Overview
Lathrop B. Nelson, III is co-chair of Montgomery McCracken’s White Collar and Government Investigations practice group, a member of the firm’s Litigation Department, and serves as the firm’s Associate General Counsel. Lathrop has extensive experience defending individuals and companies in white collar criminal matters, government investigations, and civil False Claims Act proceedings.
He also serves as coordinating and trial counsel for companies in products liability and toxic tort litigation and handles complex commercial litigation. In the courtroom, he has won a full acquittal in a federal Clean Air Act jury trial and served on a trial team that defended a general officer facing a maximum penalty of life imprisonment in a court-martial that resulted in no jail sentence. He has argued civil and criminal matters before the Third and Fourth Circuits and Pennsylvania’s appellate courts.
In Depth
Lathrop B. Nelson, III is co-chair of Montgomery McCracken’s White Collar and Government Investigations practice group, a member of the firm's Litigation Department, and serves as the firm's associate general counsel. He concentrates on white collar and government investigations and complex commercial, products liability, and toxic tort litigation. He has particular experience handling civil and criminal matters involving alleged fraudulent conduct, including alleged violations of the False Claims Act, as well as health care fraud, public corruption, antitrust, environmental crimes, tax fraud, securities fraud, the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act, and other financial crimes. He represents individuals and corporate entities in all phases of civil and criminal litigation, including internal investigations.
Lathrop has argued civil and criminal matters before the United States Court of Appeals for the Third and Fourth Circuits, Pennsylvania Commonwealth and Superior Courts and federal and state trial courts. He is a former member of the Pennsylvania Supreme Court's Appellate Rules Committee, which makes formal recommendations to the Court to refine the appellate rules.
Prior to joining Montgomery McCracken, Lathrop was a law clerk for the Honorable Eduardo C. Robreno of the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania.
Lathrop received his J.D. degree 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 with a Bachelor of Arts degree in History and Politics.
How Lathrop Helps
- Guides individuals and entities through sensitive government investigations
- Represents clients facing allegations of health care fraud, tax fraud, public corruption, and other financial crimes
- Defends civil False Claims Act investigations and civil actions
- Conducts internal investigations and advises on corporate compliance
- Serves as coordinating counsel and trial counsel to companies in toxic tort and product liability litigation
- Handles a wide range of complex commercial disputes
The Record
Credentials
Admitted to Practice
- New Jersey
- New York
- Pennsylvania
- United States Bankruptcy Court for the Middle District of Pennsylvania
- United States Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit
- 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 Middle District of Pennsylvania
- United States District Court for the Southern District of New York
- United States District Court for the Western District of Pennsylvania
Selected Representations
Lathrop has represented clients in criminal matters, civil False Claims Act proceedings, and related enforcement actions involving a wide range of alleged offenses, including:
- Obtained full acquittal on all charges of an excavation contractor and one of its principals as part of a trial team in a federal Clean Air Act prosecution after a seven-day jury trial in June 2022.
- 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 successful motion asserting unlawful command influence in connection with offer to plead.
- Represented medical device company in an investigation regarding alleged violations of the Food Drug & Cosmetic Act resulting in the successful negotiation of a deferred prosecution agreement.
- Represented individuals and physician practices in investigations involving allegations of Medicaid and insurance fraud, illegal kickbacks, and other statutory and regulatory violations.
- Represented individuals and entities in alleged bribery and public corruption investigations.
- Represented pharmaceutical company in a False Claims Act investigation involving donations to patient assistance programs.
- Represented mortgage foreclosure services entities in a False Claims Act civil action alleging fraudulent claims submitted to Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac, and the Federal Housing Authority.
- Represented executive of a public corporation in a Foreign Corrupt Practices Act investigation by the Department of Justice and Securities and Exchange Commission.
- Represented individuals and entities in investigations by the Antitrust Division of the Department of Justice regarding bid-rigging in public finance, Superfund contracting, and municipal tax lien industries.
- Represented individuals and entities in criminal tax investigations and prosecutions.
