Evan is a New York-based partner in Reed Smith’s Regulatory & Investigations practice group. He primarily represents clients facing sensitive investigations and prosecutions by state and federal law enforcement and regulatory agencies. Over the last several years, Evan has represented clients in some of the most important white-collar criminal cases across the country. He is also a major thought-leader within this field, having written extensively on issues of interest to the white-collar bar and provided legal commentary for publications including The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, the New York Law Journal, and Law360.
As a former federal prosecutor, Evan possesses a unique insight into government investigations, which benefits clients seeking his representation in defense against the Department of Justice, various U.S. attorneys’ offices, the SEC, the New York state attorney general’s office, FINRA, and the Manhattan district attorney’s office, among others.
Evan has been repeatedly recognized for many years now by Chambers USA as a leading practitioner among New York-based white collar criminal defense lawyers (Band One and Band Two rankings). Chambers praises Evan as an “extremely talented and capable white collar lawyer” with a “flair for creative responses to difficult challenges” and who “is renowned for inventive solutions.”
Evan has successfully defended clients facing allegations of every type of white-collar offense, including securities and commodities fraud, public corruption, money laundering, wire and mail fraud, antitrust violations, and Foreign Corrupt Practice Act (FCPA) cases. He has tried 12 criminal cases to verdict in federal court and has briefed and argued numerous cases before the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit. He has also convinced prosecutors and regulators in countless matters to abandon investigations and decline to bring civil, criminal, or administrative charges against his clients.
Additionally, Evan has extensive experience in the area of asset forfeiture. Clients routinely turn to him in connection with matters involving seizure of bank accounts, petitions for remission, and filing third-party claims in ancillary proceedings. In 2015, he obtained an order from the Second Circuit vacating a $1.3 million criminal forfeiture judgment imposed against a former SAC Capital Advisors portfolio manager in connection with insider trading charges. In addition, he has successfully litigated a variety of civil forfeiture cases involving claims made by private parties and foreign governments seeking to recover valuable stolen artworks and antiquities, including the landmark decision in United States v. An Antique Platter of Gold, 184 F.3d 131 (2d Cir. 1999).
Evan previously served as chief of the Major Crimes Unit at the U.S. attorney’s office for the Southern District of New York where he supervised approximately 25 federal prosecutors investigating and prosecuting white-collar criminal cases including large-scale financial schemes, health care fraud, FCPA violations, and cybercrime. He also served on the Securities and Commodities Fraud Task Force, the Public Corruption Unit, and the Asset Forfeiture Unit during his tenure in the U.S. attorney’s office. In the Public Corruption Unit, he was responsible for the convictions of dozens of state, local, and federal officials, leading to systemic reforms in the Hunts Point Terminal Produce Market, the New York City Department of Buildings, and the New York State Department of Motor Vehicles. Prior to his tenure at the U.S. attorney’s office, Evan served as deputy special counsel to the U.S. Senate Committee on Foreign Relations where he conducted a high-profile bipartisan international investigation.
