Jeff Tsai is a leading attorney in criminal and civil enforcement matters brought by state and federal regulators. He is the managing partner of the firm's San Francisco office and the co-lead of the firm's State Attorneys General practice.

State Attorneys General

Jeff is one of only four lawyers across the nation recognized in the State Attorneys General field by both Chambers and The Legal 500 research firms. He represents companies subject to investigative scrutiny by individual and multistate attorneys general and related federal regulators such as the Justice Department and Federal Trade Commission. Jeff's matters and clients relate to industries that have been the subject of recent state attorney general enforcement on issues ranging from e-commerce retail to the environment.

Criminal White-Collar and Complex Civil Litigation

Jeff also actively defends white-collar criminal matters in investigations and trials, including representations involving trade secret theft and economic espionage, complex frauds, and public corruption. Recognized by Chambers in the field of a white-collar and government investigations, he has tried more than 20 federal and state trials (criminal and civil). One of his notable trials includes the prosecution of former US Senator John Edwards for violations of federal campaign finance laws in connection with his 2008 primary campaign for president and another prosecution that became the subject of a non-fiction book and television documentary program. Jeff served as first-chair counsel in one of the few federal criminal trade secret prosecutions to proceed to trial in the United States.

Jeff has a significant complex civil litigation practice, which is often the result of government and regulatory matters that spur private litigation (or vice versa). He serves as lead counsel in federal and state class actions (including multi-district litigation) and other complex commercial disputes, and his experience ranges from privacy and data security to disparagement/defamation.

Government Service

Jeff was previously a special assistant attorney general of California and principal advisor to former Attorney General Kamala D. Harris on issues related to criminal justice, corporate accountability, and intellectual property enforcement. He also supervised high-profile enforcement actions involving California's False Claims Act, Unfair Competition Law, environmental regulations, and campaign finance laws.

In the federal government, Jeff served as a federal prosecutor and senior policy official at a US Attorney's Office, as well as at Main Justice in Washington.

Jeff is frequently called upon for legal commentary and analysis, and he has been featured on news networks such as CNN and MSNBC.

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