Todd Blanche is the founder of Blanche Law. Blanche Law counsels clients all over the world in criminal and regulatory investigations, internal investigations, and crisis management counseling. Todd brings unique expertise to any government or internal investigative challenge, with over 20 years’ experience working as a federal prosecutor and defense attorney at two large law firms. Blanche Law's team has represented corporations and individuals in criminal and regulatory matters involving all types of white-collar investigations, prosecutions, and enforcement actions. After serving as an Assistant United States Attorney in the Southern District of New York for nine years, Todd's experience as a defense attorney includes getting the criminal indictment against Paul Manafort dismissed prior to trial and achieving an unexpectedly positive result in the politically charged prosecution by the SDNY against Igor Fruman, an associate of Rudy Giuliani. In addition to these representations, Todd is counsel of record for President Donald J. Trump in the two prosecutions brought by Special Counsel Jack Smith in the Southern District of Florida and the District of Columbia, as well as the prosecution in brought by the New York County District Attorney. Beyond these high-profile representations, Todd has successfully represented companies and individuals facing grand jury subpoenas, criminal charges, regulatory inquiries and actions, as well as entities that are investigating and responding to internal investigations. Many of Todd's most successful representations remain confidential because the government or regulator declined to prosecute or otherwise proceed against the individual or company.
Todd served for nine years as an Assistant U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of New York, including as a supervisor for almost four years. As co-chief of the Violent Crimes unit and later of the White Plains Division, he supervised investigations and prosecutions involving public corruption, securities fraud, bank and wire frauds, Medicare and federal program frauds, RICO violations, violent crimes, and other criminal violations. Todd has extensive trial experience, serving as counsel in 15 federal jury trials. Todd was a recipient of the Director’s Award from the U.S. Department of Justice for Superior Performance as an Assistant U.S. Attorney.
Todd received a B.A. in Political Science and Interdisciplinary Studies from American University, and a J.D., cum laude, from Brooklyn Law School, where he was an editor of the Brooklyn Law Review. Todd worked full-time while supporting his family and attending law school at night. He held clerkships with the Honorable Joseph F. Bianco of the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of New York and the Honorable Denny Chin of the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York (both Judges now of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit). Prior to founding Blanche Law, Todd was a partner at Cadwalader, Wickersham & Taft, LLP and was a counsel at WilmerHale LLP. Early in his career, Todd was an associate in the Litigation Department in the New York office of Davis Polk & Wardwell LLP.
Emil Bove is a partner at Blanche Law with extensive trial and appellate experience. A former federal prosecutor, Emil represents clients in white-collar criminal and regulatory defense matters, internal investigations, and complex commercial disputes involving civil litigation and arbitration. Emil also counsels companies and individuals on sanctions compliance issues under federal and state laws, and he represents whistleblowers before the SEC and CFTC.
Emil served for over nine years as an Assistant United States Attorney in the Southern District of New York. As an AUSA, Emil tried 13 federal cases and briefed and/or argued 18 appeals. He handled some of the country’s most significant national security matters during his tenure, and he was Co-Chief of the Office’s national security unit during his last two years as a prosecutor. Emil’s investigations involved economic sanctions, export controls, money laundering, foreign corruption and bribery, cybersecurity and data intrusions, espionage, and the Foreign Agents Registration Act and 18 U.S.C. § 951.
Emil earned his J.D. from Georgetown University Law Center, where he was the Editor-in-Chief of the Georgetown Law Journal’s Annual Review of Criminal Procedure. He earned his B.A., in Public Policy & Economics, summa cum laude, from the State University of New York at Albany. Emil also served as a law clerk to the Honorable Richard J. Sullivan in the Southern District of New York, and the Honorable Richard C. Wesley in the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit. Prior to joining Blanche Law, Emil was a partner at Chiesa Shahinian & Giantomasi PC.
