EXPERIENCE

Financial Services Industry

• Goldman Sachs
  • and its affiliates in a putative class action in which the client and almost a dozen other defendants are alleged to have manipulated the final auction price used to settle CDS contracts;
  • in a securities fraud case relating to large bond offerings in Southeast Asia;
  • as joint defense liaison counsel in a massive antitrust MDL of nearly 50 nationwide class actions related to the treasuries market;
  • in a putative antitrust class action in which the bank and several others are alleged to have conspired with certain trading platforms to stifle competition in the stock loan market; and
  • in a proposed antitrust class action in the Southern District of New York in which the City of Philadelphia alleges that a number of major banks conspired to artificially inflate the interest rates for a type of tax-free municipal bonds called Variable Rate Demand Obligations (VRDOs).
• A trading platform in the defense of multiple litigations, arbitrations and an EEOC proceeding alleging myriad unrelated claims, including discrimination, breaches of fiduciary duty, and contract-based claims.

White Collar, Regulatory Defense and Investigations

• One of the largest energy and natural resources companies in conducting a global anti-corruption risk assessment to identify any exposure to corruption-related risk, including exposure to liability under the FCPA, and in helping the client enhance compliance training and protocols;
• A global investment bank and its affiliates in regulatory investigations and follow-on class actions in which the client and other financial institutions and parties are alleged to have colluded to restrain competition in the multibillion-dollar global market for interest rate swaps;
• Rafael Ramirez, the former U.N. Ambassador to Venezuela, former Minister of Energy for Venezuela and former head of Petróleos de Venezuela, S.A. (PDVSA), in successfully vacating a $1.4 billion (USD) default judgment in the Southern District of Texas in a private civil litigation regarding alleged corruption at PDVSA;
• Kleiss & Co., a manufacturing company, in responding to administrative charges for alleged violations of Export Administration Regulations related to orders and shipments from its U.S. manufacturer;
• An international Fortune 500 company in connection with an investigation conducted by the SEC (and a parallel investigation by the DOJ) regarding alleged FCPA violations;
• Zoltek Companies in an investigation by the Office of Foreign Assets Control of violations of U.S. sanctions laws;
• A variety of middle-market companies in connection with potential acquisitions, including providing FCPA and trade/economic sanctions advice on potential deals, assisting in due diligence and the creation of new comprehensive compliance policies;
• An employee from an international bank in connection with an investigation conducted by the DOJ and other international regulatory agencies regarding practices surrounding the foreign exchange markets;
• An international bank in connection with an investigation conducted by the U.S. Attorney’s office regarding the bank’s alleged involvement in tax shelters and in various tax-related civil litigations;
• A special committee of the Board of Directors in connection with an investigation conducted by the U.S. Attorney’s Office;
• An education company in connection with an investigation by the N.Y. Attorney General’s office;
• A health company in connection with an investigation by the SEC regarding allegations of earnings management;
• A government agency in connection with the monitoring of several insurance brokerage companies in the wake of a multi-state investigation of alleged wrongdoing and the resulting settlement agreements; and
• The Special Litigation Committee of a global data management company in connection with its investigation into the company’s stock options practices.

Staci has also worked on several pro bono matters, including the representation of a death row inmate in his habeas proceedings, a New York dance studio in its attempt to reopen amidst COVID requirements, and an elderly woman in an Article 78 proceeding.

PUBLICATIONS & SPEAKING ENGAGEMENTS

• “Anti-Bribery / Anti-Corruption Compliance,” National Association of Women Lawyers (NAWL) webinar, February 24, 2020.
• “Trade Lessons From The ZTE Saga,” Law360, June 21, 2018.
• “Inside DOJ’s New Policy On Coordinated Enforcement,” Law360, May 11, 2018.
• “When a Civil Enforcement Action Turns Criminal,” New York Women’s Bar Association (NYWBA) Criminal Law and Federal Practice Committee, April 19, 2018.
• “Improve Compliance Programs to Avoid Government Investigations,” Today’s General Counsel, April/May 2017.