McKool Smith Principal Dan Levy is on a short list of New York’s most respected go-to lawyers for high-stakes white collar matters. The former Assistant United States Attorney for the Southern District of New York has twice been recognized as the Federal Law Enforcement Foundation “Prosecutor of the Year,” and has developed deep experience in disputes involving financial fraud, trade secret, art law, and cross-border matters.
Check out the Q&A below to learn more about Dan and why he’s ranked as a Chambers USA leading lawyer for white collar matters.
Why do clients hire you?
Clients hire me for fierce advocacy, access, and deep experience. I am thoroughly committed to my client’s success, and I’m relentless about understanding every nuance of a case to position them for the best outcome. We do not have layers upon layers of lawyers, such that work is passed through several channels. Instead, we provide higher quality work product and increased cost-efficiency for clients by deploying elite talent and staffing matters leanly. This allows me to be involved in every aspect of the case. When clients hire me, they get me.
What inspired you to pursue a career in litigation, and how has your journey shaped your practice?
My grandfather was a lawyer in Berlin before World War II. He was impacted by the laws passed throughout the 1930s that limited who could practice law in Nazi Germany. My grandparents first tried to emigrate in 1939 to Cuba on a well-known ship called the MS St. Louis. But they were not allowed to enter and were forced to return to Europe. They were interned in France until they re-emigrated in 1940 on a ship called the SS Champlain. My grandparents were given permission for two people to enter the United States, but three arrived. My mother was born on that ship, which hit a mine and sank on its return trip to Europe. I believe deeply in the promise of the United States and the way that it allowed my grandparents and my mother to build a life as Americans. I still have in my office the plaque that my grandfather hung outside his office when he practiced in Berlin.
What differentiates your practice from others?
My practice is heavily cross-border in nature. In these cases, the relevant events have taken place outside of the United States, the witnesses and documents are overseas, or a foreign authority is investigating the matter alongside US authorities.
When all three of these phenomena are present, the matter takes on an exponentially greater level of complexity. These matters require strong cross-cultural competencies along with an acute understanding of the impact of foreign law. At the same time, cross-border matters present unique opportunities; there are chess moves available in cross-border disputes that are unavailable in a purely domestic case.