Lex Urban is a partner at Blanche Law. Lex has over 15 years of experience in high-stakes representations for corporations, financial institutions, and individuals in their dealings with the U.S. Department of Justice, the Securities and Exchange Commission, U.S. Attorneys' Offices, and many other federal and state regulatory bodies. Through his work on internal investigations and responses to criminal and civil regulatory inquiries, Lex has consistently delivered positive results leading domestic and cross-border internal investigations across numerous industries, including financial services, consulting, gaming, cloud solutions, sports data analytics, pharmaceuticals, and higher education. Lex’s matters often require him to navigate an array of complicated legal issues involving alleged and suspected misconduct around the world, including in Europe, Africa, Asia, Latin America, and Australia, as well as within the United States. His recent matters have involved the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act, sports betting compliance, conflicts-of-interest, securities fraud, and money laundering.
Lex is skilled in conducting compliance program reviews and risk assessments and has regularly counseled clients regarding the development and implementation of policies and procedures designed to prevent and detect potential violations of law. These compliance programs have involved wide-ranging legal and regulatory matters, including anticorruption, Sarbanes-Oxley, anti-money laundering, accounting fraud and state gaming regulations.
Lex regularly participates in pro bono work and received an Outstanding Achievement Award from the Washington Lawyers' Committee for Civil Rights and Urban Affairs for his efforts. Lex also helped draft a successful amicus curiae brief to the Supreme Court of the United States in Yates v. United States (construing Sarbanes-Oxley’s criminal provision for document destruction, 18 U.S.C. § 1519) and more recently co-authored the United States portion of the American Bar Association’s book, “An International Guide to Corporate Internal Investigations.”
Lex received degrees in both Math and Psychology from Williams College, where he captained its national championship winning tennis team, and received a J.D., magna cum laude, from Catholic University – Columbus School of Law. Prior to attending law school, Lex devoted a year to full-time community service, civic engagement and community outreach as a math/reading tutor in Washington, D.C., public schools through Americorps’ City Year program.
Lex is admitted to practice in New York, the District of Columbia, and Maryland. Prior to joining Blanche Law, Lex was a Special Counsel in the New York office of Cadwalader, Wickersham & Taft LLP, a leading international law firm.
Stephen Weiss is Counsel at Blanche Law. His practice concentrates on advising U.S. and international clients in connection with internal and government investigations and enforcement proceedings. He has experience representing clients at the federal and state levels, as well as in complex cross-border matters.
Stephen has represented corporations, their boards of directors/senior management, and individuals in a variety of industries and business sectors, including financial and consulting services, gaming, sports and entertainment, health care, higher education, manufacturing and technology. He advises clients in regulatory and internal investigations, including enforcement matters before the United States Department of Justice, the Securities and Exchange Commission, the Office of Foreign Assets Control, and state attorneys general offices, as well as foreign regulators, such as the UK’s Serious Fraud Office. He has also assisted companies and corporate boards in conducting proactive internal investigations related to money laundering, accounting fraud, employment issues and other matters. He also has successfully counseled company representatives and individual clients in various types of civil and criminal litigations in federal courts, including clients facing grand jury subpoenas and criminal charges.
A graduate of Dickinson College, Stephen received his J.D. from American University, Washington College of Law and served on The American University Business Law Review. While in law school, Stephen worked full-time at a large Washington, DC-based law firm and later interned with the United States Department of Justice Office of International Affairs, where he worked closely with international regulatory and enforcement bodies to coordinate criminal investigations involving the U.S. and other countries.
Stephen previously worked as an associate in Cadwalader, Wickersham & Taft LLP’s Global Litigation and White Collar Defense and Investigation groups. He is admitted to practice in the District of Columbia.
