Edward J.M. Little is Senior Counsel in our White Collar and Regulatory Defense group and our Securities Litigation group.

Edward is an experienced senior trial lawyer who focuses on white-collar defense, internal investigations and complex civil litigation. He has represented major companies, banks, brokerage firms, senior executives, lawyers, accountants and doctors in investigations and court cases involving allegations of false financial reporting, fraud, excessive executive compensation, Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA) violations, pharmaceutical industry violations (off-label promotion, bribery, etc.), market squeezes, tax evasion and the like.

In his work as a defense lawyer, he has dealt with the Department of Justice (DOJ), U.S. Attorney’s Offices in numerous jurisdictions, the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), the Department of Commerce, the Department of Defense, the Antitrust Division of the DOJ, the Federal Reserve, Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA) and the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE), as well as the Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations of the U.S. Senate, and various state district attorneys. Edward also has extensive experience in civil litigation on a wide range of matters.

Among his most recent cases, Edward obtained the dismissal before trial of all charges, both criminal and SEC, against his client in the JPMorgan "London Whale" scandal. He also won the acquittal, after a three-month trial, of a Bovis Lend Lease official, in the negligent homicide case involving the deaths of two firefighters during the fire at the Deutsche Bank Building, which was irreparably damaged on 9/11 (the “Deutsche Bank fire case”). And Edward also secured the complete dismissal of all charges, after a total of six months on trial, against a senior executive of a utility company prosecuted for “excessive compensation” in a complex fraud case (the “Westar case”).

Edward served for 10 years as independent outside counsel retained by one of the largest global banks to manage its North American litigation.

He previously served as a federal prosecutor in the United States Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of New York from 1982 to 1990. He ultimately became deputy chief of the Criminal Division and senior trial counsel, trying, among other notable cases, the “Wedtech case,” involving bribery, extortion, mail fraud and tax charges against former U.S. Rep. Mario Biaggi, Bronx Borough President Stanley Simon and other public officials, and a related case against former U.S. Rep. Robert Garcia.

“Edward Little offers enviable experience handling significant internal investigations and criminal litigation for individuals and corporations. One impressed source describes him as "a consummate tactician,"while another considers him "a really strong litigator with very strong interpersonal skills."” Chambers USA

Previous Experience

Partner, Zuckerman Spaeder LLP, 1993 – 2002
- Senior partner who established and served as managing partner of the New York office of a midsize law firm specializing in complex litigation and white-collar representation with a principal office in Washington, DC, and other offices in Baltimore, Miami and Tampa
Assistant United States attorney, Southern District of New York, holding positions of deputy chief of the Criminal Division, senior litigation counsel and chief of the General Crimes Unit, 1982 – 1990
- Federal prosecutor with extensive experience in jury and bench trials and appellate arguments
- Served as lead prosecutor in the “Wedtech case,” involving bribery, extortion, mail fraud and tax charges against former US Rep. Mario Biaggi, Bronx Borough President Stanley Simon and others, and a related case against former US Rep. Robert Garcia
- Prosecuted the “Henry Liu case” against numerous defendants in a conspiracy directed by the Taiwanese intelligence agency to assassinate the author of a book critical of Chiang Kai-Chek
- Investigated the major narcotics case “French Connection Part II,” involving the importation of massive amounts of heroin from Turkey, Spain and the Netherlands, and related money laundering in Switzerland
- Directed numerous white-collar fraud, organized crime and narcotics investigations and prosecutions

Recognition

Ranked by Chambers USA (2009-2023) as one of the top litigation lawyers in the United States in the area of White-Collar Crime & Government Investigations
Recognized in The Legal 500 United States as one of the top securities lawyers
Ranked by Super Lawyers in White-Collar Defense, Securities Litigation and Business Litigation (2006 – 2018)
Ranked by Best Lawyers in America in White-Collar Defense (2007 – 2019)

Court Admissions

United States Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit
United States District Court for the Southern District of New York
United States District Court for the Eastern District of New York

Recent Cases

Obtained the dismissal before trial of all charges, both criminal and SEC, against his client in the JPMorgan "London Whale" scandal
Won the acquittal, after a three-month trial, of an executive of the Bovis Lend Lease company, of negligent homicide charges relating to the deaths of two firefighters in the fire at the Deutsche Bank Building under deconstruction after being irreparably damaged on 9/11
Secured the complete dismissal of all charges, after two three-month trials, against a senior executive of a utility company prosecuted for “excessive compensation” in a complex fraud case (the “Westar case”) and later obtained a $21 million settlement for the same client in an arbitration against his former company, which had instigated the client’s prosecution

