The following is an excerpt from Practice Perspectives: Vault's Guide to Legal Practice Areas.
Sidney Bashago represents companies, boards of directors, financial institutions, and individuals in criminal, regulatory, and internal investigations involving allegations of securities fraud, sexual misconduct, foreign corrupt practices, money laundering, and other financial crimes. Sidney also advises companies and boards on governance and compliance.
Sidney has represented multinational companies, boards, and other entities on various critical workplace misconduct matters, including highly sensitive sexual misconduct investigations, proactive assessments, crisis management, and related compliance.
Describe your practice area and what it entails.
As a partner in Davis Polk’s white collar group, I represent companies, boards, and individuals in critical situations, including when they are facing scrutiny by criminal and regulatory authorities, such as the DOJ, SEC, and Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC). I also advise companies and boards on governance and compliance.
A large part of my practice involves conducting internal investigations, as well as representing and advocating for companies and individuals under investigation by the DOJ or SEC. These matters span a wide variety of subject matters, including anti-corruption, securities fraud, whistleblower protection regulation violations, market manipulation, money laundering, and other financial crimes. Many of these matters are extremely sensitive and highly confidential. I also regularly advise clients on the design of and enhancements to their compliance programs.
In the wake of the #MeToo movement, I also represent multinational companies and boards on various critical work-place misconduct matters, including highly sensitive sexual misconduct investigations, proactive assessments, crisis management, and related compliance.
What types of clients do you represent?
I represent a wide variety of clients. My clients include companies and boards of directors across industries including healthcare, technology, telecommunications, consumer products, media, and mining and metals, as well as financial institutions, hedge funds, cryptocurrency companies, and private equity firms. I also frequently represent individuals, for example, when they are being investigated by the DOJ or SEC, have potential personal exposure in an investigation of a company, or when they are witnesses called to testify or to be interviewed by the government in connection with a matter.
What types of cases/deals do you work on?
I work on all manner of criminal and civil investigations, as well as a lot of proactive, compliance-related work across a range of industries and involving a wide variety of subject matter. Some of my most interesting work has involved investigations into allegations of sexual harassment, sexual misconduct, or other workplace misconduct. In addition, clients have engaged us to conduct proactive assessments of their policies and procedures related to sexual harassment and workplace misconduct to identify whether they have any issues that they need to address with enhancements to their compliance program. These matters are often confidential due to their extreme sensitivity.
How did you choose this practice area?
Joining the white collar group at Davis Polk gave me the opportunity to work on cutting-edge legal issues in a dynamic and challenging environment from very early in my career. Many of our matters are ripped from the headlines. After joining the firm, I was almost immediately staffed on high-profile matters involving major clients of the firm, learning from some of the leading practitioners in the field.
When I was a third-year associate, I worked on a Foreign Corrupt Practices Act matter for an international mining company. I loved digging into the facts, learning about the mining industry as well as about the governments in the many jurisdictions in which our client operated. I traveled throughout Australia and Europe for the matter, helping interview employ-ees to learn the facts and brief the client. I also found that I enjoyed the process by which we presented our findings to the government, the process of advocating for our client to various government agencies, and collaborating with counsel for the company outside the United States.
What is a “typical” day like and/or what are some common tasks you perform?
The only “typical” thing about any of my days is that they are never quite the same! I might be preparing a witness for a government interview, accompanying a witness into court to give testimony, giving a presentation to the DOJ or SEC, meeting with a client and a Davis Polk team about case strategy, working on a white paper as part of advocacy to the government, or simply learning the facts of a new case. There is also a lot of collaborating with colleagues, both within the white collar group and more broadly across the firm. Most days are fast paced, varied, and very interesting. I also spend time many days catching up with my clients—taking them to lunch or dinner or just catching up over the phone or on email.
What training, classes, experience, or skills development would you recommend to someone who wishes to enter your practice area?
While I don’t think there is any one particular class one should take to be successful in white collar, a strong research and legal writing foundation is key, as is very keen attention to detail. It is also helpful to develop a good understanding of how the various government agencies and enforcement authorities that we deal with on a regular basis operate and how they interact with each other—the DOJ (Main Justice and the various U.S. Attorneys’ Offices), the SEC, the CFTC, district attorneys’ offices, state attorneys general, etc. While I did not spend any time working for the government (other than internships during law school), many white collar lawyers spend parts of their careers working for the government and frequently go back and forth between the government and private practice.
What do you like best about your practice area?
The most rewarding aspect of being a white collar lawyer at Davis Polk is being able to work on high-profile and complex cases with colleagues and clients, who are both brilliant and fun to work with. I am constantly learning new things about my clients’ businesses, helping them face new challenges, and collaborating with them on how best to overcome these challenges.
What are some typical tasks that a junior lawyer would perform in this practice area?
Junior lawyers in white collar perform a broad array of tasks. They are the masters of the facts of any case, which is one of the most important roles there is. They learn the nuances of the matter and very often become the go-to team member on complicated facts for both the Davis Polk team and the client. On one of my recent matters, we represented many individual witnesses in a fraud trial, and each witness was assigned a junior associate team member who was responsible for that witness’ preparation. The junior lawyer found the most important documents for each witness, prepared detailed witness outlines, and helped prepare the witnesses. On my matters, juniors participate in calls and meetings with the client and government, and they often lead portions of internal and client-facing meetings.
What are some typical career paths for lawyers in this practice area?
There are so many interesting and varied career paths for white collar lawyers. So many of my colleagues have gone on to have fascinating careers in very senior positions in the government— whether at Main Justice, a U.S. Attorney’s Office, the SEC, or Treasury. Many of them have also come back to the firm after serving in the government. Many others have gone on to extremely interesting in-house roles at financial institutions, international companies, and crypto companies. Sometimes I am lucky enough to work with my colleagues who have left as clients!
How important is prior criminal law experience (e.g., working for the prosecutor’s office or district attorney) in paving a successful career in white collar defense?
While it can be helpful to have criminal law experience (DA’s office, U.S. Attorney’s Office), it is by no means a prerequisite. The vast majority of associates who come to the firm do not have this experience, and they build their skills through Davis Polk’s training program, learning on the job, and from their Davis Polk mentors and colleagues. That said, if a student is interested and has the opportunity to apply for an internship at a DA’s office or U.S. Attorney’s Office, it can be a wonderful learning experience.