Renee Jarusinsky

Practice Areas

White Collar Criminal Defense

Government Compliance and Regulatory Defense

Internal Investigations

Sanctions-Related Advocacy

Asset Forfeiture

Foreign Agent Registration

Career

New York County District Attorney’s Office, September 2010 – April 2021

New York State Office of the Attorney General, October 2007 – August 2010

Morvillo, Abramowitz, Grand, Iason & Anello, P.C., October 2002 – September 2007

The Honorable Richard Owen, U.S. District Judge, S.D.N.Y., September 2001 – September 2002

Cadwalader, Wickersham & Taft, October 2000 – August 2001

Publications

Jonathan D. Polkes and Renée L. Jarusinsky, Waiver of Corporate Privilege in a Government Investigation: Reaction to the New DOJ Policy, ABA White Collar Crime (2001).

Gender Difference in Perceiving Violence and its Implication for the VAWA’s Civil Rights Remedy, 27 Fordham Urb. L.J. 965 (Winter 2000).

Work Highlights

Conducted independent investigation on behalf of a philanthropic foundation, uncovered conduct that corroborated allegations of sexual misconduct by the Executive Director, and recommended corrective action.

U.S. v. M/Y Amadea (S.D.N.Y. and 2d Cir.) – Serve as co-lead counsel in this civil forfeiture proceeding representing the owner of a $300 million superyacht seized by the Department of Justice as part of its enforcement actions against sanctioned Russian interests, currently up on appeal.

Successfully staved off indictment of the Executive Director of a Washington D.C. think tank in connection with a grand jury investigation of Foreign Agents Registration Act violations.

Represent foreign entities in 18 U.S.C. Section 1782 petitions to obtain discovery from U.S.-based entities for use in foreign proceedings.

Represent an individual in connection with allegations by the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission and the U.S. Attorney's office that he engaged in "pump and dump" schemes of thinly-traded microcap stocks.

Advise a not-for-profit organization relating to issues stemming from employee misconduct, including referral to and cooperation with federal prosecutors.

Convinced the New York City Department of Investigation not to include allegations of wrongdoing against her client (a not-for-profit entity) in an anticipated public report.

Expert in these Jurisdictions

New York

Connecticut

U.S. District Court Southern District of New York

U.S. District Court Eastern District of New York

Experience

Prior to joining Ford O'Brien Landy, Renée served as an Assistant District Attorney in the New York County District Attorney's Office for more than a decade. Her most recent position was as Deputy Chief of the Public Corruption Unit ("PCU"), where she supervised corruption investigations conducted by Assistant District Attorneys, investigators, legal interns, paralegals, and other staff. In this role, she was a member of the supervisory team that oversaw the investigation into then-Mayor Bill de Blasio and his operatives relating to the financing of certain state senate campaigns. She also handled her own caseload, including a long-term investigation and subsequent prosecution of the head of two government-funded not-for-profit entities for stealing from the entities in myriad ways. Prior to her role as Deputy Chief, she served as an Assistant District Attorney in PCU, the Rackets Bureau, and a Trial Bureau, as well as a Major Case Assistant for the Cybercrime and Identity Theft Bureau. Renée has obtained guilty verdicts after conducting multiple jury trials to verdict and has presented scores of cases, including complex matters, to the grand jury.

Prior to her work at the DA's Office, Renée served as an Assistant Attorney General in the Public Integrity Bureau at the New York State Office of the Attorney General, where she conducted complex civil and criminal investigations. There, she served on the team investigating then-Governor David Paterson for perjury and witness tampering. She also received the Louis J. Lefkowitz Memorial Award for Outstanding Work in connection with a statewide investigation of private attorneys who wrongfully received state pension benefits in connection with their representation of public entity clients.

Earlier in her career, Renée was an associate at two law firms, including Morvillo, Abramowitz, Grand, Iason, Anello & Bohrer, where she represented individuals and entities in connection with white collar criminal and civil matters, and commercial and civil rights litigation. She also served as a law clerk to the Honorable Richard Owen, United States District Judge for the Southern District of New York.

Education

Awards