Nicholas M. De Feis
Nicholas M. De Feis has over 20 years of experience as a trial lawyer and counselor specializing in white collar and corporate criminal defense, complex civil cases and investigations. He has represented corporations, senior executives, lawyers, accountants, officers of public companies, financial advisers and brokers, investment bankers, public officials and doctors in federal and state proceedings and investigations, including proceedings before United States Attorneys’ Offices, the Securities and Exchange Commission, the New York State Attorney General and regulatory agencies. He has examined compliance issues and spearheaded internal investigations. His cases have involved securities fraud, including insider trading, mail and wire fraud, tax offenses, antitrust, the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act, accounting fraud and public corruption.
After graduating from Yale College and the Yale Law School, Mr. De Feis served as a law clerk for the Honorable Leonard B. Sand in the Southern District of New York. After his clerkship, Mr. De Feis became an Assistant U.S. Attorney in the Eastern District of New York where he successfully tried and argued a number of major cases and received, among other honors, the Attorney General’s Commendation for Outstanding Service and a Special Achievement Award for Sustained Superior Performance.
Since founding De Feis O’Connell & Rose, Mr. De Feis has successfully handled both high profile and confidential assignments. Some notable representations include:
- Representation through acquittal at trial of a public official in a federal corruption case.
- Representation of numerous professionals, including attorneys, accountants and executives in the financial services industry through successful disposition or dismissal of federal securities investigations.
- Representation of several members of the legal department of a large publicly traded company through successful completion of federal investigations and related shareholder actions concerning accounting irregularities.
- Proceedings brought by the New York State Attorney General pursuant to the Martin Act.
- Investigations and litigation involving tax shelters, representing both investors and promoters.
- Proceedings involving the pursuit of foreign evidence through treaty requests and international criminal issues involving various countries, including Switzerland, the United Kingdom, Italy, the Netherlands and Brazil and the defense of U.S. nationals facing charges or investigations overseas.
- Negotiation of non-prosecution and cooperation agreements for construction, food distribution, publishing and service companies.
- Successful representation of large and smaller companies in complex litigation in federal and state courts.
For a more detailed list of notable matters, click here. Mr. De Feis has also published articles in the New York Law Journal and other publications on corporate compliance, internal investigations, asset forfeiture, criminal defense and sentencing, among other topics, and has appeared in the media and on panels to discuss corporate and criminal law. He has also chaired a program on Technology in the Courtroom.
Mr. De Feis has received a preeminent rating by his peers in Martindale-Hubbell, reflecting the highest level of legal ability and ethics and was also chosen by his peers as a “Super Lawyer” in the area of white collar crime, an accolade awarded to only a small percentage of lawyers who practice in the area. He is a Master of the New York American Inn of Court, a former Board Member of the New York Council of Defense Lawyers, a member of the Federal Bar Council and serves on the Judiciary Committee of the Association of the Bar of the City of New York.