Christian R Everdell
Partner, New York
Christian R Everdell
Partner, New York
Christian R. Everdell is a member of Cohen & Gresser’s White Collar Defense & Regulation and Litigation & Arbitration groups and leads the U.S. Privacy & Data Security group. Chris represents companies and individuals in criminal prosecutions, internal investigations, regulatory enforcement proceedings, and complex civil litigation. He regularly defends clients in matters involving the Department of Justice (DOJ), the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA), the New York Attorney General’s Office, the Manhattan District Attorney’s Office, the Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC), and other government enforcement agencies. Chris has extensive experience in matters involving securities and commodities fraud, the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA), international money laundering and Bank Secrecy Act (BSA) violations, consumer fraud, and U.S. economic/OFAC sanctions and export regulations. Chris’s practice also focuses on regulatory issues concerning digital assets, blockchain technology, and privacy and cybersecurity.
Chris has represented clients in some of the most highly publicized trials in recent years, including serving as trial counsel for Sam Bankman-Fried, the founder and former CEO of the cryptocurrency exchange FTX, and Ghislaine Maxwell, the former associate of Jeffrey Epstein. Chris has also defended companies and individuals in numerous high-profile criminal, regulatory, and internal investigations.
Chris has been recognized by Chambers USA in its white collar crime and government investigations category since 2021, and has been described as having an “excellent knowledge of cybersecurity.” It has been further noted that Chris’s “insights and strategic vision, particularly when dealing with U.S. regulators, are outstanding” and that he is a “superb business litigation attorney.” He also has been recognized in The Legal 500‘s U.S. coverage for corporate investigations and white collar criminal defense. Super Lawyers has recognized Chris on its annual New York Metro Super Lawyers list for white collar criminal defense since 2019.
Prior to joining the firm, Chris served for nearly a decade as an Assistant U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of New York, where he was a member of the Complex Frauds and Cybercrime Unit and the Terrorism and International Narcotics Unit. While in the office, Chris tried a number of federal criminal cases and also briefed and argued numerous appeals before the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit. Chris and his colleagues in the Complex Frauds and Cybercrime Unit were awarded the 2016 Federal Trade Commission (FTC) Prosecuting Attorney’s Award for exceptional commitment to consumer protection. In 2014, the Federal Drug Agent Foundation awarded Chris and his team the True American Hero Award for their work in the investigation and apprehension of the former head of the Sinaloa drug cartel in Mexico (“Chapo Guzman”).
Chris was previously an associate at Debevoise & Plimpton, where he represented companies, audit committees, and executives in white collar criminal defense and regulatory matters and internal investigations involving allegations of improper accounting and revenue recognition, market manipulation, and channel stuffing. While at Debevoise, Chris conducted five felony trials while serving as a Special Assistant District Attorney in the Kings County District Attorney’s Office for a six-month pro bono term.
Prior to joining Debevoise, Chris served as a Law Clerk to the Honorable Raymond J. Dearie in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of New York.
Chris is a graduate of Harvard Law School and earned his undergraduate degree summa cum laude from Princeton University.
Christian R. Everdell is a member of Cohen & Gresser’s White Collar Defense & Regulation and Litigation & Arbitration groups and leads the U.S.…
Education
Harvard Law School (J.D., 2001); Princeton University (A.B., summa cum laude, 1996)
Bar Admissions
New York State; U.S. District Courts for the Southern and Eastern Districts of New York; U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit; U.S. Supreme Court
Activities and Affiliations
Member, Federal Bar Council (Federal Criminal Practice Committee)
Member, New York Council of Defense Lawyers
Member, Digital Currency & Ledger Defense Coalition
Super Lawyers once again named C&G co-founder Mark S. Cohen and partner Jonathan S. Abernethy to the Super Lawyers list of the Top 100 lawyers in the New York metropolitan area.
Super Lawyers and Rising Stars are annual lists of outstanding lawyers who have attained a high degree of peer recognition and professional achievement. Only 5 percent of the lawyers in each state are selected as Super Lawyers, and only 2.5 percent are selected as Rising Stars.
