Lathrop B. Nelson, III

Lathrop has represented clients in federal criminal matters and related enforcement proceedings involving a wide range of alleged offenses, including most recently:

• Successfully defended U.S. Army BG Jeffrey Sinclair as part of trial team in court-martial in which court imposed no jail sentence and no dismissal from service; drafted and argued motion to dismiss for unlawful command influence, which the court granted upon reconsideration, finding unlawful command influence in connection with offer to plead.
• An executive of a public corporation in a Foreign Corrupt Practices Act investigation by the Department of Justice and Securities and Exchange Commission;
• An executive of a public finance company in an investigation by the Antitrust Division of the Department of Justice and a related Securities and Exchange Commission investigation in which the government reversed its decision to prosecute and did not bring charges against the executive;
• A small business owner in a criminal tax prosecution resulting in a non-custodial sentence;
• A construction company in a bid-rigging investigation by the Antitrust Division of the Department of Justice resulting in no charges against the company or its executives;
• An executive of a financial services company against public corruption charges and a related Securities and Exchange Commission investigation; and
• A nonprofit entity in an investigation by the Environmental and Natural Resources Division of the Department of Justice in which the government declined prosecution.

Lathrop has also represented companies and individuals in a wide range of commercial disputes in state and federal court. He frequently represents clients in matters involving fraud, breach of fiduciary duties, and business torts, as well as intellectual property, breach of contract and other commercial matters, including:

• A committee of creditors in a bankruptcy adversary proceeding asserting fraud, breach of fiduciary duties, and other claims against a parent corporation and various officers and directors;
• A landlord in an appeal involving the enforcement of a confessed judgment before the Pennsylvania Superior Court, which affirmed the trial court’s denial of a petition to strike a $1.5 million confessed judgment in favor of the landlord over a tenant restaurant;
• A corporate entity investigating and pursing claims arising out of a multimillion dollar theft by employees;
• A pharmaceutical company in actions alleging unfair trade practices and common law fraud arising out of pharmaceutical pricing;
• A retail entity in connection with matters involving breach of contract, breach of warranty and other claims;
• Clients in connection with “corporate divorce” matters involving allegations of tortious interference with contract, fraud, breach of fiduciary duty, and other business tort claims;
• A major software manufacturer in federal copyright and trademark infringement litigation in Pennsylvania and New Jersey.

• Quoted in “Insider Tips Case Shows 3rd Circ.’s Caution on Sentencings,” Law360, February 16, 2018
• Quoted in “Hey, Rosie O’Donnell: It’s Illegal to Offer Cash to GOP Senators to Switch Vote on Tax Bill,” TheWrap, December 20, 2017
• Quoted in “Blagojevich, Silver Seek Clarity from SCOTUS Post-McDonnell,” Bloomberg Law, December 18, 2017
• Authored “Political Prosecution: The Unconstitutional Rick Perry Case,” Law360, March 22, 2016
• Quoted in “Can Rajat Gupta Restore His Innocence and Reputation?” Fox Business, February 8, 2016
• Quoted in “DOJ Asks Supreme Court to Review Landmark Insider Ruling,” Bloomberg, July 30, 2016
• Quoted in “Clock Is Ticking for Decision on Landmark Insider-Trading Ruling,” Bloomberg, July 27, 2015
• Authored “Texting With An Informant: Lessons From Pa. Wiretap Ruling,” Law360, June 29, 2015
• Authored “United States v. Newman: Road bump in insider-trading prosecutions,” White Collar Crime Westlaw Journal, June 1, 2015
• Quoted in “Attys React To Supreme Court’s Wartime Limits To FCA Ruling,” Law360, May 26, 2015
• Co-authored “Amendments Don’t Fix Economic Crimes Guidelines,” The Legal Intelligencer, May 4, 2015
• Quoted in “What’s At Stake for Insider Trading Prosecutions After U.S. v. Newman,” Law360, March 19, 2015
• Quoted in “Attorneys React To SEC’s FCPA Action Against Goodyear,” Law360, February 24, 2015
• Authored “What To Do At Federal Sentencing: 4 Lessons From McDonnell,” Law360, January 9, 2015
• Quoted in “Telecom Contractor Ends False-Claims Inquiry for $13.7 Million,” Westlaw Journal Government Contract, November 10, 2014
• Quoted in “Holder To Leave DOJ Emboldened To Tackle Corporate Crime,” Law360, September 25, 2014
• Quoted in “Why Mickelson, Icahn are still under investigation for insider trading,” New York Post, August 31, 2014
• Quoted in “2nd Circ. Won’t Revisit Tossed GE Bid-Rigging Convictions,” Law360, August 15, 2014
• Authored “How Law and PR Can Work Together in High-Profile Cases,” Law360, April 10, 2014
• Quoted in “Judge refuses to dismiss sexual assault charges against general,” Los Angeles Times, March 4, 2014
• Authored “A Restraint on Gov’t ‘Stream of Payments’ Theory,” Law360, December 12, 2013
• Authored “Criminal Enforcement Under the Plant Protection Act of 2000: A “New” Weapon in the Environmental Enforcement Arsenal,” Environmental Enforcement and Crimes Committee Newsletter, March 2011

• Presenter, “Protecting Sensitive Client Information,” Strafford Publications, Inc. webinar, January 2012

Lathrop has served in leadership positions for several community and nonprofit organizations. He is the former President of the Washington & Lee University Alumni Association’s Philadelphia Chapter. Lathrop serves on the Board of Directors of the Committee of Seventy, a non-partisan, good government organization. He also served as chairman of the Chi Psi Fraternity’s National Executive Council, where he led the fraternity through strategic planning and expansion efforts. Lathrop continues to serve on the fraternity’s national housing corporation, Spencer Properties, LLC. He serves as a class agent for the University of Virginia Alumni Association and The Haverford School Alumni Association. He is a graduate of Leadership Philadelphia’s Core Class of 2015.

• Lathrop has been recognized as a top lawyer in Pennsylvania by Pennsylvania Super Lawyers Rising Stars 2006, 2010-2015.

• American Bar Association
  • Antitrust Law and Criminal Justice Section
• Served as the co-chair of the Philadelphia Young Lawyers Division of the American Bar Association’s White Collar Crime Committee
• Philadelphia Bar Association

Lathrop received his J.D. degree in 2001 from the University of Virginia School of Law, where he served as Chief Justice of the William Minor Lile Moot Court Board and a member of the Editorial Board of the Virginia Law Review. He graduated cum laude from Washington and Lee University in 1997 with a Bachelor of Arts degree in History and Politics.