Profile: Berke for Brubaker Defense

Litigation partner Barry H. Berke was recently profiled in New York Times DealBook for his successful defense of Craig Brubaker, a former Deutsche Bank banker who was one of five defendants facing charges in the tax shelter fraud prosecutions brought by the US Attorney in Manhattan. Mr. Brubaker was the only defendant acquitted of all charges. The article focused on Mr. Berke's "red hanky" role-play with one of the prosecution's key witnesses, Erwin Mayer, a former tax partner at Jenkens & Gilchrist who was also Mr. Brubaker's contact on the tax strategies. Mr. Berke used the strategy to prove that Mr. Brubaker was a victim the scheme, resulting in Mr. Mayer's giving the actual pitch he had given Mr. Brubaker about the fraudulent tax shelters, which Mr. Berke said proved that Mr. Mayer "...never shared with Brubaker his doubt that these didn't work." Mr. Berke went on to say that it was a "key moment," in that it showed that his client was "...led to believe that these transactions worked, just like the taxpayers the prosecution was calling as witnesses." The profile also noted some of Mr. Berke's other notable representations, including Bear Stearns, the owners of a 1933 Double Eagle gold coin, and professional boxers and promoters.