White Collar Representation

The attorneys at Nolan Barton Olmos & Luciano have helped many employees and companies in Silicon Valley and around the country defend themselves against criminal charges involving trade secret theft (Penal Code § 499c; 18 U.S.C. § 1832), economic espionage (18 U.S.C. § 1831), computer crimes (Penal Code § 502; 18 U.S.C. § 1030), securities violations (15 U.S.C. §§ 78j(b), 78ff; 17 CFR 240.10b-5), import and export violations, false statements charges (18 U.S.C. § 1001), mail fraud (18 U.S.C. § 1341), wire fraud (18 U.S.C. § 1343), money laundering (18 U.S.C. §§ 1956, 1957), tax violations (26 U.S.C. §§ 7201, 7202, 7203, 7206, 7207), bribery (18 U.S.C. § 21), and other white collar criminal prosecutions in state and federal courts. 

Our firm has handled numerous criminal investigations and jury trials involving the alleged theft of trade secrets from technology companies, and we are viewed as a national leader in defending cases under the Economic Espionage Act. We have been to trial in more cases arising under the Economic Espionage Act than any law firm in the United States. Trade secret prosecutions frequently involve an employee leaving one company to work for a competitor or a start-up company in the same sector. Many large companies discourage this type of movement, as skilled employees have tremendous value independent of the physical documents and software codes they might possess. Sometimes, the former employer turns to criminal authorities to intimidate and punish departing employees who possess valuable technical knowledge. Nolan Barton Olmos & Luciano has developed an expertise in these cases over several decades. Our firm is sought out by individuals and lawyers around the country involved in cases arising under the Economic Espionage Act.

Attorneys at the firm represented an engineer in the first economic espionage case ever tried to a jury in federal court. The firm secured not guilty verdicts on charges of economic espionage and trade secret theft. All remaining counts were dismissed.

The firm won a dismissal in the Eastern District of Virginia of a case alleging that our client bribed public officials to secure federal government contracts worth almost $60 million.

Firm attorneys won a not guilty verdict in a jury trial in the Northern District of Texas in which our client, an engineer, was accused of stealing trade secrets from a Fortune 500 company.

The firm achieved the dismissal of a case in the Northern District of California in which our client, a diplomat with a specialized agency of the United Nations, was accused of bribery and honest services fraud.

Attorneys at the firm won an acquittal at bench trial in the Central District of California in a case involving allegations of trade secret theft under the Economic Espionage Act.

In another federal case, firm attorneys obtained an acquittal on behalf of an individual accused of export violations. The client's conviction for making false statements was later overturned on appeal for insufficiency of evidence.

The firm successfully represented a start-up company valued at more than $1 billion in a DOJ investigation that resulted in no criminal charges. 

Attorneys at the firm won a favorable result at jury trial on behalf of an employee of a leading technology company, and also successfully represented the individual in a related SEC matter.

In another case in the Northern District of California, the firm won a not guilty verdict following a four-week jury trial in which our client had been accused of trade secret theft from a Fortune 500 semiconductor company. 

Nolan Barton Olmos & Luciano has also won numerous victories in state court in white collar cases.

In one case, after five years of litigation and nearly five months of jury trial, our client, the founder of a successful public company, was found not guilty of all charges relating to alleged theft of trade secrets from a large Silicon Valley company.

Our attorneys successfully represented at trial a software engineer accused of trade secret theft from one of the world's largest technology companies.

In a case in Santa Cruz County, the firm won a motion to recuse the District Attorney's office in a major theft of trade secrets case, which resulted in dismissal of all charges and a published opinion by the California Supreme Court upholding the result.

The firm was successful in representing an engineer charged with theft of trade secrets, both at trial and on his subsequent appeal, where the erroneous conviction for theft of trade secrets was set aside for insufficiency of evidence.

The firm also has a successful history in securities fraud cases in state court, including winning acquittals at jury trial in Santa Clara County. 

In another Santa Clara County jury trial, firm attorneys won an acquittal on behalf of the CEO of a Silicon Valley software company who was charged with perjury in connection with statements he made during civil discovery.

We know that in complex white collar, trade secret theft, and other business prosecutions, a successful defense requires a team approach. The partners have combined experience of over 70 years of criminal defense practice. Nolan Barton Olmos & Luciano has the capacity and trial experience to handle even the most complex, technical, and document-intensive business crimes cases. We work in cooperation with forensic accountants, software engineers, investigators, subject matter experts, and other professionals to obtain the broad range of expertise needed to present the most persuasive defense.