Overview
Law360 has again named Reid Weingarten an MVP in White Collar. The Law360 MVP series profiles lawyers who “have distinguished themselves from their peers by securing hard-earned successes in high-stakes litigation, complex global matters and record-breaking deals” over the past year. The legal publication received more than 1,000 nominations for the 2017 class. Mr. Weingarten was also selected as a White Collar MVP in 2015.
In a profile published December 21, the editors note that Mr. Weingarten “has duked it out in courtrooms and finessed his way through conference rooms over the past year on behalf of clients ranging from a millionaire accused of bribery to an elderly Turkish cleric living in the Poconos." In particular, they highlight Mr. Weingarten’s federal jury trial win for suburban Philadelphia businessman Richard Ireland. On March 27, Mr. Weingarten, along with Steptoe partner Brian Heberlig, secured a rare Rule 29 judgment in favor of Mr. Ireland, acquitting him of 79 counts of honest services bribery and money laundering.
Mr. Weingarten tells Law360 that the ruling was a “very sweet victory.” He explains that the case “was also interesting intellectually because the subject matter of the bribery charges were almost entirely campaign contributions, and it’s a complex technical question having constitutional implications as to when campaign contributions can actually be a bribe.”
The Law360 profile also highlights Mr. Weingarten’s representation of Volkswagen in the criminal investigation by the Department of Justice (DOJ) arising from the diesel emissions controversy. On January 11, the DOJ announced a deal under which VW agreed to plead guilty and pay a criminal penalty of $2.8 billion, a significant reduction over the penalty the DOJ had been seeking.
The full profile of Mr. Weingarten can be read at Law360 (subscription required).
