Practice Areas
Anti-Money Laundering Investigations and Compliance
Blockchain, Cryptocurrency, and Digital Assets
Compliance, Investigations and Enforcement
Corporate & Financial Services Litigation & Regulation
Corporate Governance
Cybersecurity and Data Privacy
FCPA Enforcement and Compliance
Financial Regulation
Global Litigation
Marketplace Lending and FinTech
National Security
Securities Enforcement
Sports Industry
State Attorney General Practice
Trial Practice
White Collar Defense and Investigations
Admissions
U.S. District Court, Eastern District of New York
U.S. District Court, Southern District of New York
U.S. Court of Appeals, 2nd Circuit
U.S. Court of Appeals, 3rd Circuit
New York
Education
George Washington University Law School - J.D.
George Washington University - B.A., summa cum laude
|
Profile
Phara A. Guberman is a partner in the Global Litigation Group and member of the White Collar Defense and Investigations Practice. She is based in the firm's New York office. Phara is a seasoned trial attorney who is regularly recognized as one of the leading white collar criminal defense practitioners in the country.
In January 2022, as co-lead counsel at trial and appeal, Phara secured a precedent-setting appellate victory in the Second Circuit in U.S. v. Connolly, et al., where all counts of conviction were overturned against our client, Matthew Connolly, and judgments of acquittal directed. Mr. Connolly's win represents the only LIBOR-related criminal case in the U.S. or U.K. to be overturned on sufficiency of the evidence and has received world-wide attention.
Last year, as co-lead counsel at trial and appeal, Phara obtained a landmark appellate victory in the Third Circuit in U.S. v. Gibson, et al., where all counts of conviction against David Gibson, the former Chief Financial Officer of Wilmington Trust Corporation, were overturned in a matter of first impression, and the two remanded counts were subsequently dismissed. The American Lawyer deemed it “a stunning reversal of criminal convictions for four executives of Wilmington Trust Corp. in a case dating back to the Great Recession.”
In 2023, Phara was recognized by Crain’s New York Business as part of its “Notable Women in Law” list and was included among Bloomberg Law’s “40 Under 40” honorees. Phara was recently added to Lawdragon’s “500 Leading Lawyers in America” and “500 Leading Global Litigators” guides. In 2022, she was honored by Benchmark Litigation as one of the Top 250 Women in Litigation and, the year prior, she was honored by Global Investigations Review as one of 100 notable Women in Investigations around the world in the white collar area of law. In 2019 and 2022, Phara’s work in U.S. v. Connolly, et al., the first LIBOR manipulation case against a U.S.-based trader, was shortlisted by Global Investigations Review (GIR) as the Most Important Case of the Year for its impact on future government investigations and wire fraud prosecutions and led to her recognition by Law360 as a “Legal Lion.” The complete appellate victory in U.S. v. Connolly, et al. led to Phara's recognition by The American Lawyer as its "Litigator of the Week," which also credited the decision as the "second white-collar appellate reversal Kenneth Breen and Phara Guberman. . . have won in as many years." Phara was nominated twice before as The American Lawyer's “Litigator of the Week” for her more than 10 years of work in U.S. v. Gibson, et al., which led to a landmark appellate victory and the subsequent decision by federal prosecutors not to retry the case. Phara was previously recognized by Law360 in 2018 as one of five national “Rising Stars” in White Collar.
Phara has successfully handled a wide array of regulatory enforcement and white collar criminal matters, including those involving allegations of corporate and accounting fraud, securities fraud, insider trading, misappropriation of trade secrets, consumer protection issues, cybersecurity issues, and money laundering. She regularly represents clients in court and before the United States Department of Justice ("DOJ"), the Securities and Exchange Commission ("SEC"), the Federal Reserve, state attorney generals, FINRA and other self-regulatory organizations, other federal agencies, and international regulators. Phara also has substantial experience as a business litigator, representing clients in high stakes civil litigation matters in federal and state courts and arbitration proceedings.
Accolades and Recognitions
- Bloomberg Law (2023), Recognized as a “40 Under 40” honoree.
- Crain’s New York Business (2023), “Notable Women in Law” list.
- Benchmark Litigation (2023, 2024), Litigation Star, White Collar Crime.
- Benchmark Litigation (2022-2025), Top 250 Women in Litigation.
- Lawdragon (2025), Recognized as one of the 500 Leading Litigators in America.
- Lawdragon (2022, 2023, 2024), Recognized as one of the 500 Leading Global Litigators.
- Lawdragon (2023, 2024), Recognized as one of the 500 Leading Lawyers in America.
- The American Lawyer (2022), Litigator of the Week for securing a "remarkable turnaround" and complete appellate victory in U.S. v. Connolly, et al. (Second Circuit) with a precedent-setting opinion.
- Global Investigations Review (GIR) (2022), Recognized as co-lead appellate counsel in U.S. v. Connolly, et al. (Second Circuit), shortlisted by GIR as “Most Important Court Case of the Year” for its impact on future wire fraud prosecutions.
- Global Investigations Review (GIR) (2021), Honored as one of 100 Women in Investigations in the triennial survey that highlights exceptional female practitioners around the globe in the white collar area of law.
- The Legal 500 (2021-2023), Dispute Resolution - Corporate Investigations and White-Collar Criminal Defense: Advice to Corporates, Advice to Individuals.
- The Legal 500 (2023),Dispute Resolution – Securities Litigation: Defense.
- The American Lawyer (2021), Litigator of the Week Nominee for work as co-lead trial and appellate counsel securing a landmark victory inS. v. Gibson, et al.(Third Circuit) and following the dismissal of the remaining remanded counts.
