Katten Adds Litigation Partners, One A Noted Former Federal Prosecutor

(CHICAGO) Katten announced today that nationally recognized trial attorney Daniel Collins and his longtime colleague, attorney Levi Giovanetto, have joined the firm’s White Collar and Internal Investigations department as partners in Chicago.

Collins was national co-chair of the 250-member litigation practice at the law firm where he and Giovanetto worked closely before joining Katten. Both have many years of experience interacting with the Department of Justice (DOJ), the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) and other government agencies, with the goal of persuading authorities not to bring charges against large companies and others who seek these attorneys’ skill at accomplishing this.

“Dan’s reputation for guiding organizations and individuals out of harm’s way precedes him. His name on a case ensures that a client is in the hands of a zealous and skilled defense attorney,” Scott Resnik, chair of Katten’s White Collar and Internal Investigations department, said of Collins. He is a fellow of the American College of Trial Lawyers, known as the preeminent group of trial lawyers in North America. The distinction “Fellow” is bestowed on only the top 1 percent of trial lawyers in the United States and Canada.

“We also hold Levi in high regard and view his track record of defense work alongside Dan as speaking volumes about the caliber of lawyer Levi is,” Resnik added. “Most of the attorneys in our group come from government backgrounds, which gives them the credibility to effectively guide clients through every phase of a criminal case. Dan and Levi will add their valuable insights to the industry-leading client service Katten is known to provide.”

Collins counts among the highlights of his 10 years serving as an assistant US attorney for the Northern District of Illinois several significant prosecutions and trials, one of which is the international investigation of those responsible for planning the November 2008 terrorist attacks in Mumbai, India. Collins also was deputy chief of the financial crimes and special prosecution sections and acting chief of the general crimes section in that office.

Collins devotes much of his practice to assisting Fortune 100 corporations and smaller, privately held organizations with internal probes regarding a range of issues — securities and accounting fraud, health care fraud, the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA), pay-to-play regulations, antitrust, money laundering, and trade secret theft among them. Collins has also advised clients on self-disclosure matters and navigating issues presented by the DOJ Principles of Federal Prosecution of Business Organizations.

Similarly, Giovanetto represents Fortune 500 companies and others conducting internal investigations and facing government inquiries regarding a range of issues, including allegations of securities fraud in high-profile criminal enforcement matters. He helps clients draw up plans to probe their organizations in order to correct missteps before they develop into problems that attract the attention of government enforcement officials. And he guides clients preparing for federal enforcement trends that may impact their business.

Giovanetto maintains an active commercial litigation practice. More regularly, he tracks and analyzes enforcement and regulatory activity from the SEC, the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) and other government agencies, and ensures that his clients are apprised of developments that may affect them.