Chris Nasson is a litigation partner and member of the firm’s Investigations, Enforcement, and White Collar practice group. His practice focuses on regulatory enforcement, white collar criminal defense, internal investigations, and related business and securities litigation.
Chris represents corporations and individuals in criminal and civil matters brought by the Department of Justice, Securities and Exchange Commission, Internal Revenue Service, and other federal, state, and foreign enforcement agencies. An experienced trial and appellate attorney, Chris has had considerable success dissuading governmental agencies from pursuing any enforcement or criminal action against his clients. He also counsels clients on risk mitigation strategies with respect to anti-corruption, sanctions, cybersecurity, and anti-money laundering issues.
Prior to joining the firm, Chris served as an Assistant U.S. Attorney in the Eastern District of New York and Eastern District of Kentucky, where he specialized in investigating and prosecuting financial and corporate crime. As a federal prosecutor, Chris led investigations involving securities fraud, health care fraud, cybercrime, corporate and bank fraud, money laundering, tax evasion, and espionage, as well as violations of the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act, Export Administration Regulations, and International Traffic in Arms Regulations. Chris worked closely with various federal agencies including the Securities and Exchange Commission, Internal Revenue Service, and Office of the Comptroller of the Currency, and led a multi-district, multi-agency investigation of a global insider trading ring, the first criminal prosecution in the U.S. involving trading on inside information obtained through hacking. He tried numerous cases to verdict — all resulting in convictions — in addition to successfully arguing appeals before the U.S. Courts of Appeals for the Second and Sixth Circuits.
Chris is consistently recognized as a leading practitioner in the area of white collar criminal defense. His cases, commentary, and scholarship have been featured in numerous major news publications including the New York Times, Wall Street Journal, Washington Post, Boston Globe, Reuters, Bloomberg, and National Law Review. In 2017, Massachusetts Lawyers Weekly recognized Chris as “Lawyer of the Year” for his pro bono work securing the release of Fred Weichel, who was wrongfully imprisoned for more than 36 years for a crime he did not commit.
Before his service with the Department of Justice, Chris was a litigation attorney at a prominent Boston law firm, where he worked on matters involving healthcare fraud, public corruption, and corporate embezzlement, as well as complex commercial litigation and arbitration.
- Named 2017 “Lawyer of the Year” by Massachusetts Lawyers Weekly
- Recipient of 2011 Department of Justice Special Act Award in connection with the successful prosecution of corporate and individual tax evasion
- American Bar Association, Criminal Justice Section - Securities Fraud, Healthcare Fraud, and Corporate Criminal Liability Subcommittees
- Boston Bar Association, Criminal Law Section
- Boston Bar Foundation, Adams Benefit Pro Bono Steering Committee
- University of Virginia School of Law, Public Service Mentor
- Eastern District Association
- Christopher Nasson, David Peet, Christopher Warner, When DOJ’s China Initiative Entangles US Research Orgs, Law360: Expert Analysis (March 11, 2020).
- Christopher Nasson et al., SEC Examinations, Enforcement Actions, and Litigation Developments, 2019 Boston Investment Management Conference, Boston, MA, November 2019.
- Christopher Nasson, Steven Wright, Gregory Wright, Insurance Coverage for Government Proceedings, Investigations, and Subpoenas, Continuing Legal Education Program, Boston, MA, November 2019.
- Christopher Nasson, A Practical Guide to Conducting Witness Interviews in Government Investigations, Continuing Legal Education Program, Boston, MA, March 2019.
- Christopher Nasson and Neil Smith, Global Corruption and the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act, ESADE Global Governance and Law Program, the Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy at Tufts University, Boston, MA, June 2018.
- Christopher Nasson and Neil Smith, Developments in SEC Enforcement and Examinations, 2017 Boston Investment Management Conference, Boston, MA, November 2017.
- Christopher Nasson et al., Legal in Transformation: How Legal Functions Are Adapting to People, Process, and Technology Changes, Thompson Reuters, Boston, MA, September 2017.
- Christopher Nasson et al., Best Practices in Parallel Criminal and Civil Investigations and Proceedings, U.S. Securities & Exchange Commission, New York, NY, July 2016.