- Global Investigations Review (GIR) (2019), Recognized as co-lead trial counsel inS. v. Connolly, et al.(S.D.N.Y.), shortlisted by GIR as "Most Important Case of the Year" for its impact on future government investigations (2019).
- Law360 (2019), Recognized as a "Legal Lion" for securing a sentencing ruling without any period of incarceration in U.S. v. Connolly, et al. (S.D.N.Y.).
- Law360 (2018), Honored as one of five national "Rising Stars" for White Collar.
- Scholarship Plus-Teacher Who Made a Difference Award (2017), Honored for her impact as a mentor by Scholarship Plus, a not-for-profit college student support program for outstanding low-income New York City high school graduates.
- Super Lawyers, The Top Women Attorneys in New York (2014-2024).
- Super Lawyers, Criminal Defense: White Collar (2018-2024).
- Super Lawyers, "Rising Star" in the area of Criminal Defense: White Collar (2014-2017).
Experience
Phara has advised clients on and represented clients in numerous significant matters, including:
Regulatory Enforcement, Criminal Investigations, Trials and Appeals
- Represented an investment adviser and its principal as first-chair at trial in a matter involving more than $100 million in False Claims Act allegations, all of which were dismissed.
- Represented a multinational Latin American conglomerate with U.S. operations in an investigation relating to accrual accounting issues. The matter was resolved confidentially.
- Represented an international financial services company in an investigation by the CFPB regarding its loan servicing platform and other technology services provided. The matter was concluded without any enforcement action brought against our client.
- Represented an international professional services company in an internal review of FCPA compliance issues.
- Represented a think tank and its founder in an investigation by the DOJ regarding alleged campaign finance violations. The DOJ declined prosecution.
- Represented a former chief officer of a cryptocurrency company in an investigation by the DOJ regarding alleged securities fraud. The DOJ declined prosecution.
- Represented Matthew Connolly, former manager at Deutsche Bank, in U.S. v. Connolly, et al. as co-lead counsel at trial and appeal in a matter involving allegations of wire fraud in connection with LIBOR submissions brought by the Department of Justice in the Southern District of New York. Following a split jury verdict, our client was not sentenced to any term of incarceration after a significant sentencing departure. The Second Circuit ultimately overturned all counts of conviction and directed judgments of acquittal. Our precedent-setting victory was recognized by The American Lawyer. Our work in this case was twice nominated by Global Investigations Review (GIR) as Most Important Case of the Year for its impact on future investigations and by Law360 for initially securing a sentencing ruling without any period of incarceration.
- Represented David Gibson, former Chief Financial Officer of Wilmington Trust Corporation, in U.S. v. Gibson, et al. as co-lead counsel at trial and appeal in a matter involving allegations of accounting and securities fraud brought by the U.S. Attorney's Office for the District of Delaware. Our client's conviction was overturned on all counts in a matter of first impression for the Third Circuit and the remanded counts were dismissed by the District of Delaware. The related SEC litigation was settled favorably. Our victories in this case have been recognized by The American Lawyer.
- Represented a hedge fund advisor in investigations by the DOJ and SEC regarding foreign account issues. The investigation was concluded without any charges being brought against our client.
- Represented a large real estate investment firm in an investigation by the NYAG involving "pay-to-play" practices in connection with public pension fund investments. The investigation was kept confidential and concluded without any charges being brought against our client.
- Represented a foreign exchange trader in connection with an investigation by the DOJ into alleged currency market manipulation related to swaptions trading as lead counsel. The investigation was concluded without any charges being brought against our client.
- Represented a senior officer of the private banking division of an international investment bank in an investigation by the SEC related to accounting and disclosure issues as co-lead counsel. The matter settled favorably.
- Represented a former portfolio manager of the hedge fund division of a U.K. alternative investment company in an investigation by the SEC and FCA. The investigation was concluded without any charges being brought against our client.
- Represented a real estate investment firm in a joint investigation by the DOJ and the Federal Housing Finance Agency Inspector General's Office. The investigation was kept confidential and concluded without any charges or civil claims being brought against our client.
- Represented a futures, options and equity trading firm and its principal in a Regulation SHO investigation by the SEC and SROs. The investigation was concluded without any charges being brought against our client.
Internal Investigations
- Conducted an internal investigation for the Audit Committee of a public international pharmaceutical company of allegations related to the Company’s financial statements, public statements, and management integrity.
- Conducted an internal investigation for the Audit Committee of a public real estate development and management company of whistleblower allegations related to the Company’s financial statements and corporate expenditures.
- Conducted an internal investigation for a multi-billion dollar fund related to potential fraud and conversion by a former executive officer.
- Conducted an internal investigation of a public automotive supply company involving whistleblower allegations of accounting fraud.
- Conducted internal investigations for a leading state university system involving issues of accounting, disclosures and documentation.
- Conducted an internal investigation for a not-for-profit institution involving alleged misuse of charitable resources.
- Conducted an internal investigation for a major financial institution involving allegations of fraud relating to the institution’s credit lending and audit practices.
- Conducted an internal investigation for a not-for-profit corporation involving allegations of accounting fraud.
Pro Bono Counsel
- Pro bono counsel to Kaiser's Room, a non-profit organization focused on providing arts programming to children with varying developmental profiles.
- Pro bono counsel for Giffords Law Center to Prevent Gun Violence, providing legal support to defend challenges to state gun laws.
- Pro bono counsel, active volunteer and supporter of PENCIL, a non-profit organization focused on collaborations between businesses and New York City public schools to increase students' college and career readiness.
- Pro bono counsel to the Duke Law Wrongful Convictions Clinic's investigations and litigations of North Carolina inmates' claims of actual innocence.
*Certain representations occurred prior to Phara's association with Cadwalader.
|
