Lisa A. Prager Joins Morvillo Abramowitz as Principal

NEW YORK, April 29, 2011 /PRNewswire/ -- Leading litigation firm Morvillo, Abramowitz, Grand, Iason, Anello & Bohrer, P.C., is pleased to announce that Lisa A. Prager has joined the firm as Principal. The firm also announces the opening of its Washington, DC, office, located at 1899 Pennsylvania Avenue NW (202-349-0122). The office will be led by Ms. Prager.

"We are very pleased that Lisa has joined our firm. She is an impressive trial lawyer with tremendous experience and a stellar reputation in the DC legal community. Her presence in Washington will greatly strengthen our ability to serve clients in the DC area," said Elkan Abramowitz of Morvillo Abramowitz. "While we have been representing clients in Washington for many years, Lisa's skills and expertise in government investigations, export controls and Foreign Corrupt Practices Act matters, including her considerable trial experience, are perfect complements to our core white collar and regulatory practices, and will be a strong foundation in our development of a broad litigation practice in Washington."

"Morvillo Abramowitz is the gold standard for vigorous and sophisticated representation and I am honored to join them," said Ms. Prager. "I look forward to launching our DC office and continuing my trial practice there."  Ms. Prager will get her chance this summer as she goes to trial in United States  v. Goncalves et al., 1:09-cr-00335 (D.D.C.) (RJL), a case touted by DOJ as the largest single prosecution of individuals in the history of FCPA enforcement.  "Morvillo Abramowitz's track record in forcefully and successfully defending its clients, coupled with increased criminal and regulatory enforcement activity in DC, make the establishment of our Washington practice a timely response to client needs," said Ms. Prager.

Ms. Prager's experience includes defending companies and individuals in government investigations and enforcement actions, both regulatory and criminal, arising from U.S. export controls, economic sanctions law, and the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act.  In addition, Ms. Prager counsels a wide range of domestic and foreign companies with respect to State Department, Treasury Department, and Commerce Department export control laws and regulations. Most recently, she was a Partner with Wilson, Sonsini, Goodrich & Rosati.

Prior to going into private practice, Ms. Prager was Acting Assistant Secretary and Deputy Assistant Secretary for Export Enforcement at the U.S. Department of Commerce's Bureau of Industry and Security.  While at Commerce, Ms. Prager served as the highest ranking career employee in Export Enforcement.  Her work at the Commerce Department included managing many of the agency's largest export control settlements and indictments to date, including criminal investigations related to Chinese exports and the freight-forwarding industry. In addition, Ms. Prager helped the agency establish a more streamlined and transparent process for resolving civil cases, including publication of the penalty guidelines.

Ms. Prager joined Commerce after a distinguished career at the United States Attorney's Office in DC.  As an Assistant U.S. Attorney, she handled federal cases involving terrorism, wire and mail fraud, economic espionage, and export control violations, among many other matters.

Ms. Prager is also a member of the board of TheatreworksUSA, a nonprofit organization that brings theater to children and families around the country who otherwise would have no access to the performing arts. She received her J.D., magna cum laude, from Western New England College School of Law in 1982, and her B.A. from Yale University in 1978.

ABOUT MORVILLO ABRAMOWITZ

Morvillo Abramowitz is a New York-based litigation firm of over 60 attorneys. Since its founding in 1972, Morvillo Abramowitz has represented institutional and individual clients with complex white collar criminal and regulatory matters, securities litigation and sophisticated business disputes. The firm also has broad experience conducting internal investigations on behalf of corporate clients and provides litigation-avoidance advice and other confidential legal counseling, often in highly sensitive contexts.

Contact:  Rosemarie Yu
917-647-8454
[email protected]

SOURCE Morvillo, Abramowitz, Grand, Iason, Anello & Bohrer, P.C.