Lisa Nicole Umans is a counsel in the firm’s New York office and a member of the White Collar & Regulatory Enforcement Group.
Her practice is focused on counseling and representing corporate and individual clients in regulatory enforcement actions, government investigations, white collar criminal defense matters, and internal investigations. Prior to joining Crowell & Moring, Lisa was a litigation associate in the New York office of an AmLaw 100 firm, where she also concentrated on complex securities and commercial litigation matters. She has represented many of the nation’s top financial institutions, hedge funds, and insurance companies in federal and state courts, in matters encompassing securities and accounting fraud, class actions, SEC and other regulatory investigations, disputes concerning commercial breach of contract claims, theft of trade secrets, and antitrust violations. From 2007 to 2009, Lisa served as a paralegal specialist in the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of New York as part of the Office’s Securities and Commodities Fraud Task Force.
Representative Matters
- Represented a major insurance company in a high-profile RICO, breach of contract, fraud, breach of fiduciary duty, and unjust enrichment trial in the Southern District of New York against originator of life settlements.
- Represented corporations and executives in putative class actions asserting securities fraud claims.
- Represented corporations, executives, and other individuals in investigations by the U.S. Department of Justice and the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission.
- Represented a hedge fund in an internal investigation related to potential insider trading and market manipulation.
- Represented a consulting firm in a high-profile theft of trade secrets and breach of contract trial against two departing executives in Delaware Chancery Court related to their wrongful taking of trade secrets and other highly sensitive and confidential documents.
Lisa maintains an active pro bono practice, representing clients in civil, criminal, and immigration matters, including:
- Representing women from Senegal and Iran in affirmative asylum applications.
- Providing legal assistance to individuals detained upon entry into the United States pursuant to the January 27, 2017 Executive Order restricting entry of non-citizens from seven Muslim-majority countries.
- Representing an Alabama death row inmate in state habeas proceedings.
- Representing victims of illegal employment practices in a post-judgment enforcement action. For this work, Lisa received an award for her pro bono service to the Legal Aid Society, a private, not-for-profit legal services organization, dedicated to providing quality legal representation to low-income New Yorkers.
Affiliations
Admitted to practice: New York
Speeches & Presentations
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"Best Practices for Responding to Subpoenas," Responding to Government Investigations: The Latest Developments and Strategies for Government Contractors, Washington, D.C.
(May 17, 2022).
Speaker: Stephen M. Byers, John E. Davis, Agustin D. Orozco, Lisa Umans.
Publications
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"Unions," The Guide to Monitorships - Second Edition, Global Investigations Review
(May 7, 2020).
Authors: Glen G. McGorty and Lisa Nicole Umans.
Client Alerts & Newsletters
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"IRS Continues to Boost Enforcement Efforts with New Promotor Investigation Office,"
Administrative Law Alert
(April 26, 2021).
Contacts: S. Starling Marshall, Glen G. McGorty, Carina C. Federico, Lisa Nicole Umans
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"COVID-19 Relief Fraud Prosecutions Target Increasingly Sophisticated Schemes,"
White Collar Alert
(November 20, 2020).
Contacts: Preston L. Pugh, Daniel L. Zelenko, Arlen Pyenson, Lisa Nicole Umans
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"Second Circuit Confirms Easier Path to Insider Trading Convictions,"
White Collar Alert
(January 7, 2020).
Contacts: Rebecca Monck Ricigliano, Daniel L. Zelenko, Lisa Nicole Umans, Nimrod Haim Aviad, Thomas A. Hanusik
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"New DOJ Policy Encourages Coordination Among Regulators To Limit "Piling On" Corporate Penalties,"
White Collar Alert
(May 10, 2018).
Contacts: Kelly T. Currie, Thomas A. Hanusik, Rebecca Monck Ricigliano, Paul M. Rosen, Lisa Nicole Umans
Press Coverage
Firm News & Announcements