The C&G lawyers recognized on the New York Metro Super Lawyers list are:
- Jonathan S. Abernethy, Criminal Defense: White Collar
- Kwaku Andoh, Mergers & Acquisitions
- Luke Appling, Civil Litigation: Defense
- Elizabeth Bernhardt, Business Litigation
- Karen H. Bromberg, Intellectual Property
- Jason Brown, Criminal Defense: White Collar
- Joanna K. Chan, Securities Litigation
- Mark S. Cohen, Business Litigation
- Gale Dick, Business Litigation
- Christian R. Everdell, Criminal Defense: White Collar
- Robert J. Gavigan, Mergers & Acquisitions
- Lawrence T. Gresser, Business Litigation
- Oliver S. Haker, Business Litigation
- Johannes Jonas, Mergers & Acquisitions
- Nicholas J. Kaiser, Real Estate
- David F. Lisner, Business Litigation
- Ellen Paltiel, General Litigation
- Douglas J. Pepe, Business Litigation
- Matthew V. Povolny, Business Litigation
- Bonnie J. Roe, Securities & Corporate Finance
- Stephen M. Sinaiko, Business Litigation
- Mark Spatz, Civil Litigation: Defense
- Daniel H. Tabak, Business Litigation
- Scott D. Thomson, Business Litigation
- Alexandra Wald, Business Litigation
The C&G lawyers recognized on the New York Metro Rising Stars list are:
- Sharon L. Barbour, Criminal Defense: White Collar
- Randall W. Bryer, Business Litigation
- Shannon A. Daugherty, Business Litigation
- Drew S. Dean, General Litigation
- Christine M. Jordan, General Litigation
- William Kalema, Business Litigation
- Phoebe King, Business Litigation
- Sri Kuehnlenz, Civil Litigation: Defense
- Marvin J. Lowenthal, Criminal Defense: White Collar
- Barbara K. Luse, Criminal Defense: White Collar
- Alexandra Theobald, Business Litigation
- Myia Williams, Mergers & Acquisitions
- Benjamin Zhu, General Litigation
Mark Cohen is once again recognized as a Leading Partner in both Securities Litigation and Corporate Investigations & White-Collar Crime: Advice to Individuals.
The 2024 guide also recognizes Lawrence T. Gresser, Jonathan Abernethy, Jason Brown, S. Gale Dick, Christian Everdell, Jeffrey Lang, Alisa Lu, Melissa Maxman, Douglas Pepe, John Roberti, Daniel Tabak, and Ronald Wick as recommended lawyers.
This 17th edition of The Legal 500 United States guide, which identifies the “true superstars of the profession,” involved a detailed assessment of various factors, including work conducted by law firms over the past 12 months and historically; experience and depth of teams; and client feedback.
Founded in 2002, Cohen & Gresser’s New York office serves as the firm’s headquarters. Our New York attorneys are particularly strong in complex litigation, investigations, and transactions. The firm’s Washington, D.C. office handles a range of commercial litigation and regulatory enforcement actions, with a focus on domestic and foreign antitrust issues.
The firm’s White Collar Defense & Regulation practice is once again ranked in the guide, maintaining its position as one of the “Elite” firms in the Litigation: White-Collar Crime & Government Investigations category. Chambers recognized the firm’s “strong regulatory investigations and enforcement practice,” specifically highlighting its “expert financial services practice which offers particular strengths in FINRA and SEC proceedings.” Client feedback praises the team for its “strong expertise with the DOJ and with prosecutors.”
The Commercial Litigation practice is also ranked in the Litigation: General Commercial: Highly Regarded category, receiving high praise from clients for having a “strong understanding of the client’s needs” and for being “smart, creative and willing to try difficult strategies and aggressive approaches.”
The firm’s Antitrust & Competition practice is ranked in the Antitrust category, with Chambers noting that “Cohen & Gresser houses a strong practice across a range of antitrust disputes [including] sophisticated litigation.” Client feedback praises the team for being “creative and responsive” and having “strong knowledge of antitrust class actions.”
Partners throughout Cohen & Gresser’s US practices also earned individual rankings in the following categories:
Antitrust: Litigation Specialists (DC)
Litigation: General Commercial (NY)
Litigation: Securities (NY)
Litigation: White-Collar Crime & Government Investigations (NY)
Chambers is the world’s leading legal data and analytics provider, highlighting the top lawyers and law firms across the USA based on in-depth research that includes reference feedback, client satisfaction, reputation in the market, peer knowledge, and other discreet independent market sources.
Super Lawyers named C&G cofounder Mark S. Cohen one of the Top 10 lawyers in the New York metropolitan area. Partners Jonathan S. Abernethy and Karen H. Bromberg have also been named to the Super Lawyers list of the Top 100 lawyers in the New York metropolitan area. Additionally, Karen has been recognized as one of the Top 50 women lawyers within the same region.
Super Lawyers and Rising Stars are annual lists of outstanding lawyers who have attained a high degree of peer recognition and professional achievement. Only 5 percent of the lawyers in each state are selected as Super Lawyers, and only 2.5 percent are selected as Rising Stars.
