Law Firm of WMH law

01/05/2016

Please note our website and emails addresses have changed to wmhlaw.com.

08/31/2015

Jim Walden of Walden Macht & Haran shares insights and experiences about the legal profession and careers in law.

08/31/2015

Walden Macht & Haran Attorneys Named In Super Lawyers 2015

Super Lawyers provides Firm Profile of Walden Macht & Haran LLP located in New York, New York (NY)

08/31/2015

Meet our Partners:

Catherine Sloane

Catherine’s practice includes income, estate, inheritance, gift and generation-skipping transfer tax planning, the structuring and preparation of personalized wills and trusts, family partnerships and limited liability companies. Catherine also assists our clients in implementing small business planning, including the formation of small businesses and professional associations.

Catherine works in a personal and customized way with each client. Many of her clients are individuals and families seeking to protect their assets, minimize tax burdens and care for their loved ones. Catherine is valued by such clients for her discretion and pragmatic solutions, particularly when dealing with complex estates and familial relationships.

Catherine manages all aspects of estate administration, including probate, marshaling and valuation of assets, accountings, settlement agreements, intestacy matters, and proceedings in Surrogate’s Courts.

Catherine previously served as an associate of Edward Wacks & Associates, and as in-house counsel for the New York City Health and Hospitals Corporation. She is a graduate of Washington University in St. Louis, MO with a B.A. in History. She is a graduate of Brooklyn Law School where she was a Dean’s Merit Scholar. While at Brooklyn Law School, Catherine received the Edward V. Sparer Public Interest Law Fellowship. Catherine Sloane was admitted to the New York State Bar in 1999, and is a member of the Trust and Estate Law Section of the New York State Bar Association. She was admitted to the Pennsylvania State Bar in 2015.

Education
Brooklyn Law School, J.D. (1999)
Washington University, B.A. (1993)

Bar Admissions
New York
Pennsylvania

08/31/2015

Meet our Partners:

Sean Haran

A trial lawyer and advisor, Sean represents individuals and companies that are under investigation by the government or that have been charged in criminal or regulatory proceedings. He also assists organizations in conducting internal investigations.

Sean has handled numerous domestic and cross-border investigations for publicly traded and privately held companies in response to whistleblower allegations and government inquiries. His cross-border cases have taken him to Europe, Asia, and Africa. Whether reporting to boards of directors, special committees or members of senior management, Sean has helped clients weigh the risks and rewards of self-reporting to the government and determine and implement appropriate remedial measures. When the government is already involved in a matter, he has helped position his clients for the most advantageous resolution. Sean’s recent investigative work for a prominent internet company resulted in a decision by the New York Attorney General’s Office to close the investigation without any admission of wrongdoing by the client or public mention of the investigation.

Sean has defended dozens of individuals in response to criminal and regulatory charges and in civil matters, including at trial in state and federal court and in SEC administrative proceedings. He has defended investment advisers, traders, senior corporate executives, lawyers and other business professionals in matters ranging from insider trading, market manipulation, pay-to-play, antitrust, commercial bribery, corruption, trade-secrets cases, index-rate manipulation, and conflicts-of-interest matters.

Before re-entering private practice in 2009, Sean served as an Assistant U.S. Attorney in the Eastern District of New York for eight years, where he helped lead the Office’s Business & Securities Fraud Section as its Deputy Chief. He successfully tried numerous cases and won various commendations, including the “True American Hero Award” for his work against violent gangs. He also served as an adjunct professor at Columbia Law School, where he taught federal criminal practice.

Education
Georgetown University Law Center, J.D. (1994)
University of Virginia, B.A. (1991)

Bar Admissions
New York

08/31/2015

Meet our Partners:

Jim Walden

A veteran litigator, Jim has served clients in high-profile and complex matters throughout his private-practice career, establishing an enviable record of success. In criminal, civil, and regulatory matters, Jim has consistently developed thoughtful, multi-tiered strategies to advance his clients’ goals.

Jim has led more than 20 complex internal investigations, including high-stakes international matters involving allegations of cartel activity or bribery. Jim’s cross-border internal investigations include work in Brazil, China, England, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, Mexico, Poland, South Africa, and South Korea. Jim has conducted investigations for global financial services firms, broker-dealers, retail banks, credit card companies, big box retailers, technology companies, one of the world’s largest car companies, and several industrial manufacturers. Time and again, based on his comprehensive fact-development work and advocacy, Jim has helped companies avoid or mitigate financial penalties and address compliance failures.