- Represented nonprofit entity in an investigation by the Environmental and Natural Resources Division of the Department of Justice.
Lathrop has also represented companies and individuals in a wide range of civil actions involving toxic tort, products liability, and commercial disputes in state and federal court, including:
- Represent a global chemical distributor in toxic tort litigation involving talc, asbestos, and chemical compounds.
- Represented corporate entity investigating and pursing claims arising out of a multimillion dollar theft by employees.
- Represented pharmaceutical companies in civil actions relating to pricing and marketing disputes.
- Represented major software manufacturer in federal copyright and trademark infringement litigation in Pennsylvania and New Jersey.
Selected Speaking Engagements
- September 2022 Moderator “CLE Program – Getting Back to Trial; Post Pandemic Federal Criminal Trials” The Federal Criminal Law Committee
- June 2018 Guest Podcaster “Lessons From the Bond-Rigging Trial” The Bond Buyer Podcast
- January 2012 Presenter “Protecting Sensitive Client Information” Strafford Publications, Inc. Webinar
Selected Publications
- June 2022 Quoted “Government’s Clean Air Act Prosecution Ends in ‘Not Guilty’ Verdict for Remaining Defendants” The Legal Intelligencer
- December 2020 Mentioned
- February 2018 Quoted
- December 2017 Quoted
- December 2017 Quoted “Blagojevich, Silver Seek Clarity from SCOTUS Post-McDonnell” Bloomberg Law
- March 2016 Author
- February 2016 Quoted “Can Rajat Gupta Restore His Innocence and Reputation?” Fox Business
- July 2016 Quoted
- July 2015 Quoted
- June 2015 Author
- June 2015 Author “United States v. Newman: Road bump in insider-trading prosecutions” White Collar Crime Westlaw Journal
- May 2015 Quoted
- May 2015 Co-Author “Amendments Don’t Fix Economic Crimes Guidelines” The Legal Intelligencer
- March 2015 Quoted
- February 2015 Quoted
- January 2015 Author
- August 2014 Quoted
Honors & Awards
- Selected to the Legal 500 Philadelphia Elite list, White Collar Crime for 2026. The Philadelphia Elite list is issued by Legal 500 and a description of the selection methodology can be found here. No aspect of this advertisement has been approved by the Supreme Court of New Jersey or the highest court of any other state.
- Selected to The Best Lawyers in America® – Criminal Defense: White-Collar list in 2021-2027. This list is issued by Best Lawyers® and a description of the selection methodology can be found here. No aspect of this advertisement has been approved by the Supreme Court of New Jersey or the highest court of any other state.
- Selected to the Pennsylvania Super Lawyers Rising Stars list in 2006, 2010-2015. This list is issued by Super Lawyers and a description of the selection methodology can be found here. No aspect of this advertisement has been approved by the Supreme Court of New Jersey or the highest court of any other state.
Professional Activities
- Former Member, American Bar Association
- Former Member, Philadelphia Bar Association
- Former Member, Appellate Court Procedural Rules Committee of the Supreme Court of Pennsylvania
- Former Co-Chair, Philadelphia Young Lawyers Division of the American Bar Association’s White Collar Crime Committee
Community Involvement
- President, The Haverford School Alumni Association
- Member, Revolution Society Committee, Museum of the American Revolution
- Former Member, Board of Directors, Washington & Lee University Alumni Association
- Former President, Washington & Lee University Alumni Association’s Philadelphia Chapter
- Former Chairman, Chi Psi Fraternity’s National Executive Council
- Former Chairman, Chi Psi Fraternity’s National Housing Corporation (Spencer Properties, LLC)
- Member, Leadership Philadelphia’s Core Class 2015
- Former Board of Directors, Committee of Seventy
- Former Rector’s Warden, Vestry of St. Peter’s Church of Philadelphia
Education
Law School
- University of Virginia School of Law
Undergraduate School
- Washington and Lee University
Insights
Shared Thinking
Talk With Lathrop
Philadelphia 215-772-7473 lnelson@mmwr.com