Arlen Pyenson is a senior counsel in Crowell & Moring's New York office and is a member of the White Collar & Regulatory Enforcement and International Dispute Resolution groups. In 2016-2020, Arlen was recognized as a New York "Rising Star" in the area of Criminal Defense: White Collar by Super Lawyers Magazine.
Arlen's practice in the White Collar & Regulatory Enforcement Group focuses on white collar criminal defense, regulatory enforcement actions, government investigations, corporate internal investigations, and complex civil litigation. Arlen has represented individuals and corporations in the course of investigations by the SEC, DOJ, FINRA, NYAG, and other federal, state, and international regulators, involving a wide range of business offenses, including public corruption, Foreign Corrupt Practices Act violations, criminal antitrust, accounting fraud, insider trading, alleged manipulation of the LIBOR rate and foreign currency exchange market, and fraud relating to residential mortgage-backed securities. She has also defended individuals in both criminal and civil litigations, including allegations of environmental crimes and civil RICO violations.
In the International Dispute Resolution group, her practice focuses on international commercial and investment arbitration. Arlen has represented parties in arbitrations under the rules of the International Chamber of Commerce (ICC), the International Centre for Dispute Resolution (ICDR), and the United Nations Commission on International Trade Law (UNCITRAL), involving various industries, including hospitality, beverage, and technology. Her experience includes disputes involving parties from Italy, Lithuania, the United States, the United Kingdom, Egypt, the United Arab Emirates, China, and South Korea.
While in law school, Arlen served as a judicial intern to the Honorable Theodore H. Katz, U.S. District Court Magistrate Judge in the Southern District of New York. She was selected to be a member of the Innocence Project clinic, where she represented individuals seeking post-conviction remedies based on DNA testing. Arlen was also selected as a teaching assistant in Cardozo's Lawyering Skills & Legal Writing Program and elected senior articles editor of the Cardozo Arts & Entertainment Law Journal.
Admitted to practice in New York and New Jersey, Arlen is a member of the American Bar Association Section of International Law International Arbitration Committee and the Section of Litigation Securities Litigation Committee, the New York State Bar Association, the Association of the Bar of the City of New York, the Young International Council for Commercial Arbitration (ICCA), ICDR Young & International, the Young International Arbitration Group, and the ICC Young Arbitrators Forum. She has been honored by the New York State Bar Association as Empire State Counsel for her contributions to pro bono legal service.
Representative Matters
White Collar & Regulatory Enforcement:
- A former executive at an investment bank charged in a civil FIRREA case in the EDNY relating to fraud in the sale of RMBS. Secured favorable settlement involving no admission of wrongdoing.
- Securing a declination from DOJ of a senior executive at a large global financial institution in connection with a criminal investigation of a complex foreign exchange (FX) transaction.
- An executive at a pharmaceutical company in connection with an investigation by DOJ’s Antitrust Division into alleged price-fixing in the generic pharmaceuticals space.
- A power plant construction company in an internal investigation related to a public corruption prosecution in the SDNY.
- A leading publicly-traded international retailer in connection with an internal investigation and high-profile DOJ and SEC investigation related to the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act.
- A senior executive at an investment bank in connection with an internal investigation and related criminal and regulatory inquiries by the DOJ, SEC, and Federal Reserve Bank of New York into alleged bribery and Foreign Corrupt Practices Act violations arising from the bank’s hiring practices in Asia.
- A global engineering company in an internal investigation of potential bid-rigging in violation of federal criminal antitrust laws at several construction projects.
- Multiple senior-level traders and executives at financial institutions in connection with global investigations of LIBOR, foreign exchange, and other products.
- A global engineering company in connection with a WDTX public corruption investigation.
- A pool of current and former employees of an investment bank in connection with multiple regulatory and related civil matters concerning the marketing and sales of residential mortgage-backed securities (RMBS).
- A senior executive in connection with a major federal securities fraud prosecution in the Eastern District of New York (EDNY).
- A prominent broker-dealer in a FINRA enforcement investigation regarding allegations of trading unregistered securities without appropriate money-laundering detection capabilities in place.
- A financial analyst at a real estate investment trust in connection with an accounting fraud investigation in the SDNY and SEC.
- A former hedge fund trader in connection with a major federal insider trading trial in the SDNY.
International Dispute Resolution:
- An Italian wine manufacturer in an ICDR/AAA arbitration against its U.S. importer, under New York law.
- An Italian investor in an UNCITRAL arbitration against Lithuania, under the Italy-Lithuania BIT, relating to Lithuania's unfair and inequitable treatment of the investor's investment in the country's alcohol industry.
- A British soccer player in an arbitration in the Dispute Resolution Chamber of FIFA, in a dispute with an Egyptian soccer club.
- A Fortune 500 international hotel operating company in an ICC arbitration under United Arab Emirates law, relating to a dispute with owners of a U.A.E. hotel under a hotel management agreement.
