Erica Sedler

Erica Shef focuses her practice on white collar criminal defense and related civil litigation and regulatory enforcement. Ms. Shef has experience defending officers, directors and corporations in various phases of civil, criminal, regulatory and internal investigations and actions involving allegations of securities, banking, accounting and disclosure fraud and other violations, including non-compliance with regulatory rules and regulations. Ms. Shef’s experience has included representing, among others:

• a former chairman and CEO of a major medical device company in parallel civil and criminal investigations and actions by the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) and the Department of Justice (DOJ) alleging insider trading related to a merger transaction;
• a group of directors, including the chairman and members of the audit committee, of a major bank with international operations in parallel investigations by the DOJ and the FDIC involving compliance with the Bank Secrecy Act and anti-money laundering laws and regulations in an evolving regulatory and business environment affecting financial institutions’ compliance obligations related to cross-border transactions and affiliate banking;
• founders of a major publicly traded global technology company in an internal investigation by the company’s audit committee, as well as criminal and regulatory investigations led by the SEC and the DOJ, in connection with allegations related to the company’s business and accounting practices and internal control environment, including corporate governance and disclosure matters;
• a large regional bank in the successful settlement of a high-profile political embezzlement case alleging multiple aiding and abetting fraud claims and involving complex issues of obligations arising under the Bank Secrecy Act;
• several corporations in deal litigation involving federal and state securities laws and duties of corporate directors; and
• a major hedge fund in successfully settling federal and state actions following the disclosure of the Bernie Madoff Ponzi scheme.

Also an active pro bono attorney, Ms. Shef has worked on a variety of matters involving landlord-tenant, adoption, Holocaust reparations, and federal and state non-profit status proceedings. For example, Ms. Shef successfully obtained a nominal settlement on behalf of several joint clients in a suit seeking over $140,000 in damages.

Ms. Shef also has advocated and obtained 501(c)(3) status on behalf of an animal rights foundation seeking to raise awareness and decrease the number of animals euthanized by city and county shelters. Ms. Shef is a recipient of Public Counsel’s Pro Bono Achievement Award.

While attending law school, Ms. Shef was a judicial extern to the Hon. Arthur L. Alarcon of the United States Court of Appeals for the 9th Circuit. Ms. Shef also completed a prosecution externship in the Criminal Division of the United States Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of New York.

Education:

• J.D., New York University School of Law, 2010
• B.A., University of California, Los Angeles, 2007

Admissions : California