The C&G lawyers recognized on the New York Metro Super Lawyers list are:
- Jonathan S. Abernethy, Criminal Defense: White Collar
- Kwaku Andoh, Mergers & Acquisitions
- Luke Appling, Civil Litigation: Defense
- Elizabeth Bernhardt, Business Litigation
- Colin C. Bridge, Criminal Defense: White Collar
- Karen H. Bromberg, Intellectual Property
- Jason Brown, Criminal Defense: White Collar
- Joanna K. Chan, Securities Litigation
- Mark S. Cohen, Business Litigation
- S. Gale Dick, Business Litigation
- Christian R. Everdell, Criminal Defense: White Collar
- Robert J. Gavigan, Mergers & Acquisitions
- Lawrence T. Gresser, Business Litigation
- Oliver S. Haker, Business Litigation
- Johannes Jonas, Mergers & Acquisitions
- Nicholas J. Kaiser, Real Estate
- Jeffrey I. Lang, Civil Litigation: Defense
- David F. Lisner, Business Litigation
- Ellen Paltiel, General Litigation
- Douglas J. Pepe, Business Litigation
- Matthew V. Povolny, Business Litigation
- Nathaniel P. T. Read, Business Litigation
- Bonnie J. Roe, Securities & Corporate Finance
- Stephen M. Sinaiko, Business Litigation
- Mark Spatz, Civil Litigation: Defense
- C. Evan Stewart, Securities Litigation
- Daniel H. Tabak, Business Litigation
- Scott D. Thomson, Business Litigation
- Alexandra Wald, Business Litigation
The C&G lawyers recognized on the New York Metro Rising Stars list are:
- Sharon L. Barbour, Criminal Defense: White Collar
- Randall W. Bryer, Business Litigation
- Shannon A. Daugherty, Business Litigation
- Drew S. Dean, General Litigation
- Jesse Greenwald, Criminal Defense: White Collar
- Christine M. Jordan, General Litigation
- William Kalema, Business Litigation
- Sri Kuehnlenz, Civil Litigation: Defense
- Marvin J. Lowenthal, Criminal Defense: White Collar
- Barbara K. Luse, Criminal Defense: White Collar
- Benjamin Zhu, General Litigation
C&G’s Commercial Litigation practice is once again ranked in Litigation: General Commercial: Highly Regarded. The practice is recognized for being “regularly sought after by individuals and corporates for representation in securities class actions and derivative matters, as well as various shareholder and product litigation.” Clients note that the team is comprised of “litigators that you don’t want to mess with” and is one that “you can rely on.”
C&G’s White Collar Defense & Regulation practice is ranked in Chambers USA for the ninth consecutive year. The practice maintains its position as one of the “Elite” firms in Litigation: White-Collar Crime & Government Investigations. Chambers highlights the practice’s “talented pool of litigators with a wealth of government experience” and its “international presence” as key reasons for its continued ranking. Commentary from the guide notes that the practice is “a substantial player in the New York white-collar world” that has “burst onto the scene with strong former prosecutors” and “good results for their clients.”
Ranked Departments:
- Litigation: General Commercial: Highly Regarded
- Litigation: White-Collar Crime & Government Investigations: The Elite
District of Columbia
Antitrust: Litigation Specialists
New York
Litigation: General Commercial
Litigation: Securities Litigation: White-Collar Crime & Government Investigations
Super Lawyers ranks outstanding lawyers who have attained a high degree of peer recognition and professional achievement. Only five percent of the lawyers in each state are selected as Super Lawyers, and only 2.5 percent are selected as Rising Stars.
Super Lawyers
Jonathan S Abernethy: Criminal Defense: White Collar
Kwaku Andoh: Mergers & Acquisitions
Elizabeth Bernhardt: Business Litigation
Thomas E Bezanson: Personal Injury – Products: Defense
Colin C Bridge: Criminal Defense: White Collar
Karen H Bromberg: Intellectual Property
Jason Brown: Criminal Defense: White Collar
Joanna K Chan: Securities Litigation
Mark S Cohen: Business Litigation
S Gale Dick: Business Litigation
Christian R Everdell: Criminal Defense: White Collar
Lawrence T Gresser: Business Litigation
Oliver S Haker: Business Litigation
Johannes Jonas: Mergers & Acquisitions
Nicholas J Kaiser: Real Estate
Jeffrey I. Lang: Business Litigation
Melissa H Maxman: Antitrust Litigation
Ellen Paltiel: General Litigation
Nathaniel P T Read: Business Litigation
Bonnie J Roe: Securities & Corporate Finance
Stephen M Sinaiko: Business Litigation
C Evan Stewart: Securities Litigation
Daniel H Tabak: Business Litigation
Scott D Thomson: Business Litigation
Alexandra Wald: Business Litigation
Ronald F Wick: Antitrust Litigation
Rising Stars
Luke Appling: Civil Litigation
Sharon L Barbour: Criminal Defense: White Collar
Drew S Dean: General Litigation
William Kalema: Business Litigation
Sri Kuehnlenz: Civil Litigation
Winnifred A Lewis: Securities Litigation
Marvin J Lowenthal: Criminal Defense: White Collar
Barbara K Luse: Criminal Defense: White Collar
Matthew V Povolny: Business Litigation
Benjamin Zhu: Criminal Defense: White Collar
- Litigation: General Commercial: Highly Regarded
- White-Collar Crime & Government Investigations: The Elite
Christian R Everdell has been promoted to partner, and Joanna K Chan, Erica Lai, and David F Lisner have been promoted to counsel.
