Edward A. McDonald focuses on white collar criminal
defense, securities enforcement matters and complex civil litigation. He
also conducts internal investigations for businesses and labor unions. Mr.
McDonald is a former federal prosecutor who, as Attorney-In-Charge of the
Federal Organized Crime Strike Force in New York, was repeatedly honored for
his successes on trial and his supervision of some of the Justice Department’s
most important cases.
Mr. McDonald is consistently recognized by Super
Lawyers, New York Magazine, Benchmark Litigation and other
attorney reference guides as one of the best lawyers in his areas of practice. The
Legal 500 US has said, “The ‘excellent’ Edward McDonald lives up to
his reputation as ‘one of the best criminal defense attorneys in New York.’”
Since 2007, Mr. McDonald has been regularly recognized by Best Lawyers in
America for his white collar criminal defense practice.
Mr. McDonald’s clients have included mutual fund
companies, hedge fund managers, domestic and foreign banks and bank officials,
other international financial institutions and their employees, accounting
firms, health care providers, insurance companies, real estate development and
management firms, construction and design firms, labor unions and their
officers, public officials throughout the New York area, attorneys, and
physicians. He recently represented one of the world’s most prominent recording
artists and currently represents the New York City Policeman’s Benevolent
Association. He has also represented a large South African business conglomerate,
one of the world’s largest airlines, the former chairman and deputy chairman of
the Russian Securities Commission, a member of the Saudi royal family, Lebanese
and Saudi businessmen, and many other businesses and individuals throughout the
world. He regularly represents one of the nation’s largest waste management
companies. He has extensive experience in matters concerning alleged
violations of securities (including insider trading), tax, money laundering,
antitrust, customs, immigration, bankruptcy, public corruption, environmental,
and RICO statutes.
In addition to trying countless cases in federal and
state trial courts and arguing almost 70 appeals in the Second Circuit
Court of Appeals, the New York Court of Appeals, and the Appellate Division,
First Department, Mr. McDonald has represented numerous clients before the SEC,
FINRA, the Federal Reserve Board, the EEOC, and other federal, state, and local
agencies. He has conducted several internal investigations for businesses and
labor unions and has substantial experience with government-imposed
monitorships. He has also frequently advised corporate boards and officers in
both criminal and civil matters.
As a federal prosecutor, Mr. McDonald directed many
of the Justice Department’s most complex and most successful white-collar and
organized crime prosecutions. He and his staff obtained convictions against
many businessmen, labor racketeers, and organized crime figures for criminal
activities in the savings and loan, pension fund, air freight, commercial
moving and storage, construction, fuel oil distribution, and other major
industries. He also coordinated successful prosecutions of the hierarchies of
the Gambino, Colombo, Lucchese, and Bonanno crime families.
His courtroom victories as a federal prosecutor
include the convictions of Bronx Congressman Mario Biaggi and Brooklyn Democratic Leader
Meade Esposito, the Abscam case against New Jersey Senator Harrison Williams, the
Boston College basketball point-shaving case, the infamous Lufthansa robbery
case, and many other major trials. He also personally
participated in the investigations and successful prosecutions of Congressmen John
Murphy of New York, Frank Thompson of New Jersey, and Michael Myers and Raymond
Lederer of Pennsylvania.
Mr. McDonald also served as an Assistant District
Attorney in Manhattan, where he tried many cases and argued more than 40
appeals. When he left the office, he was District Attorney Robert Morgenthau’s
senior appellate staff attorney.
A member of the Screen Actors Guild since 1990, Mr. McDonald has
appeared in such films as Martin Scorsese’s “Goodfellas,” in which he recreated
his real-life role as the prosecutor, and Barbet Schroeder’s “Kiss of Death,”
in which he also played a lawyer.
Mr. McDonald is a nationally recognized authority in
such areas as white collar criminal defense, labor racketeering, public
corruption, and the infiltration of organized crime into legitimate businesses.
He has appeared frequently on television programs, including Nightline, The
Today Show, The Charlie Rose Show, Court TV, and the network
evening news shows. He has been interviewed on many occasions by both the
national and local print media. In addition, he is a frequent lecturer on trial
and appellate practice and was an adjunct faculty member at Brooklyn Law School
for eight years.
Education
Boston College, 1968
Georgetown University Law Center, J.D., 1971
Court Admissions
United States Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit
Bar Admissions/Qualifications
New York
Clerkships
Honorable Anthony J. Travia, United States District
Court for the Eastern District of New York
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