Spears Manning & Martini, LLC

Chairman: Brian Spears, Esq.
Number of partners: 3
Number of lawyers: 6
Languages: English

FIRM OVERVIEW:
Spears Manning & Martini LLC, founded in 2013, is a full-service litigation boutique focusing on representing individuals and institutions in government investigations and criminal proceedings. The firm also handles a wide range of complex civil litigation, including securities-related enforcement proceedings, healthcare litigation, commercial disputes, and appeals. The firm routinely conducts internal investigations for businesses and organizations and serve as local counsel for out-of-state counsel. From its experience with government investigations, the firm also assists clients with compliance programs and regulatory enforcement matters.

MAIN AREAS OF PRACTICE:
All of the firm's partners actively participate in each area of the firm's practice, and can be reached as follows:

Brian E. Spears Southport, CT Office
Tel: 203-292-9776
Email: [email protected]

Joseph W. Martini Southport, CT Office
Tel: 475-888-9325
Email: [email protected]

Stephen V. Manning Hartford, CT Office
Tel: 860-275-0178
Email: [email protected]

White Collar Defense:
White Collar Defense is the primary practice area of the firm. The firm represents individual and corporate clients who become involved in government investigations or prosecutions. The firm routinely handles cases involving defense of criminal charges or regulatory enforcement proceedings, related trials and appeals, and compliance with subpoenas for testimony or documents. The firm's experience includes defending clients in prosecutions initiated by federal and state prosecutors and investigations conducted by various state and federal law enforcement agencies, including the Federal Bureau of Investigation, Securities and Exchange Commission, Commodities Futures Trading Commission, Environmental Protection Agency, Internal Revenue Service, United States Coast Guard, Defense Criminal Investigative Service, Connecticut Department of Banking, Connecticut Department of Energy and Environmental Protection, Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA), and U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.
Examples of recent cases include:
• Served as co-trial counsel with multinational law firm in defense of charges under the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act
• Served as trial counsel for physician charged with federal health care fraud
• Successfully defended client facing federal investigation regarding criminal tax and financial reporting laws
• Representation of individual in connection with investigation under the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act being conducted by the U.S. Department of Justice and the Securities and Exchange Commission
• Defense of criminal securities fraud charges in federal district court investigated by the FBI and prosecuted by the United States Attorney’s Office
• Criminal appeal before the Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit involving allegations of mortgage fraud
• Representation of individual in connection with an environmental and maritime investigation
• Representation of clients in connection with health care related investigations and cases
• Representation of shipping company in connection with negligent homicide investigation resulting from a collision. • Representation of defense contractor in connection with civil false claims investigation
• Investigation involving government contracts and the Defense Criminal Investigative Service
• Defense of criminal cases investigated by the Internal Revenue Service involving income taxes and structured transactions claims
• Representation of individual under investigation by the Connecticut Department of Banking
• Representation of individual charged with insider trading by the Securities and Exchange Commission

Complex Civil Litigation:
The firm’s practice also involves complex civil litigation in various federal and state courts. The firm has litigated a variety of commercial litigation matters and civil enforcement actions. In addition to providing diligent representation during all stages of litigation, the firm’s practice involves counselling clients on litigation avoidance strategies and compliance matters.
Examples of civil litigation that the firm has handled include:
• Successfully litigated and tried contempt and fraudulent transfer claims against overseas commercial real estate mogul
• Represented investment advisor in proceedings, including trial, involving allegations by the Securities and Exchange Commission of securities fraud and insufficient disclosure
• Successfully tried to a jury a dispute involving break-up of medical practice resulting in multi-million-dollar verdict in favor of the client
• Successfully tried civil securities fraud case in United States District Court, obtaining multi-million-dollar judgment
• Successfully defended multi-national satellite communications corporation in United States District Court, obtaining early dismissal of the case
• Represent clients in connection with probate litigation matters
• Civil Insider trading case brought by the SEC
• Representation of individual and corporate property owners in civil forfeiture action
• Commercial litigation involving construction contracts
• Defense of multinational corporations as lead and local counsel in the United States District Court, District of Connecticut
• Defense of fraud charges brought by the Commodities Futures Trading Commission
• Defense of proceedings initiated by the Connecticut Department of Energy and Environmental Protection
• Defense of securities fraud charges brought by the SEC. • Representation of corporations defending employment law disputes
• Representation of healthcare organization sued for alleged antitrust violations
• Commencement of civil claims on behalf of victims of criminal conduct
• Representation of health care providers in appeals in the Second Circuit Court of Appeals and in the Connecticut Supreme and Appellate Court
• Successfully defended corporation in commercial dispute by obtaining summary judgment against the plaintiff corporation based on terms of contractual agreement
• Defense of business owner in litigation pending on the complex litigation docket of the Connecticut Superior Court.

Internal Investigations:
In conducting investigations, The firm understands the importance of effective strategies for witness interviews, recovery of electronic evidence and careful and efficient email review. When the circumstances warrant, the firm's investigative work often includes report writing and presentations to management teams and boards of directors. Its work includes counselling clients on how best to proceed as findings are made during an investigation. The firm also prides itself on minimizing the often-distracting effects of investigations on an organization’s ordinary course of business. The attorneys at Spears, Manning & Martini have conducted investigations on a variety of subjects and for many different types of businesses and organizations.
Examples of these businesses and organizations include: The United Nations, Fortune 500 financial institutions, International maritime and shipping company, Pharmaceutical company, Healthcare organizations, Publicly traded defense contractors, International construction firms, General contractors, Private schools and universities, Non-Profit entities, Consulting firms, Manufacturers, and Utilities.

Regulatory Compliance:
From its experience in representing clients facing government investigations, the firm has developed a wealth of knowledge to help clients avoid investigations in the first place. The firm also advises clients on best practices and compliance so that clients are well-positioned in the event of an investigation or audit. For example, it offers advice on fraud detection, environmental compliance programs, healthcare compliance matters, whistle-blower policies, and compliance with the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act. Local Counsel Work Out-of-state firms frequently turn to Spears, Manning & Martini to assist them as local counsel with matters in Connecticut’s federal and state courts. The firm's deep understanding of Connecticut practice and procedure makes it uniquely suited for these assignments. The firm's lawyers, including three former federal prosecutors who served in the U.S. Attorney’s Office in Connecticut, have years of experience as litigators in Connecticut’s federal and state courts. Several of the firm's lawyers have also served as law clerks to Connecticut state and federal judges. The District Judges also regularly turn to the firm to handle challenging matters as Criminal Justice Act counsel.