Jan Nielsen Little
Partner

jlittle@kvn.com
Tel. (415) 676-2211

Education

Yale Law School, J.D., 1981

University of California, Berkeley, B.A., 1978

Prior Experience

U.S. Department of Justice,
Criminal Division

Clerkships

Hon. William W Schwarzer
U.S. District Court, Northern District of California, 1981-1982

Bar Admissions

California

District of Columbia

Attorney List

Jan Nielsen Little

For more than 25 years Jan Little has handled high-stakes criminal investigations and trials and complex civil litigation for:  publicly-traded corporations, private companies, and senior executives.

Ms. Little's criminal cases have included many substantive areas of white collar defense, including securities fraud, tax fraud, health care fraud, foreign corrupt practice/commercial bribery, money laundering, and public corruption. She has litigated and tried white collar criminal cases in dozens of jurisdictions across the nation. She has also represented corporations and executives in securities class and derivative actions, other commercial cases, and in proceedings before the Securities and Exchange Commission. Ms. Little also handles professional liability matters.

Cases of Note

Securities and Exchange Commission v. Individual: We are defending a former Citigroup employee targeted in an SEC enforcement action filed in the Southern District of New York. The case arises out of the SEC’s allegations that Citigroup failed to disclose information related to certain mortgage-backed investments. The case is before Judge Jed S. Rakoff; trial is scheduled for July 2012.

United States v. Executive: We defended a high-ranking company official in one of the nation’s first criminal stock options backdating cases to go to court. We obtained the dismissal of the majority of the charges. Our client was sentenced to 60 days imprisonment on the remaining charges.

State of Arizona v. Financial Services Company: A criminal grand jury investigated our client, a financial services company, for money transfers in the Southwest border region. We reached a settlement with four state attorneys general that included establishing a multi-state alliance to combat illegal activity along the U.S.-Mexico border.

Securities and Exchange Commission v. Former Chief Financial Officer: We represented a chief financial officer charged in one of the largest criminal securities fraud cases in recent U.S. history. We represented him in the criminal and administrative investigations, as well as in parallel civil litigation. Following pretrial litigation, our client pled guilty and received a six-year prison sentence. Civil litigation was favorably settled.

United States v. Attorney: We represented a nationally-known Mississippi trial attorney in multiple federal criminal cases alleging judicial bribery and honest services fraud. Our client received favorable plea agreements.

United States v. Investment Banker: We defended a former Silicon Valley investment banker on obstruction of justice charges. After two trials and a successful appeal, all charges were deferred. Related charges from the Securities and Exchange Commission and the National Association of Securities Dealers were also dismissed.

United States Department of Justice v. Attorney: Our client, a prominent attorney in Los Angeles, was investigated for illegal wiretapping. The matter was closed without any charges filed.

Securities and Exchange Commission v. Executive: We represented a manufacturing company's vice president of sales in a Foreign Corrupt Practices Act investigation. No charges were filed against our client, and the Securities and Exchange Commission’s enforcement action was favorably settled.

Plaintiffs v. Health Care Company: We represented a national health care company and its subsidiary in a criminal case, and parallel consumer class actions in state and federal court concerning a defective medical device. The criminal case was settled for misdemeanor charges, and the civil and administrative actions were favorably settled.

United States v. Waste Management Company: We represented a large waste management company in a federal criminal tax fraud case. We settled the case favorably for the corporation and its executives on the first day of trial.

United States v. Criminal Defense Attorney: We won an acquittal for a prominent criminal defense attorney charged with drug conspiracy, RICO, money laundering, and obstruction of justice.

Awards and Honors

  • Band 1 lawyers for White Collar Defense in California, Chambers USA, 2008-2012
  • Best Lawyers In America, Bet-the-Company Litigation, Commercial Litigation and White Collar Criminal Defense, 2005-2012
  • Top 75 Women Lawyers in California, Los Angeles and San Francisco Daily Journal, 2005-2012
  • Northern California SuperLawyers; Top 100 Northern California SuperLawyers; Top 50 Female SuperLawyers, 2004-2011

Professional Affiliations

  • Chair, U.S. District Court Magistrate Judge Merit Selection Panel
  • Member, U.S. District Court Criminal Justice Working Group
  • Member, Board of Directors, U.S. District Court Federal Practice Program
  • Member, U.S. District Court Local Rules Committee
  • National co-chair, Complex Crimes Committee, ABA Litigation Section
  • Subcommittee chair, ABA White Collar Crime Committee
  • Evaluator, Early Neutral Evaluation Program, U.S. District Court

Publications and Speaking Engagements 

  • Faculty, "The Professional Edge: Working With (and Against) Experts," NACDL Annual White Collar Conference, 2012. 
  • Faculty, "The ABCs of D-efense in an E-lectronic Age: Ethics and Strategies," NACDL Annual White Collar Conference, 2011.
  • “Books & Records: More Than Just A Paper Cut,” Securities Litigation and Enforcement Institute, 2008. Co-authored with Michael D. Celio.
  • Faculty, ABA White Collar Crime National Institute, 2010.
  • Faculty, PLI Securities Enforcement Seminar “Internal Investigations: The Other Side Of Cooperation,” Securities Litigation and Enforcement Institute, 2007 Co-authored with Michael D. Celio.
  • “What You Don’t Know Can Hurt You: Deliberate Ignorance Under the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act,” American Bar Association, White Collar Crime Institute, 2007. Co-authored with Ajay Kundaria.
  • Faculty, Stanford Law School Trial Advocacy Program, 2006-2010.
  • Faculty, NACDL White Collar Seminar, 2005-2006.
  • “Ten Reasons Women Make Great Trial Lawyers,” Daily Journal, 2006.
  • “Parallel Proceedings: The Uncomfortable Intersection of Criminal and Civil Litigation,” Association of Business Trial Lawyers, 2006. Co-authored with Katherine Florey.
  • “Obstruction Seduction: The Increasingly Long Arm of the Federal Obstruction Statutes,” NACDL, White Collar Crime Conference, 2006. Co-authored with Steven P. Ragland.
  • “Recent Developments in Criminal Enforcement of Securities Law,” Securities Litigation and Enforcement Institute, 2006. Co-authored with Katherine Florey.
  • “Opening Statement: Ten Tips,” California State Bar Litigation Section, 2005.
  • Faculty, Stanford Directors College, 2005.
  • Faculty, “Champions of the Courtroom,” California State Bar Litigation Section, 2005.
  • ”The Attorney-Client Privilege And The Corporate Executive,” 2003. Co-authored with Nikki K. Vo.
  • Faculty, Association of Business Trial Lawyers Annual Meeting, 2002.
  • Faculty, CEB Mock Trial Program, “Legends of Litigation,” 2001.
  • Speaker, ABA Litigation Section Annual Meeting, 2000.
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