In Brief

Kramer Levin is a national leader in providing legal advice to accountants and auditors, as well as companies concerning accounting and auditing issues. Whether working on cutting-edge litigation, helping companies navigate their way through financial restatements, or conducting accounting-related investigations, Kramer Levin can marshal a deep, multi-disciplinary team of professionals from diverse practice areas to address our clients’ needs. Our litigators, white collar specialists and corporate teams have decades of experience handling accounting and auditing issues and are skilled at dealing with all aspects of today’s accounting and auditing challenges.

Litigation

Kramer Levin’s litigators have defended accountants and auditors, issuers of securities, and financial services firms in securities class actions and professional liability cases. These representations have included some of history’s biggest accounting cases, including Enron, Parmalat, WorldCom, Global Crossing, Tyco, Rite Aid, Cendant and ImClone, as well as the recent tax-shelter cases. Through this experience, we have gained the expertise to handle the full range of accounting-related cases, from discrete professional liability cases to the largest and most complex international securities cases.

White Collar

Kramer Levin’s White Collar lawyers have successfully represented individuals, accounting firms and companies before the Securities and Exchange Commission, the Department of Justice and U.S. Attorney’s Offices throughout the country in accounting-related matters. Kramer Levin has also been hired to conduct internal accounting-related investigations and to advice public company boards concerning how to handle accounting errors and irregularities. Because of this background, Kramer Levin is well suited to handle complex accounting cases in which there are parallel civil, criminal and regulatory proceedings.

Corporate

Kramer Levin has long provided a broad range of service focused on corporate governance and related matters. This practice has included dealing with accounting-related governance issues and has been especially relevant in light of Sarbanes-Oxley and related reforms. Our corporate governance and governance and related services are provided within the context of a diversified corporate group and include management of audit committees’ relationships with independent auditors; director and officer fiduciary duties regarding ongoing corporate governance and transactional matters, including change of control and interested party transactions; compliance with disclosure and related requirements under securities laws and related regulations; the development of corporate governance compliance programs and codes of ethics; special committee investigations of corporate wrongdoing; and responses to regulatory inquiries and investigations.

Representative Clients/Cases

Recent representations reflect the diversity of our cases and clients:

• Defense of an accounting association against class action and other claims arising from the bankruptcy of Parmalat, with alleged losses exceeding $10 billion. 
• Represent big four accounting firms, bulge bracket securities firms and major insurance companies and financial institutions in significant complex litigations. 
• Represent the largest equipment rental company in the nation, in an SEC inquiry relating to accounting practices at the company and are also defending the company in class action shareholder litigation brought following the announcement of the SEC inquiry. 
• Represent numerous individuals and corporations in all phases of complex civil, criminal, and regulatory matters, including those involving allegations of insider trading, market manipulation, accounting irregularities and other financial fraud. 
• Represent a member of several limited liability corporations in a suit against the managing member of the LLC’s; our client seeks an accounting and removal of the managing member. 
• Frequently conduct independent internal investigations of corporate conduct and have acted on behalf of audit committees and other special committees investigating accounting fraud and other alleged wrongdoing. Most recently, we have been involved in special investigations or independent committees relating to Cardinal Health, AIG, Pediatrix and WebMD. 
• Represent or represented senior officers and directors of issuers and outside professionals involved in proceedings commenced in the wake of alleged accounting or other irregularities involving, among others, Enron, WorldCom, Global Crossing, Tyco, Rite Aid, Cendant, Bristol-Myers Squibb, ImClone, Oxford Health Plans, Refco and Physician Computer Network. 
• Successfully defended dozens of law and accounting firms in securities class actions and other complex professional liability suits, as well as corporate directors and officers in class actions, shareholder derivative actions, and cases brought by bankruptcy trustees and creditors. 
• Counsel to audit and special committees of a number of major public companies in connection with regulatory issues. 
• Successfully represented the chairman and founder of Global Crossing, and represent other significant figures and entities in the government’s inquiries and related civil litigation concerning corporate accounting irregularities. 
• Conducted an internal investigation on behalf of the audit committee of a Fortune 500 company into the cause of the company’s shortfall in certain reserve accounts. We identified the reasons for and practices that led to the shortfalls and reported findings to the audit committee. 
• Defended an accounting firm against class action and other claims arising from the collapse of the Manhattan Fund, a hedge fund alleged to have lost more than $400 million. 
• Led internal investigation of accounting issues at American Bank Note Holographics, Inc.
• Represented an accountant and officer of a Fortune 20 company in an accounting fraud investigation by the SEC. Following the issuance of two Wells submissions, successfully persuaded the SEC to not file any charges against his client. 
• Conducted on behalf of the audit committee of a major medical services provider an internal investigation relating to stock option granting practices.