What To Do When the SEC Comes Calling with Paul Flannery & Chris Georgalis, Flannery Georgalis
Former federal prosecutors Paul Flannery and Chris Georgalis—now with the white collar criminal and civil enforcement defense law firm Flannery | Georgalis, LLC—will share their insights and experiences as SEC liaison prosecutors for the U.S. Attorney’s Office and now as attorneys who represent financial professionals and institutions when the SEC comes calling.
Missed the event? Watch the livestream here
Find the presentation slides here
PPT-211027-City Club Presentation to CFAs-When the SEC Comes Knocking.pdf
Paul Flannery
Paul is a highly experienced and talented attorney. His practice is unique in that he has substantial experience in complex criminal and civil litigation matters, in both federal and state court. As both a federal prosecutor and as a defense attorney, Paul has successfully handled a wide array of criminal cases ranging from complex fraud and public corruption matters to violent crimes, including armed robbery and murder. Paul has also successfully represented individuals and organizations in complex business disputes, including those involving professional malpractice, corporate fiduciary duties, real estate, and contract disputes.
Before forming Flannery | Georgalis, LLC, Paul most recently served as an Assistant United States Attorney in the Northern District of Ohio. As a federal prosecutor, Paul gained significant experience in the investigation and prosecution of federal criminal violations, especially those involving wire, mail, and bank fraud, health care fraud, securities fraud, public corruption, tax offenses, and identity theft. Paul was regularly trusted with handling some of the District’s most sensitive and complex cases, including, among others, the trial of a businessman charged with bribing the former director of the Cleveland Veteran’s Administration, and a $54 million securities fraud case—the largest in the District’s history.
Before becoming a federal prosecutor, Paul spent seven years in private practice at a prestigious mid-size law firm in Baltimore, Maryland, focusing on white collar criminal defense and complex business litigation. There, he gained substantial defense experience representing individuals and businesses charged with a variety of white collar criminal offenses. Paul was also a member of the Criminal Justice Act panel, a select group of criminal defense attorneys appointed to represent indigent defendants in federal criminal matters. In that role, Paul defended individuals charged with serious federal crimes, including narcotics violations, weapons violations, and racketeering murder.
Education
Cleveland - Marshall College of Law (J.D., 2007)
John Carroll University (B.A. Economics, 2001)
Admissions
Ohio
Maryland
Northern District of Ohio
Southern District of Ohio
Chris Georgalis
Chris focuses his practice on federal criminal defense representations, internal investigations and compliance, and complex civil litigation. Chris gained extensive investigation, trial, and appellate experience as a federal prosecutor in the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Northern District of Ohio. As an AUSA in Cleveland, Ohio from 2010 – 2017, he investigated and prosecuted many of the highest profile criminal matters in the District. These cases ranged from matters of national security, theft of trade secrets, terrorism, export controls, and cyber security, which are the highest profile and highest priority cases in the U.S. Department of Justice, to massive, multi-defendant fraud conspiracies. Chris also investigated and prosecuted multi-million dollar health care fraud cases, including multi-doctor defendant conspiracies.
He also acted as SEC point of contact for the U.S. Attorney’s Office and held primary intake discretion for all FCPA, corporate, securities, food stamp fraud, and mail and wire fraud investigations. During his tenure, he served as an instructor to federal prosecutors and federal agents at national training facilities in Columbia, South Carolina. As an AUSA, Chris also lectured to groups of corporate counsel on matters of corporate compliance from the perspective of the prosecution.
Prior to the U.S. Attorney’s Office, Chris was an attorney for five years at the Cleveland office of one of the largest, international law firms in the world where he focused on corporate criminal investigations and complex civil litigation. While there, he represented financial institutions, audit committees, Fortune 500 companies, and senior corporate executives and personnel in matters before the DOJ, SEC, and several State attorneys general, to name a few. He played a central role in conducting internal corporate investigations in matters involving allegations of earnings management, insider trading, mortgage fraud, and federal defense contractor fraud, among numerous others. Chris maintained an equally sophisticated civil litigation docket, representing clients in matters ranging from professional malpractice and contract disputes, to the Fair Credit Reporting Act and habeas corpus petitions, to name just a few.
Education
Cleveland - Marshall College of Law (J.D., 2005, Law Review, Moot Court)
Cleveland State University (MBA, M.A. Economics, 2005)
Case Western Reserve University (B.A., 2001)
Admissions
Ohio
Pennsylvania
Northern District of Ohio
Southern District of Ohio
6th Circuit Court of Appeals
Government Service
Served with the U.S. Department of Justice as Assistant United States Attorney (2010-2017) in the National Security & Cyber Unit and the Major Fraud & Corruption Unit; Judicial Extern for the Honorable John M. Manos, District Court Judge for the Northern District of Ohio
Honors And Distinctions
In 2018, Chris was awarded one of the highest honors in the Department of Justice, the Director's Award for Superior Performance in Criminal Matters, for his work as lead prosecutor in the national security matter United States v. Terrence McNeil. This case involved novel issues related to McNeil's use of social media in support of a terrorist organization and it has served as a model for several successful prosecutions of national security threats since it was charged.
Chris’s work has led to his recognition by Ohio Super Lawyers as a Rising Star and multiple accolades from the Department of Justice. He is also a distinguished member of the William K. Thomas Inn of Court.
