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 Randall Jackson is a partner in the Litigation Department and Co-Chair of the White-Collar Defense Practice Group. Randall focuses on government and internal investigations, white collar criminal defense, complex civil litigation and regulatory compliance. Randall is ranked by Chambers USA (2022) as one of the leading attorneys in the area of Litigation: White-Collar Crime & Government Investigations and recognized as a “Litigation Star” in the 2023 edition of Benchmark Litigation. A former Assistant U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of New York, Randall is recognized as one of the leading trial lawyers to come out of government service in recent years. 

Randall has served as lead or co-lead attorney in over 20 federal trials, including some of the longest and most complicated over the past several years. In 2022, he co-led a major victory and complete acquittal for client Thomas Barrack, founder of Colony Capital, in a highly publicized trial in the Eastern District of New York alleging illegal foreign lobbying, obstruction of justice and other charges against Barrack and his former assistant Matthew Grimes. In 2019, Randall co-led the successful defense against securities fraud charges brought by U.S. Department of Justice against shipbuilding executive Jean Boustani, securing a complete acquittal on all counts after a two-month long jury trial in the Eastern District of New York. Randall has also briefed and argued numerous appeals before the U.S. Courts of Appeals, and has been instrumental in negotiating favorable resolutions of regulatory matters involving the U.S. Department of Justice, the New York Attorney General’s Office, the Manhattan District Attorney’s Office and other agencies.
 
Named a “Rising Star” by the New York Law Journal (2017) and Law360 (2017), Randall has been cited in a variety of publications, including Forbes, as a force in the courtroom. He was awarded the U.S. Department of Justice’s Distinguished Service Award in 2011 and the John Marshall Award in 2014 for his work as a prosecutor on the Times Square Bomber and Madoff cases, respectively.

 
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Experience

Randall served as an Assistant U.S. Attorney in the Southern District of New York (2007-2015), where he led numerous sensitive investigations and prosecutions that spanned the globe. At the time Randall left the U.S. Attorney’s Office, he was a senior member of the Securities and Commodities Fraud Task Force, where he conducted a number of joint and parallel investigations with the FBI, SEC, CFTC, IRS and other agencies. Over the course of his career as a prosecutor, his work included securities fraud, accounting fraud, wire fraud, money laundering, public corruption, various tax crimes, terrorism and international narcotics trafficking.

Prior to becoming a prosecutor, Randall was a law clerk for the Hon. Ann Claire Williams, U.S. Court of Appeals: Seventh Circuit and the Hon. Nina Gershon, U.S. District Court: Eastern District of New York. 

  • Ranked by Chambers USA (2022) in the area of Litigation: White-Collar Crime & Government Investigations
  • Benchmark Litigation - Litigation Star (2023)
  • Named to Lawyers of Color’s “Law Firm Leaders” list (2022)
  • New York Law Journal - Rising Star (2017)
  • Law360 Rising Star (2017)
  • The Root 100 (2014, 2013) -- a ranking of the 100 most influential African Americans in the United States under the age of 45 by The Root, online subsidiary magazine of the Washington Post
  • John Marshall Award (2014)
  • U.S. Department of Justice Distinguished Service Award (2011)

Randall has spearheaded hearings and trials in a number of complex criminal and civil matters. In 2019, Randall co-led the successful defense of shipbuilding executive Jean Boustani, securing a complete acquittal on all counts after a two-month long jury trial in the Eastern District of New York. The U.S. Department of Justice alleged Mr. Boustani orchestrated a $2 billion securities fraud scheme involving Mozambican state-backed loans. After approximately four hours of deliberation, the jury returned a complete defense verdict. In 2016, Randall led a trial team representing HSBC in Manhattan federal court against a former executive who sued the bank alleging retaliation in connection with reports of alleged sexual harassment and other alleged misconduct. After less than two hours of deliberation, the jury returned a verdict of no liability on all counts, completely in favor of HSBC.

Randall has also represented a number of other companies and financial institutions in complex litigation and regulatory inquiries. In 2018, he represented a bank in the Southern District of New York in a complex False Claims Act suit related to the bank’s mortgage business. The suit was completely dismissed. In 2016, Randall represented a large hedge fund in a complex securities fraud suit that was settled favorably shortly before trial. Randall has represented multiple entities in civil suits brought by the New York Attorney General’s office that were settled on favorable terms.

As a prosecutor, Randall served as lead or co-lead prosecutor in some of the most important and sensitive cases brought by the Department of Justice, including*:

  • U.S. v. Bonventre et al., the prosecution of five lieutenants of Bernard Madoff, all convicted after a six-month jury trial on 31 counts of securities, tax and accounting fraud related to the multibillion-dollar Ponzi scheme operated at Madoff Securities
  • U.S. v. Faisal Shahzad, the prosecution of a Pakistani Taliban operative, known as the “Times Square Bomber,” who attempted to detonate a bomb in New York City
  • U.S. v. Larry Seabrook, the prosecution of a prominent New York City Councilman who defrauded the City of millions of dollars
  • U.S. v. Gerardo Aguilar Ramirez, et al., the prosecutions of the extradited leadership of Colombian narco-terrorist organization FARC-EP
  • U.S. v. Raj Mehta, the prosecution of a convertible bonds trader at an international bank for fraudulently inflating the value of a proprietary trading portfolio
  • U.S. v. Lombardo, the prosecution of the head of an investment company that managed the finances of the National Basketball Players Association for conspiring to defraud the NBPA of millions of dollars

* These matters were handled prior to joining Willkie.

Credentials

Education


Harvard Law School, J.D., 2003 Morehouse College, B.A., 1999

Bar Admissions


New York Michigan District of Columbia

Court Admissions


United States District Court, Southern District of New York United States District Court, Eastern District of New York United States District Court, District of Columbia United States District Court, District of Colorado United States Court of Appeals, 2nd Circuit United States Court of Appeals, 7th Circuit United States Court of Appeals, D.C. Circuit

Events & Speaking Engagements