Jim has also represented many corporate executives and other individuals in federal, state, and local criminal matters. To date, every one of Jim’s clients has avoided jail, and many have avoided indictment altogether. Jim’s extensive client list has included CEOs, CFOs, COOs, and General Counsels, as well as celebrities, sports figures and other high-net-worth individuals. He has had equal success representing law enforcement officers, civil servants, brokers, traders, and managers. Whether a client is from Wall Street or Main Street, Jim has used his creativity and boundless enthusiasm to protect his clients against unfair and unfounded allegations.

Jim has also served as lead counsel in many important civil cases. Because of his tough litigation style and a track record of resolving even hotly contested and complex matters, Jim has been called upon in a wide range of matters, including shareholder derivative suits, civil-fraud cases, land-use and zoning matters, 1983 actions, contract disputes, whistleblower cases, employment litigation, historic preservation matters, disputes over joint-venture or indemnification agreements, and disagreements concerning investments. Jim also regularly represents clients in civil matters against governmental agencies.

08/31/2015

Meet our Partners:

Timothy Macht

An accomplished trial lawyer, Tim frequently represents major media and entertainment companies in high-stakes litigations. On the plaintiff’s side, Tim was part of the team that successfully litigated VOOM HD Networks’ billion dollar-plus breach of contract case against Echostar Satellite. Tim also brought Home Shopping Network’s hard-hitting civil racketeering case against three former executives. His vast experience covers corporate defense as well. Among his many matters for Cablevision, for example, he was a key member of the team that defended the company when its remote-storage DVR plan was challenged by movie and television studios. With his large body of work, Tim has firmly established himself as a litigator of choice for challenging cases in the media and entertainment area.

In addition to civil work, Tim has substantial experience representing corporate executives and other individuals in criminal matters. He has also developed a specialty in strategic legal counseling, in which he helps in-house counsel assess the legal and strategic implications of critical business decisions.
Before entering private practice in 2002, Tim served as an Assistant U.S. Attorney in the Eastern District of New York for seven years, where he successfully tried numerous cases and won various commendations, including the “Director’s Award for Superior Performance as an Assistant U.S. Attorney.” He also worked as a Special Assistant and Counsel in the U.S. Justice Department’s policy development office. He previously served as a law clerk for the Honorable Louis H. Pollak, U.S. District Judge, Eastern District of Pennsylvania (deceased).

Tim is a magna cm laude graduate of Harvard Law School; a summa cm laude graduate of Yale University, from which he simultaneously earned B.A. and M.A. degrees in Political Science; and an Oxford University Marshall Scholar.

04/16/2015

Meet Associate Devon Little.

Devon is a litigator who represents individuals and corporations in white-collar and commercial litigation matters in state and federal courts and regulatory proceeding. She has been involved in government investigations in a range of industries including public affairs, health care, and financial services.

Devon has worked on both large and small matters, such as counseling a major financial services company in connection with various FINRA investigations, representing individual sales representatives of a major pharmaceutical company in a federal investigation involving allegations of off-label promotion and anti-kickback violations, and being part of a trial team that defended an investment advisor against charges of securities fraud throughout the course of a four-week administrative proceeding.

As counsel to a state commission conducting a confidential investigation of a sitting judge for ethics violations, Devon drafted key portions of a 500 page report detailing the team’s findings and recommendations, including a comprehensive summary of the investigation and more than 100 case summaries describing various ethics violations.

Devon’s practice also draws upon her broader experience in civil litigation related to contract, franchise, and real estate disputes. She represented a franchisor against several simultaneous cases alleging violation of state wage payment laws, misclassification of franchisees as employees, and unfair and deceptive trade practices, and mediated a multi-million dollar real estate dispute involving allegations of fraud.

Devon is a cm laude graduate of Boston University School of Law, where she was an editor of the Law Review. She has previously co-authored articles which appeared in the New York Law Journal and BNA’s Health Care Fraud Report.

Education
Boston University School of Law, J.D. (2010)
Emory University, B.A. (2007)

Bar Admissions
New York
Massachusetts

04/16/2015

Meet Senior Associate Yeeta Yeger.

Yeeta is an experienced litigator and trial lawyer. Immediately before joining Walden Macht & Haran, Yeeta served for nearly three years as an Assistant District Attorney in the Brooklyn District Attorney’s Office, and has significant courtroom experience. Yeeta tried seven cases to jury verdict; presented evidence to the Grand Jury; interviewed and prepared hearing and trial testimony of numerous expert and lay witnesses; and regularly negotiated dispositions with defense counsel.

During her earlier litigation practice at Gibson, Dunn & Crutcher LLP, Yeeta managed numerous complex investigations involving sensitive allegations of LIBOR manipulation, multi-jurisdictional FCPA violations, and criminal antitrust activity. Yeeta gained valuable first-chair experience representing individual and corporate clients before the U.S. Department of Justice, the New York State Attorney General’s Office, and local district attorney’s offices. Her advocacy for one client convinced federal prosecutors of core weaknesses in their evidence, resulting in their decision to decline prosecution of Yeeta’s client.

Yeeta’s strong litigation skills have landed her significant responsibilities in complex civil cases as well. She has briefed dispositive motions, coordinated discovery and depositions, and overseen the preparation of expert reports. In one matter, Yeeta filed a novel federal forfeiture petition on behalf of a global payment services company, which resulted in the client recovering the majority of funds lost in a criminal Ponzi scheme. She also filed a federal complaint and coordinated strategic discovery in a lawsuit against a technology startup to recover a misappropriated multi-million dollar loan on behalf of a high-net-worth investor. Finally, Yeeta represented an asset management subsidiary of an international bank in ERISA litigation related to alleged breach of fiduciary duty.

Yeeta is a magna cm laude graduate of Fordham University School of Law, where she was elected to Order of the Coif, and a magna cm laude graduate of Touro College, with a B.A. in Political Science.

04/16/2015

Meet Senior Associate Adam P. Cohen.

Adam represents and advises clients on matters including government and internal investigations, corporate disputes, compliance, and good government litigation. In seven years with a large multinational firm, where he worked prior to joining Walden, Macht & Haran, he worked on matters for global corporations, private companies, religious and non-profit religious institutions, community groups, corporate executives, and other individuals.

Adam’s focus has been on white collar defense and investigations. He has helped lead investigations large and small, including for some of the world’s largest health care, auto parts, reinsurance, banking, and technology companies. In some matters, he was responsible for conducting simultaneous internal investigations in multiple countries, including in Germany, France, the U.K., Italy, Brazil, Mexico, South Africa, and South Korea. Thus, he has developed a deep experience in privacy laws in those jurisdictions and elsewhere. Because Adam has also led investigations for closely-held firms and small businesses, he works effectively, including by using the latest technologies to reduce overall attorney-review time in large document cases.

Adam is also a tough litigator, obtaining successful outcomes—including favorable settlements—on both the plaintiff and defense side for clients in various types of disputes, including antitrust, trade secrets, the false claims act, procurement law, and labor litigation. He has significant in court experience, including first chair experience in appellate courts.

Adam has also advised companies and organizations, including non-profits, on a host of compliance issues, including health care compliance, the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act, the Americans with Disabilities Act, the False Claims Act, and campaign finance laws. He conducts top-to-bottom reviews of his clients’ compliance departments, provides recommendations, drafts policies and procedures and best practices, and counsels clients on compliance matters prior to transactions.

Before joining Walden Macht & Haran LLP, Adam practiced law for over seven years in the award-winning litigation department of Gibson, Dunn & Crutcher LLP. He previously served as chief of staff for a member of Congress and as a senior member of a citywide mayoral campaign.

He earned his J.D. from the University of Pennsylvania Law School in 2007. He is a graduate of Yeshiva University, where he earned his B.A. in 2002 with a dual major in Psychology and Economics.

04/16/2015

Meet Senior Associate Brian Mogck.

Brian is a seasoned litigator, whose practice focuses on internal and government investigations, corporate disputes, and appeals.

Brian has first-chair experience representing clients before the U.S. Department of Justice and has prepared numerous individuals for informal interviews and formal testimony before federal regulatory agencies. He has played leadership roles on corporate investigations into alleged insider trading, misappropriation, obstruction of justice, labor racketeering, and workplace violations. A number of these matters were concluded without litigation or settlement.

In the context of civil litigation, Brian has defended clients facing class action lawsuits and other disputes related to contracts and corporate control. He has briefed appeals in the state and federal courts related to civil rights issues, contracts, and criminal procedure. In both civil and criminal matters, Brian has helped clients address issues related to attorney professional conduct, such as conflicts of interest, attorney-client privilege, and the Sixth Amendment right to counsel. His pro bono efforts have aimed at promoting “good government”—holding government decision-makers to standards of fairness, transparency, and legitimacy. Brian’s pro bono service regularly brings him to the United Nations, where he participates as a legal adviser focusing on the rule of law.

Before joining Walden Macht & Haran LLP, Brian practiced law for over seven years in the award-winning litigation department of Gibson, Dunn & Crutcher LLP. From 2010–2011, he served as a law clerk to The Honorable Edward R. Korman, Senior U.S. District Judge in the Eastern District of New York.

Brian earned a J.D. from Columbia Law School, where he was a Harlan Fiske Stone Scholar. He earned an M.A. and a Ph.D. in Philosophy from Emory University. Brian graduated magna cm laude, with honors in Philosophy, from Hamline University, where he was elected to Phi Beta Kappa. He is the author of Writing to Reason, a guide to philosophical writing, published by Blackwell (2008).