Before joining Calcagni & Kanefsky, Rich was a Senior Attorney and Trust & Compliance Officer with IBM, guiding the company on compliance-related matters with a focus on anti-bribery and corruption. Before his in-house role, Rich was Counsel at a global Am Law 100 law firm, where he represented companies and individuals in criminal and regulatory investigations and enforcement matters, internal investigations, and civil litigation.

Rich started his litigation career as a judicial clerk for Magistrate Judge A. Kathleen Tomlinson, and then for District Judge Denis R. Hurley, both in the United States District Court for the Eastern District of New York.

Criminal and Regulatory Defense

• Successfully defended traders and salespeople in connection with a criminal investigation into allegations of fraud and market manipulation in the foreign exchange market.
• Successfully defended securities trader in connection with a CFTC investigation involving allegations of market manipulation, fraud, and false reporting regarding an interest rate derivative benchmark.
• Successfully defended financial institution in connection with a New York Attorney General and SEC investigation into allegations of fraud involving a private exchange for trading securities.
• Successfully defended an international insurance company in price-fixing investigation by international competition authorities.
• Representing insurance broker in connection with a New Jersey Attorney General investigation into insurance fraud.

Civil Litigation

• Successfully defended a financial institution in multiple state and federal antitrust litigations regarding credit card fee.
• Successfully defended a financial institution against an appeal to the Second Circuit seeking to reverse the dismissal of an action alleging Securities Act violations.

• Successfully defended title company in state court action against allegations of fraud, tortious interference, and negligence.
• Successfully defended financial analyst in New Jersey state court against allegations of breach of fiduciary duty and negligence.
• Successfully defended employers in federal and state court litigation concerning claims of sexual harassment, discrimination, and retaliation.

Internal Investigations & Legal Compliance

• Represented municipality in an independent investigation into alleged abuses of time-off policy and related no-show violations.
• Represented NCAA coach in an internal investigation led by University regarding claims of bullying.
• Assisting outside investigative counsel to the Governor of the State of New York as part of team investigating employment complaints in the Executive Chamber.
• Conducted internal investigation for a financial company into gift and entertainment violations.
• Conducted internal investigations for a technology company regarding potential international corruption and bribery.
• Counseled technology company on compliance and control weaknesses and revised anti-bribery and corruption policies and procedures.
• Drafted a code of conduct and ethics for a mid-size construction company.

Rich was the recipient of the 2019 Pro Bono Achievement Award by Sanctuary for Families, a non-profit organization dedicated to aiding victims of domestic violence and their children. He has been selected by Super Lawyers as a Rising Star for the New York Metropolitan area. Rich also serves his alma mater as a board member for the St. John’s University School of Law Alumni Association.