K&L Gates’ White Collar Defense and Investigations practice group has been shortlisted by the Global Investigations Review (GIR) as one of five finalists for the “Most Important Case” of 2025. The White Collar team’s work is also featured in a case that has been shortlisted by GIR for “Most Important Development” of the year. This follows K&L Gates’ addition last year to GIR’s Top 30 list of law firms for international investigations.
The White Collar group is a finalist for “Most Important Case” due it its work on the high-profile sanctions evasion case United States v. Kostin in the Southern District of New York. Led by partners David Rybicki, Rob Silverblatt, and Michael Harper in Washington, DC, K&L Gates represented Vadim Wolfson in a sanctions evasion case brought by the US Department of Justice’s marquee KleptoCapture Task Force. After mounting a sustained attack on the government’s evidence and investigative techniques, the K&L Gates team secured a rare deferred prosecution agreement for Mr. Wolfson.
In addition, a nominee for “Most Important Development” is Singapore’s resolution with rig builder Seatrium, the country’s first deferred prosecution agreement. A K&L Gates team led by Pittsburgh partners Brian Saulnier and William Semins conducted a multi-year internal investigation on behalf of Seatrium in the lead-up to the landmark resolution in Singapore.
The winners of the GIR awards will be announced at a reception in November.
The K&L Gates White Collar Defense and Investigations practice offers clients comprehensive, multi-jurisdictional advice in the most sensitive and high-visibility enforcement and regulatory matters worldwide, including state and federal investigations, grand jury proceedings, parallel civil and criminal proceedings, and criminal trials on behalf of corporations and individuals. The team conducts complex, cross-border internal investigations, represents clients in congressional investigations, provides compliance advice to corporations, and assists clients in matters that present complex reputation, financial, and operational risk.