Today Kramer Levin announced it is launching a Congressional Investigations practice led by Barry H. Berke, who last year returned to the firm following his historic second impeachment assignment as chief impeachment counsel to the U.S. House of Representatives in connection with the U.S. Senate impeachment trial of the former president of the United States. He previously served as special counsel to the House Judiciary Committee in connection with the first investigation and impeachment of the former president.

The practice group will include Laurie Rubenstein, who recently joined the firm as counsel in the Washington, DC, office. Previously, Ms. Rubenstein spent 16 years as a lawyer for the Senate’s Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee. During her eight-year tenure as the committee’s chief Democratic counsel, Ms. Rubenstein led the Democratic staff’s extensive investigative efforts. While in private practice, she has represented witnesses in the first House impeachment inquiry into the former president and in investigations conducted by the House and Senate Intelligence Committees.

The practice launch follows Kramer Levin’s expansion into Washington, DC, in March, when the firm combined with elite litigation boutique Robbins Russell. The move brought 24 Robbins Russell litigators to Kramer Levin and gave the firm a strong Washington, DC, office as well as one of the nation’s most lauded and experienced teams of trial and appellate lawyers.

Kramer Levin’s Congressional Investigations clients will benefit from Mr. Berke’s historically vast experience at the very highest level of investigations while receiving the combined support of the firm’s highly regarded Litigation practice, chaired by Mr. Berke, and its White Collar Defense and Government Investigations practice, co-chaired by Paul H. Schoeman and Dani R. James. The Congressional Investigations practice group will also include former federal prosecutors Michael Martinez and Darren LaVerne, former Department of Justice (DOJ) Civil Division trial attorney Gary A. Orseck, and partners Lee Turner Friedman, Barry J. Pollack and Jennifer S. Windom, who have extensive experience representing clients in investigations and enforcement actions before the DOJ, the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), the Public Company Accounting Oversight Board (PCAOB), and other government agencies and congressional committees.

Mr. Schoeman, who also serves as co-chair of the firm, said, “Congressional investigations present clients with unique problems and risks, and Barry’s experience combined with our deep team of litigators, which includes many former federal prosecutors, will enable the firm to provide the creative, high-level strategy that is required to address every aspect of these complex situations.”

Mr. Berke is routinely recognized as one of the leading trial lawyers and white collar criminal defense attorneys in the country. He represents individuals and corporations in sensitive and high-profile trials, investigations, complex litigation, and internal investigations. He took a leave of absence from the firm both times he served as impeachment counsel. He most recently returned to his position at Kramer Levin in February 2021.

“We look forward to expanding our representation of clients facing investigations in Congress as well as other levels of government,” Mr. Berke said. “We are seeing rapid changes in business and politics that inevitably will produce a rise in congressional and other government investigations, and Kramer Levin is perfectly situated to continue helping clients address all the legal, political and reputational issues these investigations present.”

About Kramer Levin Naftalis & Frankel LLP

Kramer Levin provides its clients proactive, creative and pragmatic solutions that address today’s most challenging legal issues. The firm is headquartered in New York with offices in Silicon Valley, Washington, DC, and Paris and fosters a strong culture of involvement in public and community service. For more information, visit www.kramerlevin.com.

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