Eric is a member of the firm’s Global Regulatory Enforcement Group. As a former federal prosecutor, his practice focuses on white collar criminal defense, securities enforcement matters, internal investigations and complex commercial litigation. He has been recognized for his representations by Chambers USA as a lead attorney in Illinois’s White Collar Crime and Government Investigations category, with clients citing him as “a remarkable individual” who was "very intelligent and was thoughtful in his analysis."
Eric is a highly accomplished trial lawyer who has defended numerous complex civil and white collar criminal matters for corporations and executives in courts throughout the United States. He has directed numerous internal investigations involving the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA), the False Claims Act (FCA), insider trading issues, Dodd-Frank Whistleblower provisions and healthcare fraud allegations. In addition, he has represented individuals and corporations in proceedings with the Department of Justice (DOJ), Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), Commodities Futures Trading Commission (CFTC), Food and Drug Administration (FDA), Departure of Agriculture (USDA) and other governmental agencies. Eric has also successfully defended corporations and individuals in proceedings involving the DOJ’s FCPA Unit and Antitrust Division – receiving multiple declinations of prosecution.
Eric has extensive private practice and government experience in the white collar area. He was a deputy chief in the Financial Crimes and Special Prosecutions Unit of the United States Attorney’s Office in Chicago for over nine years. Eric most recently served as the first assistant state’s attorney for Cook County for State’s Attorney Kim Foxx, where he supervised over 800 lawyers and investigators in the criminal, appellate and juvenile justice bureaus as well as the civil actions bureau. He has also served as the co-chair of the white collar litigation and internal investigations practice of another international law firm. In more two decades of practice, Eric has tried over 35 federal and state cases, briefed and argued multiple appeals before the U.S. Court of Appeals, handled arbitration proceedings before the International Court of Arbitration, and directed hundreds of complex investigations.
While serving as deputy chief of the Financial Crimes and Special Prosecutions Section for the U.S. Attorney’s Office, Eric successfully handled numerous high-profile white collar criminal cases, including:
- Conrad Black and other top executives of Hollinger International, relating to the embezzlement of millions of dollars from the corporation
- One of the largest electrical contracting companies in the country for willfully violating Occupational Safety and Health Administration regulations
- The largest food-storage warehouse company in the Midwest and its president for fraud and USDA food safety violations for storing tons of adulterated food products
- The former Chicago Police Department’s chief of detectives and other organized crime associates who were convicted of operating a multi-million dollar jewelry theft ring
