Mr. Valen represents an exceptional range of domestic and international clients in major complex dispute resolution and business counseling matters in the United States and abroad. His experience, business judgment, and training help him serve the needs of corporations and individuals in both civil and criminal litigation, enabling him to efficiently handle his clients’ most significant matters involving either governmental or private claims, including commercial litigation, white collar criminal defense, internal investigations, and shareholder disputes. Mr. Valen’s flexible, practical approach to dispute resolution enables him to represent his client’s needs in whatever forum a dispute may arise.
One recent matter that illustrates Mr. Valen’s breadth of experience and his focus on finding practical, business-oriented solutions to his client’s problems is his representation of a multibillion-dollar hedge fund in defense of insider trading charges. The New York-based fund was the subject of Department of Justice and Securities and Exchange Commission investigations in multiple jurisdictions in the United States, as well as in several countries in Asia. The matters in the United States were resolved without any individuals facing criminal charges, and with civil resolutions that enabled the fund to resume operations, with enhanced compliance programs to prevent future violations. Mr. Valen also worked with the client’s non-U.S. counsel to ensure resolutions of the overseas matters, which similarly enhanced the client’s ability to continue to operate its business effectively and in compliance with all applicable laws.
Areas of Focus
Civil and Criminal Litigation & Compliance Counseling
Mr. Valen’s recent work includes:
- Serving as a member of the appellate team representing the former President of a major bank, who had been convicted of criminal charges based on how the bank reported the status of its loan portfolio to regulators. The team won a reversal of the convictions in a landmark ruling about the government’s burden of proof in false statements prosecutions.
- Representing the Presiding Officers of the New Jersey Legislature in federal court litigation regarding New Jersey’s successful effort to legalize wagering on professional and collegiate sporting events, which resulted in the United States Supreme Court striking down a decades-old federal statute as an unconstitutional intrusion on the sovereignty of the states.
- Leading nationwide internal investigation for a major pharmaceutical company into claims that its sales representatives engaged in inappropriate conduct while marketing a newly-approved biopharmaceutical product.
Credentials
Education
Rutgers School of Law - Newark (J.D., with honors)
- Order of the Coif
Cornell University (B.A.)
Professional Admissions
State of New Jersey
Commonwealth of Pennsylvania
United States District Court for the District of New Jersey
United States District Court for the Eastern District of New York
United States District Court for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania
United States District Court for the Eastern District of Wisconsin
District of Columbia Court of Appeals
United States Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit
United States Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit
Supreme Court of the United States
Professional Activities
New Jersey State Bar Association
American Bar Association
The Association of the Bar of the City of New York
Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers of New Jersey
National Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers
United States Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit Task Force on Equal Treatment in the Courts, 1994-1997
Judicial Clerkship(s)
Law clerk to the Honorable Anne E. Thompson, Chief Judge of the United States District Court for the District of New Jersey
Civic/Charitable Activities
Boys & Girls Clubs of Newark
Chair of the Board of Trustees