Practice area

Dispute resolution

Experience

Tim Coleman represents clients in government investigations and related litigation. He handles civil and criminal cases involving securities fraud, antitrust violations, commodities fraud, health care fraud, official corruption and other areas.

Tim's recent work includes:

  • antitrust: representing Continental Airlines in its successful defense of a private suit to enjoin its merger with United Airlines in San Francisco federal court;
  • bribery and corruption: representing numerous companies in integrity investigations by the World Bank in connection with emerging market projects;
  • securities fraud: serving as court-appointed receiver for Wextrust Capital, a multinational financial firm, in an SEC enforcement case in New York federal court; and
  • class action defense: representing a manufacturer of polyurethane foam in a multidistrict litigation in US federal court involving allegations of a price-fixing cartel.

Tim joined Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer in 2010. Previously, he was co-chair of the government investigations practice at an Am Law 25 firm based in New York. Tim served for more than eight years with the US Department of Justice, including as a securities fraud prosecutor in the Southern District of New York, and as a senior official at the Justice Department's headquarters in Washington.

Tim received his law degree from Georgetown University in 1990. He has also studied at the European University Institute in Florence, Italy, and the French National School for the Judiciary in Paris. Before Tim became a lawyer, he worked as a foreign exchange trader for a commercial bank.

Qualifications

Attorney-at-law, New York and Washington DC

Publications

'The SEC's New Enforcement Policies in Action: The First DPA and NPA Agreements,' Bloomberg Securities Law Report, July 2011 (with Sandeep Savla)

'Bribery and Corruption Compliance: The Playing Field Levels,' New York Law Journal, April 20, 2011 (with London partner Paul Lomas)

Moderator, 'FCPA Investigations,' ABA Securities Fraud annual conference, 2010

Chair, 'Risk Management in Transnational Criminal Investigations,' International Bar Association conference, 2009

Panelist, 'What Corporate Directors Need to Know About Litigation,' Stanford Law School Directors College, 2008

'Corporate Cooperation,' National Law Journal, 2007 (winner of Burton Award for Legal Achievement)

'Excesses of Corporate Prosecution Should Be Curbed,' Financial Times, 2006

Presenter, 'Why Some Companies Survive Corporate Scandals and Others Don't,' National Association of Corporate Directors, Washington, 2006

Panelist, 'Inside the Beltway: Shaping Corporate Governance,' Ethics and Compliance Officers Association annual conference, 2005

'What Does Law Enforcement Regard As An Effective Compliance Program?' Practicing Law Institute, 2005

Contact details

tim.coleman@freshfields.com

  • Washington, DC office
  • 701 Pennsylvania Avenue, NW
    Suite 600
    Washington, DC
    20004-2692
    United States
  • Telephone
  • +1 202 777 4560
  • Fax
  • +1 202 507 5960