"Congratulations and thanks to each of these exceptional attorneys for their commitment to excellence, integrity, and superb client service. We are very fortunate to have them," said Managing Partner, Lawrence T Gresser.
Cohen & Gresser announces the expansion of the firm's White Collar Defense & Regulation, Privacy & Data Security, and Litigation & Arbitration practice groups with the addition of Christian R Everdell to our New York office.
- The Revised Policies will place increased pressure on companies and could result in substantial shifts in how companies need to investigate potential employee misconduct.
- Failure to disclose misconduct early in an investigation could result in companies facing the possibility of a guilty plea or indictment, rather than a deferred or non-prosecution agreement.
- To receive full cooperation credit, companies will need to assess several new strategic considerations, including the timing of disclosing hot documents and whether to claw back compensation from employees who engaged in misconduct.
- The SEC action directly raises the question whether the tokens at issue qualify as unregistered securities, with significant implications for whether the platforms that facilitate trading in those tokens are potentially exposed to legal liability as unregistered securities exchanges.
- While Coinbase is not named in the SEC's complaint as an unregistered securities exchange, the nine tokens mentioned in the complaint were all traded on Coinbase, leaving it unclear what, if any, consequences will result from the SEC’s enforcement action for Coinbase.
- These are also the first cases to allege “tippee” liability for insider trading in the crypto sphere -- a "tippee" being a person who receives and trades on information obtained by someone else (the "tipper") in violation of the tipper's duty to a third party.
- In the past few months, the DOJ has announced new task forces and more resources to combat fraud in connection with COVID-19 relief, criminal activity related to cryptocurrency, and sanctions violations by Russian entities and individuals linked to the Putin regime.
- These initiatives signal an uptick in criminal enforcement in the coming months, especially in the areas involving fraud, digital assets, sanctions, and money laundering.
- The announcement further suggests that NCET’s initial mandate will broaden the enforcement focus from criminal actors themselves to those who enable and facilitate illicit activities involving cryptocurrency.
- Cryptocurrency exchanges should take appropriate steps to work with counsel to avoid becoming the subject of a DOJ investigation or prosecution.
- The increased scrutiny will also likely extend to all cryptocurrency-focused businesses, NFT platforms, companies that accept cryptocurrency as payment, and even those that merely do business with third parties dealing in cryptocurrency.
- Given the heightened scrutiny from the DOJ and a constantly evolving regulatory landscape, all companies in the industry should evaluate compliance programs and practices to mitigate risk and exposure.
In this C&G client alert, Christian Everdell and Barbara Luse discuss a recent congressional report released by the Senate’s Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations that exposes how Russian oligarchs looking to evade U.S. sanctions are able to exploit loopholes in the art industry and calls for more regulation in a notoriously opaque industry which, according to the report’s findings, undermines one of the most fundamental tools that U.S. administrations use to pressure foreign governments against “bad behavior.”
Jonathan S Abernethy, S Gale Dick, and Christian R Everdell authored an article examining the Department of Justice's (DOJ) new policy discouraging DOJ attorneys from "piling on" multiple penalties against companies for the same misconduct.
This article first appeared on the website of the Criminal Law Committee of the Legal Practice Division of the International Bar Association, and is reproduced by kind permission of the International Bar Association, London, UK. © International Bar Association.
Christian R Everdell analyzes the potential implications of the regulation of cryptocurrency as a result of Ryan Coffey v. Ripple Labs, Inc. in his latest article for Law360.
Christian R Everdell continues his examination of SEC enforcement actions regarding initial coin offerings in an article published by the New York Law Journal, this time analyzing the SEC’s response to RECoin, PlexCoin, and Munchee.
Even start-ups are being disrupted! In this article, C&G counsel Christian Everdell examines the SEC’s role in regulating Initial Coin Offerings.
Recently, legitimate businesses have begun to recognize the potential value of distributed ledger technology as a stand-alone technological innovation with numerous benefits, including, among other things, preventing money laundering. In this article, Christian R Everdell examines some of the potential applications of Blockchain technology to prevent crime.
This annual fundraising event features a mock U.S. Supreme Court argument, followed by an awards ceremony at which the Milton S. Gould Award for Outstanding Advocacy is presented to two of the most highly regarded advocates in the nation and the OAD Counsel for Justice Award is presented each year to a prominent in-house counsel who exemplifies OAD’s commitment to justice.