A partner in Cadwalader's Litigation Department, Adam S. Lurie is an accomplished trial lawyer and counselor who has substantial experience in white-collar criminal defense, complex civil litigation, SEC, CFTC and other regulatory enforcement, and congressional investigations.

Recognized by Super Lawyers in 2013 as "outstanding," Adam served from 2005 - 2012 as a senior official at the Department of Justice ("DOJ") in Washington, as a white-collar federal prosecutor in Newark, New Jersey, and as Staff Director for investigations and oversight on a powerful committee in the U.S. House of Representatives.  He draws on this background and his experience as a civil and white-collar defense lawyer to provide clients an especially deep understanding of litigation and defense strategy, congressional investigations, and crisis management.  Adam's success in government, and in private practice gives him valuable credibility with judges, prosecutors, regulators, congressional investigators, and opposing counsel.

Because of the breadth of his experience, Adam has recently been retained in diverse and significant civil and criminal matters, including:

• Defending New York Governor Andrew M. Cuomo in a False Claims Act ("FCA") suit filed in the Eastern District of New York.
• Advising a top multinational public company in its response to a DOJ and SEC inquiry regarding its compliance with the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act ("FCPA").
• Defending a Fortune 100 company against allegations of sexual harassment and hostile work environment.  
• Leading an internal FCPA compliance review for a top multinational public company.
• Defending a prominent federal contractor and its CEO in a DOJ cybercrime investigation.
• Representing a senior official of a top financial institution in a DOJ/SEC/CFTC investigation, and private litigation, concerning derivative trading practices and related public disclosures.
• Defending a senior derivatives trader in the DOJ/CFTC LIBOR investigation.
• Defending a congressional campaign manager in a DOJ campaign finance and bribery investigation. 
• Representing a senior corporate executive in an internal corporate campaign finance matter.
• Advising a foreign country in its response to the Foreign Account Tax Compliance Act ("FATCA") and in its interactions with the IRS.
• Representing a prominent real estate developer in connection with civil fraud litigation, and as a victim in a related federal criminal action.

Adam has also successfully represented clients in a number of other high stakes criminal and civil matters, including:

• Defending a senior executive of a Fortune 100 energy company in an SEC enforcement action and related class action securities and ERISA litigation.
• Defending a health care entity in a criminal health care fraud and FCA matter.
• Defending a senior banking official in a criminal and regulatory bank fraud investigation.
• Defending a major airport authority in a criminal and civil DOJ environmental investigation.
• Defending the General Counsel of a top publicly traded company in a criminal securities fraud matter.
• Defending a senior natural gas trader in a CFTC fraud investigation.
• Representing the estate of Enron Corp. in connection with dozens of lawsuits to obtain billions of dollars under swaps, forwards and other derivatives contracts.
• Defending a joint venture in a criminal antitrust investigation.
• Representing employees of a top pharmaceutical company in a criminal antitrust investigation.

Prior Experience

From 2010 - 2012, Adam served as Senior Counsel to the Assistant Attorney General (AAG), Criminal Division. Adam provided advice to DOJ leadership regarding prosecutions and policy involving nearly every DOJ white collar priority, and especially the FCPA, securities and other financial fraud, money laundering, asset forfeiture, health care fraud and FDA matters, OFAC violations and Bank Secrecy Act violations. Adam was significantly involved in the creation of the FCPA Resource Guide. He also briefed Members of Congress and their staff regarding many of these priorities, and represented the Criminal Division on the Financial Fraud Enforcement Task Force. Further, the AAG selected Adam to lead a significant investigation into derivative trading practices associated with the financial crisis. In connection with these efforts, Adam interacted regularly with top officials from the Offices of the Attorney General and Deputy Attorney General, the Fraud Section, the Civil Division, the Antitrust Division, the National Security Division, numerous U.S. Attorney's Offices, the SEC, CFTC and the Department of Treasury, including SIGTARP, OFAC and FinCen, and with State Attorneys General Offices.

From 2005 - 2009, Adam was an Assistant United States Attorney in Newark, New Jersey, where he was appointed by former U.S. Attorney and current New Jersey Governor Chris Christie to the Office's elite securities and health care fraud and political corruption units. He successfully tried numerous complex cases, including an 11-week jury trial resulting in the conviction of the Chairman of the New Jersey Senate Budget Committee and a New Jersey medical school dean on pension fraud and corruption charges, and handled some of the Office's most significant FCPA, securities, corporate fraud, health care fraud and FDA, and corruption matters.

During the 111th Congress (2009-2010), Adam was named Staff Director for investigations and oversight on the U.S. House of Representatives Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence following press reports that CIA failed to inform Congress about the development of an intelligence program involving a federal contractor. Adam oversaw hearings and other inquiries concerning allegations of misleading Congress, FCPA violations, fraud in federal contracting, cyber security efforts, OFAC sanctions and CFIUS matters. He counseled Members of Congress and interacted with senior White House, CIA, the Departments of Defense, Treasury and State, and NSA officials, and high-ranking foreign leaders, regarding such issues.

Following a clerkship with United States District Judge Clarence C. Newcomer, of the Eastern District of Pennsylvania, Adam began his career at Cadwalader, where he specialized in criminal and civil enforcement, regulatory matters and complex civil litigation.

Additional Activities and Education

Adam is a prolific author and public speaker who has published articles or been a featured speaker at numerous conferences concerning, among other subjects, the FCPA, financial fraud and tax enforcement, political corruption, false claims act enforcement, and obstruction of justice. His articles have appeared in, among others, The National Law Journal, The New York Law Journal, The Financial Fraud Law Report, Law360, Bloomberg BNA and Compliance and Ethics Professional.  Adam is also quoted frequently in leading press publications regarding his areas of expertise.

Adam is also committed to his community. For example, he is a Board Member of the American Jewish Committee, Washington, D.C. chapter, and an officer on the Yeshiva University, Benjamin N. Cardozo School of Law Alumni Executive Committee.

Adam is a magna cum laude graduate of Yeshiva University's Benjamin N. Cardozo School of Law, and Mary Washington College (now University of Mary Washington). He was an editor on the Cardozo Law Review, and is a member of the Order of the Coif. Adam is a member of the New York, New Jersey and District of Columbia bars.