association
David Rosenfield moderated a panel entitled "A Case Study: The Good, the Bad and the Ugly" at the ABA's "Second Annual National Institute on Internal Corporate Investigations and Forum for In-House Counsel" in Washington, D.C.
Criminal and Civil Issues Regarding the Bank Secrecy Act
September 22, 2009 -- New York State Society of CPAs
David Rosenfield spoke at a New York State Society of CPAs meeting on criminal issues related to the Bank Secrecy Act, and also discussed surprise government interviews.
Representing the Individual
May 8, 2009 -- American Bar Association
David Rosenfield spoke on a panel at the "First Annual National Institute on Internal Corporate Investigations and Forum for In-House Counsel" in Washington, D.C. on representing the individual in an internal investigation.
The Consequences of a Failure to Implement Anti-Money Laundering Controls
June 18, 2008 -- Financial Controls & Risk Forum 2008
David Rosenfield presented "The Consequences of a Failure to Implement Anti-Money Laundering Controls" at Gotham Media Ventures' "Financial Controls & Risk Forum 2008: Institutional Vulnerabilities and Due Diligence" in New York City.
Surprise Government Interviews - A Case Study
April 16, 2008 -- Association of Corporate Counsel
David Rosenfield presented at the Annual Compliance Seminar of the Greater New York Chapter of the Association of Corporate Counsel (ACC), New York City.
How to Deal with Surprise Government Interviews
February 5, 2008 -- Herrick, Feinstein LLP and KPMG
Herrick sponsored, with KPMG, a seminar on dealing with surprise government interviews before the ACC's Greater NY Chapter in New York City.
Publications
Lie and Face Jail Time, Says the Department of Justice
April 2012
Steven D. Feldman, David M. Rosenfield
White Collar Alert
False Statements to the Government Can Land You in Jail
September 2010
Steven D. Feldman, David M. Rosenfield
White Collar Alert
When Should a Company Voluntarily Disclose Wrongful Conduct to the Government? Factors to Consider, Part II
September 11, 2009
David M. Rosenfield, Laura Perlov
BNA White Collar Crime Report
David Rosenfield, with assistance from Laura Halbreich, authors this article on the potential costs and benefits a company weighs when deciding whether to disclose wrongful conduct to the government.
When Should a Company Voluntarily Disclose Wrongful Conduct to the Government? Factors to Consider, Part I
August 28, 2009
David M. Rosenfield, Laura Perlov
BNA White Collar Crime Report
David Rosenfield, with assistance from Laura Halbreich, authors this article on the potential costs and benefits a company weighs when deciding whether to disclose wrongful conduct to the government.
Dealing with the Surprise Government Interview
June 2009
David M. Rosenfield, Jim Moss
Micro-Cap Review
David Rosenfield co-authors an article entitled "Dealing with the Surprise Government Interview" which appears in Micro-Cap Review magazine. This article originally appeared in the October 2007 issue of the ALM Law Journal publication Product Liability Law & Strategy Newsletter, and was reprinted in the November 2007 E-Commerce Law & Strategy Newsletter.
The DOJ's Corporate Leniency Policy - Part II
January 30, 2009
David M. Rosenfield
Competition Law 360
David Rosenfield authors this article on the potential costs and benefits a company weighs when deciding whether to disclose anti-competitive behavior to the Justice Department's Anti-trust Division.
The DOJ's Corporate Leniency Policy-Part I
January 23, 2009
David M. Rosenfield
Competition Law 360
David Rosenfield authors this article on what a corporation should do when it discovers that its employees have engaged in improper or illegal anti-competitive conduct.
FBI Expands Its Corporate Fraud Investigations in Response to Recent Chaos in the Financial Markets
September 2008
Steven D. Feldman, David M. Rosenfield
Securities Law & White Collar Alert
Two Key Current Money Laundering Issues for Banks
April 2008
David M. Rosenfield
Financial Institutions Alert
Identity Theft Program Requirements Under the Fair and Accurate Credit Transactions Act
March 2008
David M. Rosenfield
Financial Institutions Alert