Brian K. Steinwascher
Senior Managing Associate
New York Co-Chair, Diversity, Equity & Inclusion Initiative
Brian focuses on white collar criminal defense, internal investigations and commercial litigation, with an emphasis on health care fraud. He regularly defends companies under investigation for alleged violations of the False Claims Act and the Anti-Kickback Statute.
Throughout his career, Brian has represented a wide variety of clients, including large corporations, privately held companies and individuals, in internal investigations and criminal proceedings. He represents clients in cases involving complex frauds, Ponzi schemes, breach of contract claims and related business disputes. Brian also regularly defends individuals and companies in SEC investigations and in wire, bank and securities fraud cases.
Brian’s trial experience includes serving as co-lead counsel in a federal criminal trial, and he has appeared as lead counsel or co-counsel in numerous cases in federal and state courts in New York and New Jersey.
Brian takes a pragmatic approach to client counseling. He listens closely to the client to understand their ultimate goal in a dispute and works efficiently to achieve that goal cost-effectively. In some circumstances, this means he negotiates to de-escalate tense disagreements among businesspeople; in others, he litigates cases aggressively and relentlessly through preliminary injunctions, discovery, motion practice, hearings and trials.
In criminal investigations, Brian recognizes the value of having informal discussions with prosecutors while always being prepared to launch a forceful defense in court. In every case, he leaves no stone unturned.
Prior to joining Thompson Hine, Brian practiced law at a large international law firm, where he gained substantial experience in complex white collar investigations and cases, including in a multinational investigation of a financial institution involving alleged violations of the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act. Before private practice, Brian was a clerk for Judge Freda L. Wolfson of the U.S. District Court for the District of New Jersey and for Judge Peter T. Zarella, Associate Justice of the Connecticut Supreme Court.
- Co-author, “No Such Thing as a Free Loan: PPP Loan Risk Mitigation,” New York State Bar Association Corporate Counsel Section Inside, Summer 2020
- Co-author, “INSIGHT: Nursing Homes Face Heightened Criminal Enforcement During Covid-19,” Bloomberg Law, June 2020
- Co-author, “The Evolution of Criminal Conspiracy Law and ‘Flipping the Script’ in United States v. Elizabeth Holmes,” National Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers (NACDL) magazine, The Champion, April 2020
- “Paycheck Protection Program Loans and Certifying “Necessity”: New Guidelines Highlight Potential Civil and Criminal Exposure Related to Obtaining PPP Loans,” Thompson Hine COVID-19 Update, May 2020
- “DOJ Still Pursuing Traders for Spoofing, Despite Thakkar Setback,” Bloomberg Law, September 2019
- “Spoofing Programmer Mistrial Sparks Questions About Future DOJ Prosecutions, Bloomberg Law, April 2018
- Co-author, "Perils of New York's Proposed Legislation To Criminalize Lying to Prosecutors," New York Law Journal, February 25, 2019
- “DOJ Opioid Warning Letters—Legitimate Law Enforcement Purpose or Prosecutorial Overreach?”, Bloomberg Law, February 4, 2019
- “Federal Government Signals Continued Aggressive Health Care Fraud Enforcement,” Thompson Hine Health Care Law Update, October 2018
- Co-author, “Demise Of Disgorgement? Kokesh And Honeycutt In Tandem,” Law360, July 2017
- Co-author, “When Is Cooperation With the Government Considered 'State Action'?” New York Law Journal, November 2016
- Co-author, “Preliminary Discovery and Attachment of Assets in International Arbitration,” New York Law Journal, March 28, 2016.
- Co-author, “Second Circuit Clarifies Scope of Rule 30(b)(6) Testimony,” New York Law Journal, December 2015
- Co-author, “Waivers from the Automatic Disqualification Provisions of the Federal Securities Laws,” INSIGHTS, August 2015
- “Statutory Vested Development Rights,” 32 CARDOZO. L. REV. 265 (20
- Presenter, “The Evolution of Criminal Conspiracy Law and 'Flipping the Script' in United States v. Elizabeth Holmes,” West / Celesq AttorneysEdCenter, November 2020
INSIGHT: Nursing Homes Face Heightened Criminal Enforcement During Covid-19Bloomberg Law
June 15, 2020
The Evolution of Criminal Conspiracy Law and ‘Flipping the Script’ in United States v. Elizabeth HolmesThe Champion
April 30, 2020
DOJ Still Pursuing Traders for Spoofing, Despite Thakkar SetbackBloomberg Law
September 27, 2019