In The News

Buckley Sandler Elects Two New Partners & Promotes Six Attorneys to Counsel

Buckley Sandler LLP, a leading financial services and criminal & civil enforcement defense law firm with offices in Washington, DC, Los Angeles and New York, has announced the election of Valerie L. Hletko and Caitlin M. Kasmar to the firm’s partnership, effective January 1, 2012. The firm has also promoted six associates to the position of counsel.

“Buckley Sandler is pleased to recognize the contributions and talents of eight extraordinary lawyers with these much deserved promotions,” said firm Chairman and Executive Partner, Andrew L. Sandler. “With these promotions, we are even better able to deliver best-in-class legal services to our clients and contribute to our profession and our communities. Providing opportunities for advancement for outstanding lawyers who regularly deliver high quality and efficient client service and who are well respected in the Bar and our communities is a core principle of this firm and something in which the entire partnership takes great pride.”

Experience and contributions of new partners include:

Valerie L. Hletko represents financial institutions in examinations, investigations and administrative enforcement actions initiated by the Department of Justice, the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation, the Federal Reserve Board and state bank regulatory agencies and state attorneys general. Her enforcement practice is focused on fair lending, financial products trade practices, mortgage fraud and mortgage loan servicing. Hletko has represented financial institutions in private class action litigation alleging violations of federal and state fair lending laws, mortgage fraud and unfair and deceptive trade practices. Hletko is the Vice Chair of the Retail Banking and Consumer Law Subcommittee of the ABA Banking Law Committee. She received her J.D. from the University of Chicago in 2001.

Caitlin M. Kasmar represents financial services industry clients in a wide range of litigation matters, including class actions, internal investigations and government enforcement actions. Kasmar has litigated cases arising under the Fair Housing Act, the Equal Credit Opportunity Act, the Civil Rights Act, federal securities laws, and unfair and deceptive trade practices statutes. Kasmar has represented clients in private civil litigation, criminal actions, and enforcement actions brought by state and federal agencies including the Department of Justice, the FDIC, the OCC, and various state attorneys general. Kasmar is a member of the Firm’s Pro Bono Committee. She received her J.D. from the University of Chicago in 2004.

The four associates elected to counsel include:

Donald T. Meier focuses on mergers and acquisitions, capital markets transactions (including purchases and sales of mortgage loans and servicing rights) and other securities offerings, securities regulation, corporate governance, joint ventures, e-commerce and technology and business process outsourcing agreements for financial services and other business entities. Meier received his J.D. from the University of Pennsylvania in 2003 (cum laude), where he was a member of the University of Pennsylvania Law Review.

Amanda M. Raines represents financial services industry clients in federal and state enforcement agency investigations and litigation, as well as in private civil and class action litigation. She has represented clients in investigations by the Department of Justice, the Securities and Exchange Commission, the FDIC and state attorneys general, as well as in private class action litigation concerning a variety of issues, including securities fraud, tax fraud, the Fair Housing Act, the Equal Credit Opportunity Act, the Civil Rights Act, and unfair and deceptive trade practices statutes. For the last five years, Ms. Raines has represented a federal inmate on death row. She currently is the chair of the Women Litigator’s Committee of the D.C. Bar. Ms. Raines received her J.D. from Case Western Reserve University in 2003 (magna cum laude, Order of the Coif).

Lauren R. Randell currently represents a defendant in the ongoing trial of the FCPA Sting case, the largest FCPA criminal enforcement proceeding against individuals ever brought by the DOJ. From investigations to trial, Randell represents corporate and individual clients in civil and criminal enforcement cases before agencies and the DOJ, including White Collar criminal defense matters, securities enforcement defense, securities class action litigation, environmental criminal defense and consumer litigation. In 2009, she was part of the trial team which secured an acquittal for a defendant in United States v. W.R. Grace, one of the largest criminal environmental prosecutions ever brought by the DOJ. Randell received her J.D. from the Yale Law School in 2005.

Michelle L. Rogers represents clients in federal and state enforcement agency investigations and litigation, class action litigation and corporate internal investigations. Rogers has represented institutions and individuals in investigations and examinations by the Department of Justice, the Department of Housing and Urban Development, the FDIC, the OTS, the Federal Reserve, the CFPB, and state attorneys general. She has also defended clients in cases involving the False Claims Act, Program Fraud Civil Remedies Act, Truth in Lending Act, Fair Housing Act, Equal Credit Opportunity Act, Civil Rights Act, and unfair and deceptive trade practices statutes. Rogers has published articles on a variety of issues, including recent enforcement trends. Rogers received her J.D. from American University in 2005 (summa cum laude, Order of the Coif).

About Buckley Sandler LLP (www.buckleyfirm.com): With over 150 lawyers in Washington, DC, Los Angeles, and New York, Buckley Sandler provides best-in-class legal counsel to meet the challenges of its financial services industry and other corporate and individual clients across the full-range of government enforcement actions, complex and class action litigation, and transactional, regulatory, and public policy issues. The Firm represents many of the nation's leading financial services institutions. "The best at what they do in the country." (Chambers USA).