Kendra Wharton serves as Of Counsel to Blanche Law. Kendra is an accomplished defense attorney with extensive experience representing multinational corporations and executives in a wide range of criminal and civil matters. She has represented both companies and individuals in connection with complex investigations and litigation by the United States Department of Justice (DOJ) and various United States Attorneys' Offices, the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC), and the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB). She also has extensive experience managing corporate internal investigations and compliance initiatives for financial institutions and other organizations operating in highly regulated industries, as well as advising clients in connection with high-profile congressional inquiries and requests for congressional testimony.
Kendra was included in the 2021-2024 editions of The Best Lawyers in America: Ones to Watch in recognition of her work in Criminal Defense: White-Collar. She is also Global Co-Chair of the Young Professionals Committee of the Women’s White Collar Defense Association (WWCDA) and a member of the Florida chapter.
Kendra most recently served as Special Counsel in the Washington D.C. office of Cadwalader, Wickersham & Taft LLP, a leading international law firm, and one of the oldest continuously operating legal practices in the United States. There she was a member of the White Collar Defense & Investigations Practice for close to a decade.
Kendra received her J.D. from the Georgetown University Law Center and earned her B.S. in Political Science, magna cum laude, from the University of Louisville. She is admitted to practice in Florida, the District of Columbia, and the Commonwealth of Virginia, and is admitted to the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Florida.
Prior to practicing law, Kendra served on the legislative staff of Senate Republican Leader Mitch McConnell, covering banking and financial services issues.
Kendra is Founder & Managing Attorney, Wharton Law PLLC
Danny Sitko is a legal analyst at Blanche Law. Danny provides a highly-skilled and versatile knowledgebase to every situation and has assisted in some of the nation’s most high-pressure and consequential cases and investigations. Prior to joining Blanche Law, Danny served as a paralegal specialist for the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of New York. As a paralegal in the National Security and International Narcotics Unit, he supported investigations that disrupted and deterred plots by international drug cartels, foreign agents, and foreign and domestic terrorists to endanger the nation’s safety. Danny has extensive experience with cases involving sensitive information and has worked with various government agencies to ensure that proper compliance with legal obligations did not impact the security or integrity of the nation’s intelligence and defense capabilities.
Danny has used his skills to aid in the preparation of dozens of charged cases for trial, involving a multitude of offenses, including material support of terrorist organizations, FARA violations, IEEPA violations, RICO charges, importation of controlled substances, importation of firearms, interstate threats, marriage fraud, visa fraud, gathering and disclosing national defense information, murder, possession and distribution of CSEM/CSAM, and murder of U.S. government officials, among others. In his role assisting attorneys, Danny was responsible for trial support on three federal jury trials involving terrorism, one of which being a federal capital trial.
Danny received a B.A. in Political Science and Spanish Cultural Studies from Tufts University in 2020, graduating summa cum laude.
Kristine Blanche serves as Blanche Law’s chief of staff. With over 15 years of experience as an entrepreneur, Kristine leads Blanche Law’s administrative department and oversees management and strategic operations of Blanche Law. Kristine plays a critical role in overseeing Blanche Law’s productivity, including overseeing the firm’s legal resources to effectively address clients’ needs. Kristine has worked in the medical field for over 30 years.
Kristine received her B.S. from the Catholic University of America and from Long Island University, and she received a M.S., M.D. & PhD summa cum laude from USAT.
Andrew Hersey is an Associate at Blanche Law. Prior to joining the firm, Andrew served as a law clerk to the Honorable Richard K. Eaton of the U.S. Court of International Trade (2020-2024), where he worked on appeals of decisions by federal executive agencies in the import regulation space. He also has extensive experience working on civil and criminal matters before Judge Eaton (sitting by designation) in the District Court for the Southern District of New York and the Circuit Courts of Appeals for the Second and Ninth Circuits. Andrew earned his J.D., magna cum laude, from Albany Law School, where he was the Executive Managing Editor and Executive Editor for Lead Articles of the Albany Law Review.
Betsy Wright works closely with the team at Blanche Law supporting our team and providing the highest quality service to our clients.
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