Lauren Schorr Potter is a Partner in Patterson Belknap’s Litigation department and a member of its White Collar Defense and Investigations team. Ms. Potter’s practice includes representation of individuals and companies in sensitive, complicated, and high-stakes criminal and regulatory matters, and internal investigations. Ms. Potter also represents companies in complex financial litigation. Ms. Potter has represented corporations and individuals in matters involving allegations of accounting fraud, cryptocurrency-related fraud, health care and medical device fraud, bribery, and violations of the False Claims Act.
In 2024, Ms. Potter was named to The New York Law Journal’s “Rising Stars” list.
Prior to joining the Firm, Ms. Potter served for more than six years as an Assistant United States Attorney in the United States Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of New York, where she was most recently co-chief of the Violent and Organized Crime Unit. As co-chief, Ms. Potter supervised more than 25 Assistant United States Attorneys in investigations, prosecutions, and trials involving racketeering (RICO), organized crime, sex trafficking, money laundering, and violence, among other offenses. In her capacity as co-chief, she worked closely with federal and state agencies, including the FBI, HSI, ATF, and the NYPD, coordinating substantial cross-agency investigations. Notable cases Ms. Potter supervised include the prosecution of a fashion mogul on racketeering and trafficking charges and the prosecution of an individual on extortion and money laundering charges in connection with his victimization of a group of college students.
As a federal prosecutor in the Public Corruption and Violent and Organized Crime Units, Ms. Potter investigated and prosecuted a range of cases, including matters involving bribery, wire fraud, health care fraud, and racketeering. Among other cases, Ms. Potter handled the prosecutions of law enforcement officials, a former prosecutor, and others for their roles in bribery schemes; an individual involved in a multimillion-dollar Ponzi scheme; and dozens of gang members for violent crimes in New York City. Her extensive litigation experience includes leading six federal criminal trials and arguing several appeals before the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit.
Before joining the U.S. Attorney’s Office, Ms. Potter was an associate at an international law firm in New York, where she handled white collar and commercial litigation matters. Ms. Potter previously served as a law clerk to the Hon. Ronnie Abrams of the United States District Court for the Southern District of New York and the Hon. Legrome D. Davis of the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania. Ms. Potter received a J.D., magna cum laude, from Georgetown University Law Center, where she served as an editor of the American Criminal Law Review. She received her B.A., summa cum laude, from the University of Pennsylvania.
Updated Aug 2024
