Harlan Protass

Harlan Protass has over sixteen years experience in the areas of criminal defense and governmental enforcement proceedings.

In his criminal practice, Harlan represents individuals and business organizations in federal and state court matters involving a broad spectrum of charges, such as securities fraud, insider trading, wire and mail fraud, money laundering, embezzlement and larceny, as well as RICO violations and tax offenses. His background in the financial services industry brings valuable insights to the defense of clients in investigations and enforcement proceedings brought by regulatory authorities ranging from the SEC and FINRA to the IRS and New York State Department of Taxation.

Recent representative matters include:

-- Represented a senior officer of a publicly traded company in high-profile insider trading investigation and prosecution

-- Successfully represented an executive of an international insurance company targeted for prosecution in a highly-publicized investigation by the New York Attorney General, which ultimately dropped its plan to pursue charges

-- Represented a construction company under investigation by the New York Department of Investigation, resulting in no adverse consequences to business operations

-- Persuaded government to drop charges of securities fraud and money laundering and instead permit client to plead guilty to a single count of making a false statement, resulting in non-custodial sentence

-- Negotiated a favorable plea agreement on behalf of an executive of a medical billing company charged with structuring financial transactions, resulting in a non-custodial sentence

-- Represented registered representative in parallel securities fraud investigations by the U.S. Department of Justice and the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission

-- Obtained non-custodial sentence for individual charged with RICO violations notwithstanding suggested guidelines of 21 to 27 months imprisonment

-- Represented former New York police officer charged with Hobbs Act robbery conspiracy

Harlan is an adjunct professor at the Benjamin N. Cardozo School of Law, where he teaches a course on the federal sentencing guidelines. He is a member of numerous national and local bar associations, is a former Co-Chair of the Criminal Law Group of the UJA-Federation of New York, and previously served on the Practitioners Advisory Group to the United States Sentencing Commission. Harlan also has published widely on current issues in criminal law and sentencing, and is a frequent contributor to publications including the New York Law Journal, the Chicago Tribune and Slate.

Before joining Clayman & Rosenberg LLP, Harlan practiced in the litigation group of a large New York law firm, served as counsel to one of New York's leading criminal defense attorneys and was a principal of his own law firm.

Harlan is a graduate of Cornell University and the Benjamin N. Cardozo School of Law (cum laude), where he was an Editor of the Cardozo Law Review.

Harlan is admitted to practice in New York, the United States District Courts for the Southern and Eastern Districts of New York and the United States Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit.