Larry Finder has extensive experience in government investigations, corporate compliance counseling, federal grand jury, trial practice, internal investigations and business crimes. His practice also includes public law representation. He became U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of Texas in February 1993.
Larry is committed to public service outside of his law practice. He was recently selected to a three-year appointment to the Practitioners Advisory Group (PAG), a standing advisory group of the United States Sentencing Commission. He currently serves on the Board of Directors for the Jewish Institute for National Security Affairs (JINSA), and the Corporate Compliance Center Advisory Board of South Texas College of Law. He has also served on the Board of Trustees for Crime Stoppers-Houston (2007 to 2009), the Board of Managers for the Harris County Hospital District (from 1995 until 2003 and as its Chairman from 1999 to 2003), and on the Board of Trustees and Executive Committee for The Council on Alcohol and Drugs Houston (from 2004 to 2006).
Larry's representations have included:
- Representation of the Audit Committee of an international oilfield services and equipment company to investigate alleged violations of export control laws and foreign corrupt practices.
- Appointed by the United States Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit to investigate and present a disciplinary case against a sitting United States District Judge before the Judicial Council of the Fifth Circuit.
- Representation of individuals in a Congressional investigation of alleged steroid use by professional baseball players.
- Counseling clients involved in parallel proceedings and compliance matters, including corporate compliance and foreign corrupt practices avoidance.
- The successful defense of a hospital administrator in a federal healthcare insurance fraud trial.
- The successful defense of a national energy company in parallel federal criminal fraud and civil fraud investigations.
- The successful defense of an international energy company in a federal criminal conservation case.
- The successful defenses of individuals and corporations investigated by federal grand juries and regulatory agencies for allegations of fraud, antitrust, environmental, income tax, banking, securities, export and other violations.
- Internal investigations for corporations, and their audit committees and special litigation committees, including those on behalf of several international energy companies, an international oilfield service company, a major electronics company, a medical device company, a national insurance company, a national proprietary school, and a Texas independent school district.
Recent Speeches
"DoJ Corporate Charging Decisions, Pre-Trial Agreements, and More," Compliance Week's 4th Annual Conference, which will take place at The Mayflower Hotel in Washington, D.C., June 3-5, 2009, by Lawrence D. Finder (Partner, Haynes and Boone, LLP), Steve Tyrell (Chief, Fraud Section, Criminal Division, U.S. Department of Justice), Ryan D. McConnell (Assistant U.S. Attorney, Southern District of Texas, and Scott L. Mitchell (Chairman and CEO of Open Compliance and Ethics Group, www.OCEG.org).
Selected Recent Publications
- "Betting the Corporation: Compliance or Defiance? Compliance Programs in the Context of Deferred and Non-Prosecution Agreements - Corporate Pre-Trial Agreement Update - 2008," Corporate Counsel Review, South Texas College of Law, Vol. XXVIII, No. 1, May 2009. To view a web version click here.
- "Annual Corporate Pre-Trial Agreement Update - 2007," prepared for the March 2008 ABA White Collar Crime Institute.
- "Third Verse, Same as the First," Corporate Counsel, March 27, 2007.
- "Devolution of Authority: The Department of Justice's Corporate Charging Policies" co-author with Ryan D. McConnell, St. Louis University Law Journal, Fall 2006, Issue 51:1.
- "Internal Investigations: Consequences of the Federal Deputation of Corporate America," South Texas Law Review, Vol. 45 No. 1.
- "Overview of the Federal Sentencing Guidelines for Organizations and Corporate Compliance Programs," ABA’s White Collar Crime Newsletter (Aug. 2005), co-author with Michael Warnecke.
Selected Honors
- Top Texas Super Lawyers (2003-2009)
- Texas Super Lawyers Top 100 Houston Region Super Lawyers - Criminal Defense-White Collar, Texas Monthly (2003-2006)
- International Who's Who Legal of Business Crime Lawyers (2005, 2008)
- The Best Lawyers in America - White Collar Criminal Defense (2006-2010) (Woodward/White, Inc.)
Selected Representative Experience
Enron Corporation Securities Litigation
We are defending a major investment banking firm in multi-district litigation arising out of the collapse of Enron Corporation and involving single institutional plaintiff and class action suits.
Online Publications
02/01/2010 -
Enforcement of the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act: The Hits Keep Coming
On January 19, 2010, the Department of Justice pulled back the curtain on its largest prosecutions of individuals in the history of the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (“FCPA”). About 150 agents from the Federal Bureau of Investigation arrested 22 individuals and executed 14 search warrants in the United States and United Kingdom. Those arrested are believed to represent about 16 companies involved in the foreign bribery investigation.
01/27/2010 -
Federal Court Issues Injunction Requiring Insurer to Advance Defense Costs to Stanford Financial Defendants for DOJ and SEC Proceedings
Yesterday, January 26, 2010, Judge David Hittner of the United States District Court for the Southern District of Texas issued an important opinion in the Stanford Financial case that paves the way for targets of criminal and civil enforcement proceedings to obtain insurance coverage for costs of defending themselves. The decision marks a significant victory for executives who have the misfortune of being caught up in a government prosecution and find themselves otherwise unable to fund their defense.
12/18/2008 -
Siemens AG Concludes FCPA Investigations with Record-Setting Criminal Penalty
On Monday, December 15, 2008, Siemens AG entered comprehensive settlements in the United States and Germany related to charges of widespread bribery of foreign officials from 2001 through 2007. Siemens agreed to pay a record-setting $1.6 billion to resolve charges asserted under the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act ("FCPA"). This alert digests this landmark case and provides observations relevant to companies' FCPA compliance efforts.
09/12/2008 -
Criminal Prosecution of the FCPA
The Foreign Corrupt Practices Act ("FCPA") has provided the basis for an increasing number of criminal prosecutions during recent years. For example, The Department of Justice initiated more individual prosecutions on FCPA charges than in any other year since the FCPA was enacted, and twice as many as in 2006. The Department of Justice recently obtained a guilty plea in one of its highest profile FCPA cases in the history of the Act. While Albert "Jack" Stanley's plea has garnered significant media attention, significant events during the first two weeks of September in two other cases provide additional insight into FCPA criminal enforcement activity. The attached alert discusses the developments in these three cases.
09/05/2008 -
Recent SEC Action Reinforces Principles of Compliance with the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act
This alert digests the Con-way case and highlights four principles of FCPA compliance that are reinforced by this SEC enforcement action.
06/27/2008 -
Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (“FCPA”)
The United States government’s increase in enforcement of the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (“FCPA”) during the past five years has raised awareness of domestic and foreign corporations to the Act’s requirements. Still, violations continue to make headlines. The latest news came from Houston May 14, when an oil and gas services company agreed to pay $32 million in sanctions for FCPA violations in connection with international contracting activities.
01/25/2008 -
Annual Corporate Pre-Trial Agreement Update--2007
03/27/2007 -
Third Verse, Same as the First
12/05/2006 -
Devolution of Authority: The Department of Justice's Corporate Charging Policies
04/12/2005 -
Overview of the Federal Sentencing Guidelines for Organizations and Corporate Compliance Programs
The United States Sentencing Guidelines for Organizations (“the Guidelines”) were promulgated in 1991 to ensure that organizations cannot profit from wrongdoing and to encourage organizations to implement appropriate compliance programs to prevent wrongdoing from occurring in the first place... This article provides and overview of the federal United States Sentencing Guidelines for Organizations.
12/01/2003 -
Internal Investigations: Consequences of the Federal Deputation of Corporate America