Barry H. Berke

Barry H. Berke, Co-chair of the Litigation department, is a nationally recognized trial lawyer who represents officers, directors, professionals and corporations in sensitive and high-profile investigations and proceedings. Mr. Berke has handled major matters on behalf of his clients involving all aspects of white collar crime, including allegations of securities fraud, accounting and bank fraud, RICO and FCPA violations, tax offenses, bribery, bid rigging, and embezzlement. Mr. Berke also has represented prominent corporations in class action and other complex commercial litigation. Some of his notable representations include securing the acquittal of a Deutsche Bank investment professional, and the deferred prosecution of another, in a criminal case that the government described as its largest tax shelter prosecution; successfully representing former SAC Capital Fund Advisors fund manager Michael Steinberg in a prominent insider-trading case that was ultimately dropped by U.S. prosecutors; and winning summary judgment for client JPMorgan Chase in a lawsuit brought by Bank of America, relating to CDOs in the wake of the financial crisis. Mr. Berke is currently defending Jerome Valcke, the Secretary-General of FIFA, in connection with investigations by the U.S. Department of Justice and Swiss authorities.

Mr. Berke is co-author of the textbook The Practice of Federal Criminal Law: Prosecution and Defense, published by Thomson/West’s American Casebook Series. He has taught courses on criminal law and professional responsibility at New York University School of Law, and lectures frequently on criminal justice issues in a variety of forums.

Mr. Berke is a member of the firm’s governing executive committee. In addition to his leadership roles within the firm, Mr. Berke serves as Chairman of the board of directors of the Coalition for the Homeless and Chairman of the board of directors of the Federal Defenders of New York Inc. He was also appointed by New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio as his designee on the Lincoln Center board of directors, and is a member of the board of advisors of the Mayor’s Fund to Advance New York City.

Prior to joining Kramer Levin, Mr. Berke was a trial lawyer with the Federal Defenders office for the Southern District of New York for four years. During that time, he defended individuals accused of a wide range of federal offenses, serving as lead counsel in numerous jury trials and achieving favorable verdicts in a large majority of those cases.