Mr. Athey focuses on white collar criminal defense, SEC enforcement matters, private securities litigation, internal corporate investigations, financial services matters, health care-related litigation, and complex civil litigation.

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White Collar Criminal Defense and Internal Corporate Investigations

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Mr. Athey represents individuals and companies in all phases of grand jury or regulatory investigations and criminal prosecutions in federal and state courts or administrative agencies. He represents corporations conducting internal corporate investigations, and has advised companies on regulatory and compliance matters. His experience includes health care fraud, criminal antitrust, RICO, securities fraud, Foreign Corrupt Practices Act, False Claims Act, money laundering, environmental, and bank/mail/wire fraud.

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SEC Enforcement Proceedings and Private Securities Litigation

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Mr. Athey advises clients under investigation by the SEC, including matters involving insider trading, Ponzi schemes, market manipulation, penny stocks, boiler rooms, and accounting manipulation. Joel also represents clients in private securities litigation, including class actions, shareholder derivative suits, strike suits, and securities fraud suits brought by investors, insurance companies, and regulators. He advises and represents the Boards of banks, financial services companies, and corporations in securities matters regarding proposed corporate transactions, including disclosure issues and overcoming injunctions seeking to prevent transactions.

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Banking and Regulatory Investigations

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Mr. Athey represents banks, and their officers and directors, in regulatory and litigation matters. He advises bank Boards on securities, regulatory, and compliance issues, and represents them in litigation matters involving borrowers, regulators, and securities issues.

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Health Care Fraud Investigations & Litigation

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Mr. Athey represents doctors, medical practices, hospitals, and healthcare providers in a variety of pre-litigation investigations, administrative enforcement matters, and litigation. He has represented medical marketers in criminal prosecutions, as well as doctors and medical practices in False Claims Act/qui tam litigations. He is experienced responding to investigations and lawsuits brought by the Department of Justice, California Department of Insurance, Los Angeles District Attorney's Office, and qui tam plaintiffs.

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Complex Civil Litigation

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Mr. Athey represents clients in a wide range of civil litigation matters, including defending legal professionals against fraud-based allegations, venture capitalists accused of misleading investors, and companies and their officers/directors in business disputes.

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Professional Background

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Mr. Athey worked at Wall Street law firm Fried Frank before moving to Los Angeles and joining Gibson, Dunn & Crutcher. After working with a prominent boutique firm, Joel joined Holland & Knight, becoming Managing Partner of its Los Angeles office. He was most recently a partner at global firm DLA Piper.