Max Nicholas LLC

Max Nicholas LLC guides individuals and companies through the highest-pressure challenges they face. The firm defends individuals facing the threat of criminal prosecution or enforcement action, conducts sensitive investigations on behalf of companies, and handles complex commercial litigation in federal and state court. The firm is first and foremost a trial boutique, and always stands ready to defend its clients before a jury. When trial is necessary, the firm brings its full resources and experience to bear in the courtroom to protect its clients' interests. However, the firm is also committed to creative problem solving whenever possible in order to help its clients achieve favorable outcomes without undergoing the burden and expense of litigation.

The firm's founding member, Max Nicholas, is a former federal prosecutor with the United States Attorney's Office for the Southern District of New York, where he served in the Securities and Commodities Fraud Task Force and as the acting co-chief of the Office's Violent and Organized Crime unit. As a securities prosecutor, Max handled a number of the Office's most high-profile cases, including the prosecution of a sitting United States Congressman for insider trading and the investigation of the head of an international private equity firm for racketeering. He tried 13 cases to verdict as a prosecutor, ten as co-lead counsel and three as the supervising attorney for junior prosecutors trying their first cases.

At Max Nicholas LLC, Max and his team, including Sarah Stein, a former prosecutor with the Manhattan District Attorney's Office, represent a broad array of clients in courts across the country. Most of the firm's practice is in federal court and involves a criminal or enforcement component, such as an investigation by the Department of Justice or the United States Securities and Exchange Commission; however, the firm also conducts internal investigations on behalf of companies and defends individuals who are sued in complex commercial cases. Some of the firm's recent representations include:

• Defending an individual charged with insider trading in the Southern District of New York
• Defending an individual charged with wire fraud in the Southern District of New York
• Defending an individual charged with money laundering in the Southern District of New York
• Defending an individual charged with mortgage fraud in the District of New Jersey
• Defending an individual sued for securities fraud by the United States Securities and Exchange Commission
• Conducting an internal investigation on behalf of the audit committee of a public company relating to securities trading
• Defending an organization in a civil suit alleging employment discrimination in the Eastern District of New York
• Defending an individual an in a civil suit alleging fraud in New York County Supreme Court

Clients turn to Max Nicholas LLC in times of crisis, and the firm takes great pride in helping people and organizations navigate their most intractable problems.