Lessons Learned from Recent Major Trials, Including USA v. Scarfo

Barry Gross, partner in Drinker Biddle’s White Collar Criminal Defense & Corporate Investigations Practice, spoke on a panel titled, “Lessons Learned from Recent Major Trials,” at the ABA’s 29th Annual National Institute on White Collar Crime in New Orleans, LA.

Barry discussed critical issues raised during USA v. Scarfo—a high-profile, six-month federal trial—and Drinker Biddle’s strategies leading to the full acquittal of a well-respected New York corporate and securities lawyer on 19 counts, including RICO conspiracy and conspiracies to commit securities and wire fraud.

Featured in the conference's source materials, the article explores the unbalanced manner in which the doctrine of willful blindness is now applied in the various federal circuit courts in response to the Supreme Court's 2011 decision in Global-Tech Appliances, Inc. v. SEB S.A. The article also discusses how the application now favored in the majority of circuits uniquely prejudices white collar defendants.