Frederick P. Hafetz

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Frederick P. Hafetz has repeatedly been recognized by his peers as one of New York City's top criminal defense attorneys. In 2007 and 2008 "NY Super Lawyers" named him as one out of hundred best lawyers in Manhattan. For the past ten years he has been listed in Best Lawyers of America. In 1992 he received the outstanding practitioner award from the Criminal Justice section of the New York State Bar Association. In 2003 he was chosen by fellow white collar defense attorneys in New York to receive the prestigious New York Council of Defense Lawyers' award as New York City's outstanding defense lawyer of the year. In 2010 he was the recipient of the New York Criminal Bar Association Award for Excellence. He is a fellow of the American College of Trial Lawyers, one of the highest honors possible for a trial attorney. The New York State Bar Association Criminal Justice Section named him Outstanding Practitioner of the Year in 1993. In 1987, he was featured in the magazine, 7 Days, New York in the cover article, entitled, "Courtroom Killers: The Lawyers Other Lawyers Most Admire, Fear, and Talk About."

Mr. Hafetz graduated from Princeton University and the University of Pennsylvania Law School. He started his career as a government prosecutor. He served as Chief of the Criminal Division of the United States Attorney's Office of the Southern District of New York from 1977 to 1979. Prior to that he served two years as a Special Attorney of the Organized Crime Strike Force, Department of Justice, was Special Counsel of the United States House of Representatives, Select Committee on Crime, and was an Assistant District Attorney in New York County for five years.

Mr. Hafetz specializes in white collar criminal practice, representing individuals and corporations who are under investigation for, or charged with criminal activity involving a wide variety of industries and areas. He has represented lawyers and prominent law firms which were under investigation for alleged criminal or unethical conduct. His financial and securities experience includes the successful representation of the CEO of a major accounting firm in an investigation into the firm's accounting practices, investment bankers involved in the Enron investigation, the former CEO of an investment banking firm in the investigation of research analysts, executives of pharmaceutical corporations investigated for accounting fraud, and clients in numerous other complex securities and financial investigations.

Mr. Hafetz has tried dozens of complex criminal cases as a defense attorney. Some of his more prominent trials include the recent dismissal of all charges based on post-trial motions in the case of a New York Stock Exchange Specialist who was charged with securities fraud. He successfully defended Bess Meyerson, the former Miss America who was charged with bribing a judge. Mr. Hafetz also represented, at trial in Puerto Rico, a prominent businessman charged with giving illegal contributions to a United States Senator and obtained acquittal. Mr. Hafetz also obtained an acquittal at trial of a union leader charged with causing a strike in order to extort money. And, along with his partner, Susan Necheles, he obtained an acquittal after a three month trial for a New York State Senator charged with health care fraud and obtaining illegal campaign contributions.

Mr. Hafetz also counsels attorneys on ethical issues and represents attorneys before the Department Disciplinary Committee. He is a recognized expert in this area and was a member of the Department Disciplinary Committee, Supreme Court, Appellate Division, First Judicial Department from 1981 to 1985.

Mr. Hafetz has written extensively in business crime publications. He served as a member of the Board of Editors of the White Collar Reporter. Articles and books he has authored include "Investigative Document Subpoenas," published by Law Journal Seminars Press, 1987, a chapter on "Forfeiture" in "RICO: Civil and Criminal Law Strategy," published by Law Journal Seminars Press, 1989, "Civil Settlement: Pitfalls for the Criminal Defense Lawyer," published in the Business Crime Bulletin, August 1996, "Grand Jury and the Corporate Records Custodian," published in Business Crimes Bulletin, December 1999. He is a frequent panelist on white collar criminal programs and has taught in trial advocacy programs at Harvard Law School and many of the New York law schools.
Mr. Hafetz is a member of the National Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers and served as Chair of the Grand Jury Reform Committee. He previously was the Co-Chair of the Grand Jury Task Force, the Co-Chair of the White Collar Crime Committee, and the Co-Chair of the Department of Justice Dialogue Committee. From 1991-1992 he was the President of the New York Counsel of Defense Lawyers. He is also a member of the Association of the Bar of the City of New York, the New York State Bar Association, and the New York State Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers.

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