Waymaker LLP

La Nacion, the leading newspaper in Argentina, reported this week that Brian Klein is representing Hayden Davis in connection with the $LIBRA memecoin, which?Argentina President Milei briefly endorsed. The publication noted Brian is?considered one of the top Fintech litigators and white-collar criminal defense attorneys in the United States. ? Brian provided a statement to LA NACION on behalf of Davis, who explained, “I only wanted and intended for the $LIBRA coin to be successful. Kelsier and I have not moved and will continue to safeguard the crypto we hold tied to $LIBRA. There are competing claims for that crypto, and we are working with lawyers from Argentina and the United States on a path forward.” #Crypto #memecoins #bitcoin #blockchain

Kraken, one of the world’s leading cryptocurrency exchanges, announced Monday that the SEC has agreed to dismiss all of its claims against Kraken, "with prejudice, with no admission of wrongdoing, no penalties paid and no changes to its business.” Waymaker’s Brian Klein, Scott Malzahn and Ashley Martabano have been representing the company along with co-counsel Cleary Gottlieb Steen & Hamilton LLP. The SEC’s case was commenced in 2023 under Chair Gary Gensler, as were similar cases against Coinbase and Binance. The SEC’s dismissal represents a major win for Kraken Digital Asset Exchange and the entire crypto industry. #crypto #cryptocurrency #blockchain #cryptoexchange

Partner?Brian Klein?talked to?Law360?about the upcoming Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA) trial of former Cognizant Technology Solution executives, despite years of delay and the Trump Administration’s retreat from FCPA enforcement. He told Law360, “Most complex federal criminal cases take a year or two to get to trial. So it’s not unusual that it would take a few years.??But six years is definitely an outlier.” Klein said that while President Trump signed an executive order February 10, 2025 pausing most FCPA cases, the FCPA is still intact and “it’s possible that the Department Of Justice will change its mind at some point and reprioritize the more traditional corporate FCPA investigations and cases.??And it’s more than possible that when a new administration come in, in four years, that they will reactivate that as a priority.” Full article in comments (subscription required) #FCPA #whitecollarcrime #litigation

Partners?Ryan G. Baker,?Brian Klein,?Scott Malzahn,?Jaime Marquart and?Donald R. Pepperman?have been named 2025 Southern California? Super Lawyers.? ?? Baker for Intellectual Property Litigation ?? Klein for Criminal Defense: White Collar ?? Malzahn for?General Litigation ?? Marquart for Business Litigation ?? Pepperman?for Antitrust Litigation

We are proud to spotlight our Super Lawyers 2025 Southern California Rising Stars ?? ?? ?? Congratulations to Jose Nu?o,?Sam Meehan?and?Emily Stierwalt.

Partners?Ryan G. Baker,?Brian Klein,?Scott Malzahn,?Jaime Marquart and?Donald R. Pepperman?have been named 2025 Southern California? Super Lawyers.? ?? Baker for Intellectual Property Litigation ?? Klein for Criminal Defense: White Collar ?? Malzahn for?General Litigation ?? Marquart for Business Litigation ?? Pepperman?for Antitrust Litigation

This week, a federal judge vacated?a Waymaker LLP client’s felony conviction after Keri Curtis Axel and Emily Stierwalt?brought a petition for?a?“writ of error coram nobis.” This is an unusual and extraordinary remedy that is rarely granted. ? Jerry Feldman?pled guilty to a single count of mail fraud in 2019.?Seven other defendants, including his former boss, were also convicted at trial, but those convictions were reversed by the Ninth Circuit because the court found the government’s theory of fraud to be invalid. ? To reverse?Feldman’s conviction,?Ms.?Axel urged the judge to?review?Mr. Feldman’s plea agreement again and?to?determine that the same?legal?problem applied to Jerry’s conviction. The Court issued a tentative denying the motion but ultimately granted it after Axel's oral argument. #whitecollar #litigation #federalcourt

Waymaker's Brian Klein talked to Law360 about the verdict in the four-month long federal criminal trial of notorious former Illinois House Speaker Michael Madigan. ? Klein said the mixed verdict - in which Madigan was found guilty of some bribery-related counts - may make it easier for an appellate court to uphold Madigan's conviction. "You often want to attack how the prosecutors presented things to the jury, but an appellate judge can say in effect, 'Well, obviously, they acquitted him on some things, so what happened wasn't unfairly prejudicial,'" Klein said. He said he suspected the defense will argue that the inconsistent verdict actually shows it wasn't proper for the jury to acquit him on some of the counts while convicting him of others. Given the length of the trial — which kicked off in October — there's a voluminous record to parse for errors or inconsistencies, Klein noted. "There's just more surface area for an appellate attack," he said. #whitecollar #litigation #federalcourt #appeals

Waymaker Partner Brian Klein spoke with?Bloomberg Law?about President Trump’s Executive Order directing the DOJ to pause Foreign Corrupt Practices Act cases. ? Klein told Bloomberg Law that: “Any defense lawyer worth his or her salt seeing the executive order would be considering how to approach DOJ leadership about how to get the case to go away, whether it’s an investigation or a charged case.”? ? Attorney General Pam Bondi?had earlier directed the DOJ?to prioritize bribery cases involving cartels and transnational criminal organizations and to “shift focus away” from all others.? ? #doj #sec #fcpa #corruption #compliance #whitecollar

This week Law360 reported on Waymaker LLP filing a cert petition with the Supreme Court in the high-profile Tornado Cash case on behalf of its client Roman Storm requesting that the Court undo an “unprecedented” order by SDNY Judge Failla requiring him to disclose his expert witness testimony before trial in violation of Rule 16.? Rule 16’s plain language only requires defendants, like Mr. Storm, to disclose expert witness testimony if they have?first?asked the prosecutors to disclose their experts’ witness testimony and they comply.?In this case, for important strategic reasons, Mr. Storm never requested expert disclosure from the prosecutors. The indictment charges Mr. Storm, based on his help in?developing?Tornado Cash (a decentralized?software?protocol), with operating an unlicensed money transmitting business that was used?by others?to violate sanctions and launder criminal proceeds, including approximately $1 billion by a North Korean cybercrime group. Mr. Storm has pleaded not guilty, explaining that he had no control over Tornado Cash or any of the cryptocurrency that went through it, and looks forward to his day in court. Mr. Storm is represented by Brian Klein, Keri Curtis Axel, Becky James,?Kevin Casey?and Viviana Andazola Marquez. #Cryto #Cryptocurrency #Defi #blockchain #litigation