- A U.S. distributor of audio-visual products in an ICC arbitration against claims of breach of a patent licensing agreement by a South Korean global electronics company, under New York law.
Speeches & Presentations
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"The Whole Truth: Effective Witness Interviews," Crowell & Moring's Investigations Workshop 2019, Washington, DC
(May 8, 2019).
Moderator: Glen G. McGorty; Speakers: Daniel L. Zelenko, Trina Fairley Barlow, and Arlen Pyenson.
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"When A Civil Enforcement Action Turns Criminal," New York Women's Bar Association, New York, NY
(April 19, 2018).
Presenters: Rebecca Monck Ricigliano and Arlen Pyenson.
Publications
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"Congress Trains Its Sights On The Fintech Industry’s Role In Issuing Allegedly Fraudulent PPP Loans," Westlaw Today
(June 21, 2021).
Authors: Olivia Lynch, Arlen Pyenson, Tiffany Wynn, Gabrielle Trujillo, and Rebecca Monck Ricigliano.
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"Arbitration in the United States," Getting the Deal Through – Arbitration 2016
(January 2016).
Co-Authors: Jack Thomas, Arlen Pyenson, and Randa Adra.
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"Arbitration in the United States," Getting the Deal Through – Arbitration 2015
(February 2015).
Co-Authors: Jack Thomas, Arlen Pyenson, and Amal Bouhabib.
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"Arbitration in the United States," Getting the Deal Through – Arbitration 2014
(February 2014).
Co-Authors: Birgit Kurtz, Arlen Pyenson, and Amal Bouhabib.
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"Criminal Manifestos and the Media: Revisiting Son of Sam Laws in Response to the Media's Branding of the Virginia Tech Massacre," 26 CARDOZO ARTS & ENT. L.J. 509
(2008).
Author: Arlen Pyenson.
Client Alerts & Newsletters
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"Congress Trains its Sights on the FinTech Industry’s Role in Issuing Allegedly Fraudulent PPP Loans,"
White Collar Alert
(June 7, 2021).
Contacts: Olivia Lynch, Rebecca Monck Ricigliano, Tiffany Wynn, Arlen Pyenson
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"Watch Those Portion Sizes: The Cheesecake Factory Settles with SEC for Misleading, Optimistic Statements Regarding Its Financial Outlook Amid the Pandemic,"
White Collar Alert
(December 8, 2020).
Contacts: Daniel L. Zelenko, Arlen Pyenson
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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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"FCPA Guidance Update: DOJ and SEC Release Second Edition of Resource Guide to the U.S. Foreign Corrupt Practices Act,"
White Collar Alert
(July 9, 2020).
Contacts: Thomas A. Hanusik, Kelly T. Currie, Derek A. Hahn, Nimrod Haim Aviad, Arlen Pyenson
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"Out Like a Lion: March Brings New Obligations to Employers Doing Business in New Jersey,"
Labor & Employment Law Alert - US
(March 27, 2019).
Contacts: Kris D. Meade, Rebecca Monck Ricigliano, Ira M. Saxe, Rebecca L. Springer, Arlen Pyenson
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"U.S. Supreme Court Confirms Arbitrators' Authority to Determine Jurisdiction in BIT Disputes,"
International Dispute Resolution Alert
(March 6, 2014).
Contacts: George D. Ruttinger, Alan W. H. Gourley, Arlen Pyenson
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"The 2012 ICC Rules of Arbitration: New Rules, New Responsibilities,"
International Dispute Resolution Alert
(October 3, 2011).
Contact: Arlen Pyenson
Press Coverage
Firm News & Announcements
| January 9, 2023 |
Crowell & Moring Elects 16 New Partners, Promotes Five to Senior Counsel, and 25 to Counsel |
| July 20, 2021 |
Crowell & Moring Named to Global Arbitration Review’s 2021 “GAR 100” List |
| November 5, 2019 |
Global Investigations Review Names Crowell & Moring’s White Collar & Regulatory Enforcement Group to “GIR 100” Fifth Year in a Row |
| September 20, 2019 |
Super Lawyers Recognizes 82 Crowell & Moring Lawyers Across United States |
| October 15, 2018 |
Super Lawyers Recognizes 82 Crowell & Moring Lawyers Across United States |
| October 31, 2017 |
Super Lawyers Recognizes 79 Crowell & Moring Lawyers Across United States |
| May 5, 2017 |
Crowell & Moring Featured in Global Arbitration Review’s 10th Annual "GAR 100" List |
| November 30, 2016 |
Super Lawyers Recognizes 71 Crowell & Moring Lawyers Across United States |
| March 22, 2016 |
Crowell & Moring Featured in Global Arbitration Review’s 9th Edition “GAR 100” List |
| January 4, 2016 |
Crowell & Moring Elects Nine New Partners and Promotes 15 Associates to Counsel |