Lev L. Dassin

Lev L. Dassin is a partner based in the New York office. Mr. Dassin’s practice focuses on complex commercial litigation, white-collar criminal defense, regulatory enforcement matters, and internal investigations. Mr. Dassin has represented prominent corporations and individuals in criminal and regulatory investigations in the United States and internationally involving various forms of alleged corporate misconduct, including securities fraud, bank fraud, wire fraud, mail fraud, foreign bribery, insider trading, and antitrust offenses. He has also represented clients in private commercial disputes, including securities, derivative, intellectual property, mass tort, and antitrust litigation. Mr. Dassin has tried cases in federal and state court, and argued numerous appeals. Before returning to private practice in 2009, Mr. Dassin served as Acting U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of New York. In that capacity, he was responsible for all criminal and civil litigation in the district on behalf of the United States and supervised more than 220 Assistant U.S. Attorneys. He oversaw a number of high profile matters, including the prosecutions of Bernard Madoff and Marc Dreier, and the representation of the United States’ interest in the Chrysler and General Motors bankruptcy proceedings. Mr. Dassin previously served as Deputy United States Attorney, the second in command of the office, and as Chief of the Criminal Division, in charge of all of the criminal prosecutions and investigations in the district. Earlier in his career, Mr. Dassin served as an Assistant U.S. Attorney. At that time, he prosecuted a wide range of cases involving terrorist acts, racketeering violations, money laundering and other white-collar crimes. Mr. Dassin was a lead prosecutor in the investigation and prosecution of Ramzi Yousef, the mastermind of the 1993 terrorist bombing of the World Trade Center. In recognition of his work on that case, Mr. Dassin was honored with the Attorney General’s Award for Distinguished Service. He also received the Attorney General’s Award for Exceptional Service for his role in the investigation and prosecution of four other defendants for their participation in the 1993 World Trade Center bombing. Mr. Dassin teaches trial practice at Columbia University School of Law, where he has been a member of the adjunct faculty since 1999. He is frequently invited to speak on various topics related to corporate crime, terrorism, and trial practice, and has addressed, among other groups, the International Association of Defense Council, the Federal Bar Council, the New York City Bar Association, and the U.S. Army War College. Mr. Dassin is a co-author of the chapter “Representing Corporations in United States Attorney’s Office and DOJ Investigations” in the white collar treatise "Defending Corporations and Individuals in Government Investigations" published by West. Mr. Dassin received a J.D. from New York University School of Law in 1990, where he served as the Developments Editor of the Law Review. Mr. Dassin received an undergraduate degree, magna cum laude and with Distinction In All Subjects, from Cornell University in 1987, where he was elected to Phi Beta Kappa. He served as a law clerk to the Honorable David N. Edelstein, United States District Judge for the Southern District of New York, from 1990 to 1992. Mr. Dassin joined the firm in 2009 as a partner. He is a member of the Bar in New York and is admitted to practice before the U.S. Supreme Court, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit and the U.S. District Courts for the Southern and Eastern Districts of New York. Honors and Distinctions Chambers USA - White-Collar Crime & Government Investigations. The Legal 500 U.S. - White-Collar Criminal Defense. Attorney General’s Award for Distinguished Service. Attorney General’s Award for Exceptional Service. Education New York University School of Law (J.D., 1990) Cornell University (B.A., 1987) Bar Admissions New York Areas of Law Antitrust and Competition Litigation and Arbitration White-Collar Defense, Securities Enforcement and Internal Investigations Regions United States