NEW YORK, NY, December 3, 2021 - Kaplan Hecker & Fink announced today that Shawn G. Crowley and Raymond P. Tolentino have been elected to the partnership at the firm.
Former counsels Crowley and Tolentino have established themselves as critical members of the Kaplan Hecker’s White Collar and Civil Litigation practices respectively.
Shawn Crowley is an experienced trial lawyer with a long track record of success in high-stakes criminal cases. During her six-year tenure at the U.S. Attorney’s Office, Crowley served as an Assistant United States Attorney, as Deputy and then Co-Chief of the Narcotics Unit from 2017 to 2019 and as Co-Chief of the Terrorism and International Narcotics Unit. Crowley prosecuted and supervised cases involving terrorism and national security crimes, sanctions violations, espionage, cyber-terrorism, money laundering, and narcotics trafficking. As a Chief, Crowley supervised the first ever felony charges against an opioid distributor and two of its chief executives in 2019, as well as narco-terrorism prosecutions of high-level foreign officials, including the sitting president of Venezuela. Crowley has tried numerous cases, including two high-profile national security trials involving terrorism-related bombings in Chelsea and the Times Square subway station. Crowley has quickly become an integral member of Kaplan Hecker’s white collar team, helping corporate and individual clients navigate and resolve complex internal and government-led investigations.
Raymond “Ray” Tolentino specializes in appellate and complex civil litigation, representing clients in a wide variety of matters including administrative, constitutional, employment, healthcare, and civil rights law. He has served as the principal author of dozens of briefs filed in the U.S. Supreme Court, federal courts of appeals, and federal and state trial courts and has argued numerous times in district and appellate court. Ray also regularly advises companies in high-stakes trial litigation and regulatory matters. Ray took a leave of absence in 2020 to serve as Special Counsel to Senator Amy Klobuchar on the Senate Judiciary Committee for the Supreme Court nomination of Justice Amy Coney Barrett.
Kaplan Hecker & Fink Founding Partner Roberta (“Robbie”) Kaplan said: “The contributions that both Shawn and Ray have made to the firm are invaluable. They are great lawyers, great colleagues, and great human beings. We were thrilled to welcome them to the firm in 2020 and now we are even more delighted to welcome them into the partnership.”
Partner Sean Hecker said: “Welcoming Ray and Shawn into the partnership is a testament to their legal abilities and capacity to provide the highest level of client service. As we continue to thoughtfully grow our firm, their track record as exceptional litigators along with their commitment to public service will continue to serve us well.”
Kaplan Hecker continues to be recognized for the experienced team it has put together as well as its many accomplishments in the court room. Benchmark Litigation recently named Kaplan Hecker as one of the “Top Boutiques” in the country for 2022, the third consecutive year the firm has received this honor. Benchmark also included the firm in its list of “Highly Recommended Law Firm – New York” firms, the publication’s highest ranking. The firm is also celebrating its recent win in Sines v. Kessler, a landmark decision in Charlottesville, Virginia assuring that white nationalists who plotted racially motivated violence in 2017 will be held accountable.
“We are thrilled to be promoting Shawn and Ray to partner,” said Managing Partner Julie Fink. “Their trial skills and legal talent are unrivaled, and they embody the commitment to justice and equity that are the cornerstones of our firm.”
About Raymond P. Tolentino
Ray joined Kaplan Hecker from Akin Gump Strauss Hauer & Feld LLP, where he was a member of the firm’s Supreme Court and Appellate group. Ray is a member of the Edward Coke Appellate Inn of Court, was recently recognized by the Legal 500 US for his skill as an appellate litigator, and was selected by Lawdragon 500 as a 2021 Leading Plaintiff Employment & Civil Rights Lawyer. Ray currently serves as an Adjunct Professor of Law at Georgetown University Law Center, where he teaches an Advanced Legal Writing seminar and co-teaches “Constitutional Litigation and the Executive Branch.”
Ray has served as a law clerk at every level of the federal judiciary, having clerked for the Hon. Sonia Sotomayor of the Supreme Court of the United States, the Hon. Cornelia T.L. Pillard of the United States Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit, the Hon. M. Margaret McKeown of the United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit, and the Hon. Kiyo A. Matsumoto of the United States District Court for the Eastern District of New York. He graduated summa cum laude from Georgetown University Law Center in 2012 after earning his undergraduate degree in English from Georgetown University in 2009.
About Shawn G. Crowley
Shawn joined the firm from the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of New York. Shawn was Deputy and Co-Chief of the Office’s Narcotics Unit from 2017 to 2019, and Co-Chief of the Terrorism and International Narcotics Unit for the last year. Her contributions to public service have been recognized with the Director’s Award for Superior Performance by a Litigative Team and the U.S. Department of Justice Assistant Attorney General’s Award.
Prior to joining the U.S. Attorney’s Office, Crowley was an associate at Cravath, Swaine & Moore. She served as a law clerk to the Honorable Lewis A. Kaplan of the United States District Court for the Southern District of New York. Crowley received her J.D. from Columbia Law School and her B.A. from Northwestern University.
About Kaplan Hecker & Fink LLP
Founded in July 2017 by renowned litigator Roberta Kaplan, Kaplan Hecker & Fink LLP has quickly emerged as one of the most formidable litigation boutiques in the country, fusing high stakes commercial litigation with a groundbreaking public interest practice. Clients trust Kaplan Hecker & Fink with some of their most pressing challenges, from white collar criminal defense, to commercial disputes, to civil rights litigation, to appeals. Kaplan Hecker & Fink’s team of New York and Washington, D.C.-based litigators share a mission to provide the highest level of client service and advocacy, while at the same time maintaining a deep commitment to principles of integrity, fairness, and public service.