Barack Ferrazzano Kirschbaum & Nagelberg LLP

With over thirty years of counseling and defending clients in white collar criminal investigations and regulatory enforcement actions, as well as in complex litigation, Ed has guided individuals and businesses through some of the most difficult situations they have faced in their professional lives. Clients value Ed’s calm demeanor and sound judgment as he counsels them through these challenges, as well as his ability to advocate powerfully for their interests, while maintaining credibility and trust with government attorneys and other opposing counsel.

In his civil litigation and white collar defense practices, Ed litigates and tries cases, and argues appeals in both federal and state courts. He also counsels and conducts investigations for clients facing potential civil and criminal enforcement actions and represents clients in grand jury proceedings. Ed is co-chair of the Antitrust & Commercial Competition Group and Chair of the White Collar Defense & Regulatory Enforcement Group. Ed also serves as BFKN’s General Counsel.

Ed represents clients in commercial disputes in several industries, including the financial services, real estate, and automotive industries. He commonly represents clients in these industries in contract disputes and tort claims, and he also has considerable experience litigating over non-compete agreements. Ed defends clients in litigation related to his white collar defense practice, including antitrust, securities and consumer fraud litigation, and litigation arising under the False Claims Act.

Ed spends about half his time counseling and defending individuals and corporations in connection with criminal investigations and civil enforcement actions, including antitrust and securities fraud investigations. Recently, these have included investigations by the Department of Justice, the SEC, and the OCC. His experience includes representing individuals and companies in investigations of securities and other financial fraud, insurance fraud, and criminal antitrust violations. Ed has also represented engineering firms, health care companies, and defense firms in grand jury investigations into alleged fraud in their business dealings with the federal government and other public entities. Ed regularly conducts internal investigations for clients and counsels them on compliance with federal criminal law and in connection with disclosures of potential violations.