Richard Steingard

Richard Steingard is special counsel in the White Collar and Civil Fraud Defense Practice Group in the firm's Los Angeles office.

Areas of Practice

Mr. Steingard has been practicing exclusively criminal defense his whole career, 25 years.  He represents individuals and corporations in internal investigations, and pre-indictment, grand jury and post-indictment matters before regulatory agencies and state and federal courts.  He has handled a wide variety of white collar-related matters including RICO; securities, fraud and banking violations; health care and tax offenses; political corruption, trade secret and procurement fraud crimes; and environment offenses.  He has tried over 50 cases to a jury and argued over 20 cases before the U.S. Court of Appeal in numerous jurisdictions.

Education

• J.D., Loyola University School of Law, 1982
• B.A., University of California, Los Angeles, 1979

Admissions

• California (1982)
• New York (1987)

Sample Trial Matters

• Represented major national food producer and distributor in 33-count complaint charging repeated "short weight" violations over a ten month period. In addition, eight new violations were alleged while the charges were pending. After multiple briefings and meetings with the prosecutors and regulators, all charges against the client were dismissed.
• Represented corporation and CEO of waste handling company in federal environmental investigation of toxic dumping.  Charges resolved with admission to making a false statement and probationary sentence.
• Represented engineer of major defense contractor in federal trade secret criminal indictment characterized as the largest procurement fraud case in U.S. history.  All charges dismissed; client admitted obstructing a government investigation and received probation.
• Represented Chinese-American business owner on charges of smuggling military restricted item per "thermo-imaging infrared camera" to China.  Client acquitted after trial.
• Represented vice-president of oil drilling firm in federal environmental investigation.  The matter was resolved with the client's admission to making a false statement and received a probationary sentence.
• Represented vice-president of international lottery and gambling company indicted for RICO, fraud and money laundering charges.  All charges dismissed; client admitted to misdemeanor tax violation and granted probation.
• Represented Canadian-based attorney under federal indictment for massive fraud and money laundering charges.  Client received probationary sentence.
• Represented attorney indicted on federal immigration-related charges.  The matter was resolved for a fine without probation, thereby allowing the client to maintain his professional license.
• Represented mayor of Southern California city on RICO, political corruption and bribery charges.  The matter was resolved and client received a reduced sentence.

Sample Appellate Opinions

• United States v. Schindler, 813 F. 2d 978 (9th Cir. 1987)
  (conviction reversed for prosecutorial misconduct during closing argument)
• United States v. Blackman, 273 F. 3d 1204 (9th Cir. 2001)
  (Court of Appeals reversed trial court's denial of wiretap suppression motion, and vacated 22 year sentence)

Memberships

• Current Co-Chair, Lawyer Representative to the United States District Court for Central District of California
• Current Member, Lawyer Representatives Coordinating Committee to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit
• Former Member, Board of Directors, California Attorneys for Criminal Justice
• Member, National Association of Criminal Defense Attorneys
• Member, ABA White Collar Criminal Justice Section