White Collar Criminal Defense and Special Investigations Group Joins Litigation Practice at Hunton & Williams

25 July 2006

Hunton & Williams LLP today announced the expansion of its firmwide litigation practice with the addition of Ken Bell, as partner, and Jack Knight and Brian Cromwell, as counsel, in its Charlotte, North Carolina office. The three join the law firm's white collar criminal defense and special investigations practice. Most recently with Mayer, Brown, Rowe & Maw, they were veteran federal prosecutors before joining private practice. Bell received national recognition as the prosecutor who fought to win America's first-ever conviction for terrorist financing.

"We are delighted that Ken, Jack and Brian have joined the firm," said Wally Martinez, managing partner of Hunton & Williams. "This is a significant addition to our national litigation practice. These seasoned trial lawyers will add depth and breadth to our expanding white collar criminal defense practice. I am particularly pleased that Ken has agreed to play a significant leadership role in our national white collar and special investigations practice."

"Ken is a superb litigator and has developed a strong network of white collar criminal defense lawyers," added Tom Cottingham, managing partner of the Charlotte office. "His experience in high-stakes investigations-such as his role in the 2002 conviction of a Hezbollah cell in Charlotte-provides him an in-depth understanding of the challenges facing our clients."

The white collar and special investigations practice at Hunton & Williams covers a broad spectrum of white collar cases, including environmental criminal and regulatory enforcement actions; health care fraud; internal and government investigations; public and private corruption, bribery, and kickback schemes; tax violations; money laundering; computer-related criminality; financial, banking, and securities laws violations; U.S. Customs investigations into dumping, undervaluation, high technology transfer, and smuggling; Foreign Corrupt Practice Act violations; international and domestic fraud schemes of every type; RICO proceedings; and espionage and terrorism cases.

The Lawyers

Kenneth D. Bell focuses his practice on white collar criminal matters, internal and government investigations, including commercial and financial investigations and anti-money laundering, RICO and cases before the Fourth Circuit Court of Appeals. Before joining private practice, he served 17 years as a prosecutor in the U.S. Attorney's Office in Charlotte, the last 10 as First Assistant United States Attorney overseeing prosecution of all federal criminal offenses and civil enforcement in 32 western counties. He has received awards and citations from the Department of Justice, FBI, DEA, U.S. Secret Service, U.S. Customs Service, Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and the IRS. Bell received his undergraduate and law degrees from Wake Forest University.

Bell gained national recognition for the 2002 conviction of a Hezbollah terrorist cell in Charlotte, uniquely obtaining convictions for providing support to a terrorist organization, RICO, money laundering and conspiracy. The ring, which sold $7.5 million in contraband cigarettes, also arranged for the delivery of military equipment, such as mine detection gear, blasting equipment and night-vision goggles, to Hezbollah. One of the defendants was sentenced in 2003 to 155 years in prison. Bell successfully introduced wire tap records from the Canadian Security Intelligence Service, the first and only time such records have been used in a U.S. court. For his groundbreaking work, he was honored with the prestigious U.S. Attorney General John Marshall Award for Trial of Litigation and with a special commendation from the Director of the Canadian Security Intelligence Service (CSIS).

Jack M. Knight Jr. has served as lead counsel in numerous federal and state investigations and trials, including more than 50 heard by a jury. His practice focuses on white collar defense, internal investigations and corporate compliance. The former federal and state lawyer was a prosecutor in the capital murder trial of former NFL player Rae Carruth. He also served as supervisor for the Anti-Terrorism Task Force and Anti-Terrorism Advisory Council for the Western District of North Carolina. The former president of the Mecklenburg County Bar Association's Criminal Justice Section received his undergraduate degree from UNC-Chapel Hill and his law degree from American University.

Brian Cromwell's principal areas of practice are white collar criminal defense, corporate compliance planning, government and internal corporate investigations and cybercrime defense. He is a former assistant district attorney and assistant United States attorney, with substantial trial experience in a variety of matters. He received his undergraduate degree from Fairleigh Dickinson University and his law degree from Fordham University School of Law. Prior to attending law school, Cromwell gained valuable experience as an analyst for a Fortune 100 company and a tax consultant for one of the "Big Eight" accounting firm, which sparked his practical and legal insight into complex corporate criminal issues.

About Hunton & Williams

Hunton & Williams LLP provides legal services to corporations, financial institutions, governments and individuals as well as a broad array of other entities. Since its establishment more than a century ago, Hunton & Williams has grown to more than 850 attorneys serving clients in 100 countries from 17 offices around the world. Hunton & Williams' practice has a particular emphasis on commercial litigation, corporate and structured finance, corporate transactions, energy and environmental law, governmental relations and intellectual property. The firm's depth and breadth of experience extends to more than 60 separate practice areas, with a strong industry focus on financial services and energy.

Source: prnewswire

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