May 29, 2026
Willkie was recognized as a “Runner-Up” for Litigator of the Week by The AmLaw Litigation Daily for successfully defending a former Fiat Chrysler Automobiles (FCA) diesel manager in a criminal case the U.S. government brought in an emissions fraud crackdown. Steptoe was also recognized alongside Willkie as defense counsel for a co-defendant.
The U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Michigan recently dismissed the case against Willkie client Sergio Pasini at the request of prosecutors after Willkie successfully countered allegations that he had a role in an emissions fraud scheme at the carmaker – notwithstanding the previous guilty pleas the government obtained from FCA and a senior executive.
Pasini had been charged in 2021 for his alleged role in a conspiracy to defraud U.S. regulators and customers by making false and misleading statements about the emissions controls and fuel efficiency of more than 100,000 diesel vehicles sold in the United States by FCA. Prosecutors claimed that Pasini developed calibrated emissions control functions in diesel engines that were designed to deceive emissions tests, among other allegations.
AmLaw highlighted how the defense teams presented evidence that regulators knew about the engine calibration strategies at issue, and that many of them believed that FCA was in fact compliant. Defense counsel also presented evidence that Pasini and his co-defendant had disclosed everything they knew about the strategies to FCA’s internal regulatory team.
The Willkie team was led by partners William Stellmach, Patricia Haynes and Nicholas Reddick and included associates Daniel Morris, Joelle Freeman-McEwan, Trevor Newton, Sophie Dizengoff, Joanna Lamberta and Veenay Komaragiri.
Read more about the case here.
The U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Michigan recently dismissed the case against Willkie client Sergio Pasini at the request of prosecutors after Willkie successfully countered allegations that he had a role in an emissions fraud scheme at the carmaker – notwithstanding the previous guilty pleas the government obtained from FCA and a senior executive.
Pasini had been charged in 2021 for his alleged role in a conspiracy to defraud U.S. regulators and customers by making false and misleading statements about the emissions controls and fuel efficiency of more than 100,000 diesel vehicles sold in the United States by FCA. Prosecutors claimed that Pasini developed calibrated emissions control functions in diesel engines that were designed to deceive emissions tests, among other allegations.
AmLaw highlighted how the defense teams presented evidence that regulators knew about the engine calibration strategies at issue, and that many of them believed that FCA was in fact compliant. Defense counsel also presented evidence that Pasini and his co-defendant had disclosed everything they knew about the strategies to FCA’s internal regulatory team.
The Willkie team was led by partners William Stellmach, Patricia Haynes and Nicholas Reddick and included associates Daniel Morris, Joelle Freeman-McEwan, Trevor Newton, Sophie Dizengoff, Joanna Lamberta and Veenay Komaragiri.
Read more about the case here.