Securities Fraud

Represented the head of Bear Stearns subprime hedge funds in a criminal investigation, SEC enforcement proceedings, derivative actions, civil lawsuits and arbitrations
Conducted an internal investigation of a major French corporation relating to whistleblower allegations of false financial reporting and represented the company in resulting FBI and SEC investigations
Represented the CEO of a major electronics distributor in connection with an SEC investigation of accounting fraud allegedly committed by a supplier
Defended a foreign bank and its employees in connection with a grand jury investigation and Federal Reserve inquiry into the failure to report losses in real estate derivatives trading
Represented senior bank officials in an investigation conducted by the SEC and Federal Reserve relating to false valuations of thinly traded securities held by a hedge fund client and represented the bank in subsequent civil litigation in Luxembourg and New York
Represented numerous executives and employees of Royal Ahold subsidiaries arising out of the investigation of US Foodservice by the United States attorney’s office and the SEC
Represented a senior executive of a telecommunications company in criminal and SEC investigations of Lucent relating to attempted fraud in reporting financial results
Represented a prominent Merrill Lynch analyst and auditors in connection with the Manhattan district attorney’s investigation of Tyco and the New York attorney general’s investigation of Wall Street analysts
Represented a global financial institution and various individual witnesses in connection with the joint DOJ and SEC investigation of the Enron scandal
Represented a metals trading business in post-Enron collapse litigation with Phelps Dodge concerning competing claims to copper shipments in transit
Conducted an internal investigation of a book distribution company following whistleblower allegations of allegedly fraudulent failures to account for promotional funds, and represented the company in a subsequent criminal investigation
Represented the offshore affiliate of one of the major accounting firms in a criminal investigation of allegedly fraudulent activities of a hedge fund in valuing its portfolio
Represented a prominent Wall Street economist and hedge fund adviser in criminal and civil Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act (RICO) proceedings alleging fraudulent management of the fund
Represented the principals of a fast food franchise in criminal prosecution for improper payments to brokers in connection with private placements
Represented an executive in the criminal investigation of a major bank for allegedly fraudulent financial reporting of escrow funds

Fraud

Secured the dismissal of an indictment against a major financier in India relating to allegations of political corruption and money laundering arising out of the 9/11 tragedy
Represented a fast food company in bankruptcy proceedings relating to the allegedly fraudulent transfer of assets
Defended the principal of a precious metals company tried for insurance fraud on Lloyds of London relating to the theft of gold inventory
Represented a consultant in the “Martin Frankel case” involving massive fraud on insurance companies
Conducted an internal investigation on behalf of an international paper brokerage business regarding the embezzlement of funds, and represented the company in international litigation brought by major supplier for related losses
Represented a bank executive in connection with a National Association of Securities Dealers (now FINRA) investigation of facilitation trades used to evade taxes for South American clients

Foreign Corrupt Practices Act

Conducted an investigation in Nigeria on behalf of an energy company into the award of an oil lease
Represented a Japanese trading company in connection with an investigation of possible FCPA violations in connection with the construction of a liquified natural gas plant in Nigeria

Pharmaceutical Practices

Conducted an internal investigation of marketing practices of a pharmaceutical company in the Middle East in response to a whistleblower complaint concerning possible FCPA and False Claims Act charges
Represented the general counsel and others in the criminal investigation of a foreign pharmaceutical company for alleged off-label drug promotion, bribery of prescribing doctors, etc.
Represented a major pharmaceutical company in class-action and individual civil claims arising out of the recall of a birth control drug

Represented a senior White House official in grand jury proceedings relating to the public identification of Valerie Plame as a CIA operative
Represented an international financial institution in a $150 million RICO fraud case relating to the alleged failure to detect embezzlement and money laundering by a Russian metals company

Government Sanctions

Represented a Syrian airline before the Department of Commerce in connection with aircraft frozen in violation of Syrian sanctions
Secured the end of an investigation of Iranian expatriates attempting to remove family assets in an alleged violation of Iranian sanctions
Represented a manufacturer prosecuted for violations of Libyan sanctions
Represented a global bank in multiple cases aimed at recovering funds previously frozen as a result of previous sanctions against former Yugoslavia

Antitrust

Represented traders for a major hedge fund in connection with an investigation by the Antitrust Division of the Department of Justice and SEC of alleged “squeeze” of the market in government securities
Represented individuals in an antitrust investigation of alleged price-fixing in the liquor industry in New York City
Represented a major dairy product importer in asserting antitrust claims against a New Zealand government cartel

Ethics Violations

Represented a Russian lawyer in civil litigation and related ethics proceedings regarding professional qualifications and allegations of fraudulent representations

Stolen Artworks

Conducted an investigation of the theft of major Picasso and Magritte paintings and secured their return
Conducted an investigation of art expropriated by the Nazis from the estate of a Prussian prince executed for dissident views

Arbitrations

After securing the dismissal of all criminal charges against the client in the Westar case (see above), obtained a $21 million settlement in an arbitration against his former employer, who had instigated the client’s prosecution
Won a multimillion-dollar judgment against the Quaker Oats Co. in an arbitration over claims for the breach of an acquisition agreement
Represented a securities broker dealer firm in an arbitration over fees earned in a joint venture co-managing initial public offerings
Represented securities firms as well as individuals in various compensation disputes before FINRA and the NYSE