About Scott A. Resnik

From government investigations through trials, Scott Resnik helps individuals and corporations manage every stage of the criminal justice system. He is deeply familiar with it, after more than 25 years of work as a federal prosecutor and defense attorney. The insights he has gained along the way have led to repeated success in resolving investigations, trials and appeals.

A seasoned trial advocate

Before joining Katten, Scott spent more than six years as an assistant US attorney in the District of New Jersey. There, he gained extensive trial experience prosecuting a series of high-profile white collar and public corruption cases. As a defense lawyer, he has continued to try cases regularly, including earning acquittals on multiple counts for a pharmaceutical executive following a seven-week trial. He has also won a number of precedent-setting appeals in federal criminal cases.

Scott helps individual executives and corporations across all industries — with particular experience in health care and financial services — through every step of a criminal or regulatory action. He assists them in resolving government investigations, and for those that are charged with a crime, he defends them throughout the criminal process.

He has handled dozens of investigations for hedge funds, broker-dealers and health care providers into allegations ranging from tax fraud to violations of the federal Medicare Anti-Kickback Statute. He also regularly represents clients in large insider trading investigations, touching on issues from stock price manipulation to violations of confidentiality agreements.

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"He has great judgment and is incredibly effective outside and inside of the courtroom." "He is very thoughtful, grounded and provides very pragmatic, sober guidance." "He is a brilliant tactician who keeps his eye on the end game."

Chambers USA 2022
(New York, Litigation: White-Collar Crime & Government Investigations) survey response

Practice Focus

  • White-collar criminal defense
  • Government investigations
  • Securities litigation
  • Regulatory enforcement actions
  • Internal investigations
  • Complex civil litigation

Representative Experience

  • Represent several pharmaceutical company officers in a large, multijurisdictional DOJ investigation involving FDA issues and anti-kickback statutes related to nationwide sales practices of opioid pain-killer products.
  • Represented president of a pharmaceutical company in a seven-week federal criminal jury trial in the US District Court for the Eastern District of New York. The case concerned the alleged importation of pharmaceuticals that were not approved by the FDA. We obtained acquittals on the most serious counts in the indictment.
  • Regularly represent high-profile clients in large, complex insider trading investigations involving an array of issues from stock price manipulation to violating confidentiality agreements, often in the US District Courts for the District of New Jersey and the Southern District of New York.
  • Represent numerous corporate officers in FCPA investigations. Draft FCPA compliance and training programs for multinational businesses.
  • Represent senior broker in investigation by the CFTC and DOJ as part of a global probe into bank traders and brokers. Concerns potential manipulation of a key interest-rate benchmark used in areas such as setting payout rates on pension funds, determining the cost of real estate loans, and valuing swap contracts settled between banks and institutional and wealthy investors.
  • Represent individual as defendant in one of the largest insider trading prosecutions conducted in the US District Court for the District of New Jersey. Obtained a dramatically below-guidelines sentence for the client.
  • Represent senior officer of a technology company in US Attorney’s Office and SEC investigations relating to stock option backdating activities.
  • Regularly represent clients facing investigations and charges of racketeering, health care fraud, customs violations, commodities and securities fraud, currency reporting violations, environmental crime, computer crime, and criminal antitrust violations. Work closely with clients to develop litigation strategies that minimize their exposure to fraud and criminal activity and use civil racketeering and fraud actions to recover treble and punitive damages.
  • Represent publicly traded national construction entity and its subsidiary in an integrity review conducted by the Inspector General’s Office of the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey.
  • Represent audit committee of publicly traded corporation in internal investigation into allegations of officer misconduct, bribery and kickbacks.
  • Represented founder and portfolio manager of a hedge fund who was charged with securities fraud for losing the fund's assets. The case resolved with the client receiving only probation.
  • Represented food additive company in a criminal investigation into customs violations. The investigation concluded with no charges.

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Education
  • Harvard Law School, JD, cum laude
  • Princeton University, AB, summa cum laude
Bar Admissions
  • New York
  • New Jersey
Court Admissions
  • US District Court, District of New Jersey
  • US District Court, Eastern District of New York
  • US District Court, Southern District of New York
  • US District Court, Northern District of New York
Recognitions
Recognized or listed in the following:
  • Benchmark Litigation
    Future Star, 2022
  • Chambers USA
    Leading Individual, 2017–2018
    Litigation: White-Collar Crime & Government Investigations, 2021–2023
  • Super Lawyers
    New York, 2012–2023
  • The Legal 500 United States
    Recommended Attorney, 2016–2022
Award Methodologies