Eric M. Soehnlein

Eric M. Soehnlein focuses his practice on white collar criminal defense, regulatory enforcement matters, internal investigations, and complex civil and securities litigation.

Mr. Soehnlein represents and defends individuals and companies in investigations and prosecutions in federal and state courts, and much of his practice is devoted to matters that include parallel criminal and civil proceedings. In that regard, he regularly represents individuals and companies in investigations, regulatory enforcement actions and related litigation brought by federal and state entities, including the United States Department of Justice, the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), the Internal Revenue Service (IRS), the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA), the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB), the Federal Trade Commission (FTC), the Office of the New York State Attorney General, the New York State Department of Health and the New York State Department of Taxation and Finance. As part of that practice, Eric represents physicians, attorneys and other professionals in investigations and administrative proceedings relating to professional licensing.

Mr. Soehnlein is a member of the Criminal Justice Act (CJA) panel for the United States District Court for the Western District of New York.  The CJA panel is a select group of criminal defense attorneys appointed to represent indigent defendants in federal criminal matters.  In that role, Mr. Soehnlein defends individuals charged with serious federal crimes. 

Mr. Soehnlein also devotes much of his practice to complex civil litigation. That practice encompasses cases involving business torts, shareholder disputes, breaches of contract, securities violations, non-competition agreements and restrictive covenants, theft of trade secrets, and violations of professional ethics.

Mr. Soehnlein is a 2009 graduate of Columbia University Law School, where he was a Harlan Fiske Stone Scholar and Managing Editor of the Columbia Journal of European Law.  In his first year, he was selected to represent the school in the national competition of the Constance Baker Motley Moot Court, where he was a national quarter-finalist.  During law school, Eric was active in pro bono activities, representing victims of domestic violence in New York City courts through the law school’s Domestic Violence Project, as well as low-income taxpayers in their disputes with New York State tax authorities through the Milbank-Tweed Low-Income Taxpayer Project.

Mr. Soehnlein is a 2006 summa cum laude graduate of Canisius College, where he majored in Political Science and English.  He was a member of both the All-College and English Honors programs, and he was inducted into the Alpha Sigma Nu, Sigma Tau Delta, and Pi Sigma Alpha honor societies.  He also was selected by the faculty to be the commencement speaker for the class of 2006.

Before joining the firm, Mr. Soehnlein was an associate at the litigation boutique Connors & Vilardo, LLP. He also has been adjunct professor at Canisius College and the University at Buffalo where he taught courses related to health law and public policy.