Sarah Weiss guides companies through their most sensitive internal issues. When companies face the US Department of Justice (DOJ), Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), or other government inquiries and enforcement actions, Sarah helps to respond and resolve them. She takes on her clients’ most complex challenges and forges a path forward to achieve results. She has deep experience in matters involving alleged fraud, bribery, kickbacks, money laundering, and False Claims Act violations.
Sarah helps companies avoid future entanglements through preventative compliance efforts, remediation, and court-appointed monitorships. Sarah routinely helps companies navigate sensitive internal investigations, and has led massive internal investigations in household-name cases covered by leading news outlets internationally.
Sarah represents clients of all sizes from across the US and around the world in various industries including manufacturing, food, higher education, energy, and defense. She is a graduate of the Leadership Greater Chicago Signature Fellows Program (2022).
With a clear understanding of the ins and outs of my clients’ businesses, their people, and their problems, I keep my team laser-focused on delivering value and quality and helping clients resolve their thorniest issues.
Representative Matters
- Led a review of the culture of the University of Michigan’s Athletic Department in conjunction with an investigation into an alleged relationship between former University of Michigan head football coach Sherrone Moore and a subordinate.
- Represented nation’s largest utility in a Department of Justice investigation involving allegations of bribery and corruption, resolved with no charges against the parent company and a deferred prosecution agreement for the utility subsidiary.
- Served on the team representing the court-appointed Examiner, Shoba Pillay, in the chapter 11 cases of Celsius Network LLC and its affiliated debtors. Celsius was a global cryptocurrency lending platform that accepted cryptocurrency deposits from public customers and had more than $25 billion in assets pre-bankruptcy. In June 2022, the company paused all customer transfers and withdrawals and filed bankruptcy the following month. As Examiner, Shoba was appointed in September 2022 to investigate and report on: Celsius’s cryptocurrency assets, including how and where those cryptocurrency assets were held and whether different types of accounts were commingled; Celsius’s “CEL” token, including why and how other digital assets were converted into CEL tokens and how those tokens were marketed, stored, and traded; representations made by Celsius in public representations to customers to attract them to the company’s platform and about the company’s cryptocurrency holdings and account offerings; allegations that Celsius may have been a Ponzi scheme; and allegations involving the company’s systems for paying taxes and utility obligations for its crypto mining operations. Following the investigation, which included reviewing over 500 GB of data and conducting over 50 interviews, including the former CEO, Shoba published her final Examiner’s Report in January 2023. The report is available here.
- Served as one of the team leaders that conducted a significant internal review and produced a public report for the Chicago Blackhawks in an investigation into allegations that in 2010 a player was sexually assaulted by an assistant coach who was later and separately criminally convicted of sexually abusing a minor.
- Led the compliance team for the monitor of Credit Suisse AG following the bank’s $715 million settlement with the New York Department of Financial Services, part of a broader $2.6 billion settlement that involved the US Department of Justice and federal regulators.
- Led global FCPA compliance risk assessment in 25 countries throughout South America, Asia, and Europe.
Credentials
Service / Recognition
Overview
Sarah Weiss guides companies through their most sensitive internal issues. When companies face the US Department of Justice (DOJ), Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), or other government inquiries and enforcement actions, Sarah helps to respond and resolve them. She takes on her clients’ most complex challenges and forges a path forward to achieve results. She has deep experience in matters involving alleged fraud, bribery, kickbacks, money laundering, and False Claims Act violations.
Sarah helps companies avoid future entanglements through preventative compliance efforts, remediation, and court-appointed monitorships. Sarah routinely helps companies navigate sensitive internal investigations, and has led massive internal investigations in household-name cases covered by leading news outlets internationally.
Sarah represents clients of all sizes from across the US and around the world in various industries including manufacturing, food, higher education, energy, and defense. She is a graduate of the Leadership Greater Chicago Signature Fellows Program (2022).
With a clear understanding of the ins and outs of my clients’ businesses, their people, and their problems, I keep my team laser-focused on delivering value and quality and helping clients resolve their thorniest issues.
Areas of Focus
Representative Matters
- Led a review of the culture of the University of Michigan’s Athletic Department in conjunction with an investigation into an alleged relationship between former University of Michigan head football coach Sherrone Moore and a subordinate.
- Represented nation’s largest utility in a Department of Justice investigation involving allegations of bribery and corruption, resolved with no charges against the parent company and a deferred prosecution agreement for the utility subsidiary.
- Served on the team representing the court-appointed Examiner, Shoba Pillay, in the chapter 11 cases of Celsius Network LLC and its affiliated debtors. Celsius was a global cryptocurrency lending platform that accepted cryptocurrency deposits from public customers and had more than $25 billion in assets pre-bankruptcy. In June 2022, the company paused all customer transfers and withdrawals and filed bankruptcy the following month. As Examiner, Shoba was appointed in September 2022 to investigate and report on: Celsius’s cryptocurrency assets, including how and where those cryptocurrency assets were held and whether different types of accounts were commingled; Celsius’s “CEL” token, including why and how other digital assets were converted into CEL tokens and how those tokens were marketed, stored, and traded; representations made by Celsius in public representations to customers to attract them to the company’s platform and about the company’s cryptocurrency holdings and account offerings; allegations that Celsius may have been a Ponzi scheme; and allegations involving the company’s systems for paying taxes and utility obligations for its crypto mining operations. Following the investigation, which included reviewing over 500 GB of data and conducting over 50 interviews, including the former CEO, Shoba published her final Examiner’s Report in January 2023. The report is available here.
- Served as one of the team leaders that conducted a significant internal review and produced a public report for the Chicago Blackhawks in an investigation into allegations that in 2010 a player was sexually assaulted by an assistant coach who was later and separately criminally convicted of sexually abusing a minor.
- Led the compliance team for the monitor of Credit Suisse AG following the bank’s $715 million settlement with the New York Department of Financial Services, part of a broader $2.6 billion settlement that involved the US Department of Justice and federal regulators.
- Led global FCPA compliance risk assessment in 25 countries throughout South America, Asia, and Europe.
Credentials
Admissions
- Illinois, 2010
Education
- University of California, Berkeley School of Law, JD, 2010
- Yale University, BA, distinction in history, 2005
Court Admissions
- US District Court, Northern District of Illinois, 2011
Clerkships
- Hon. John J. Tharp, Jr., US District Court, Northern District of Illinois, 2013-2014
Service / Recognition
Awards
- Albert E. Jenner Pro Bono Award, 2018
- Illinois Super Lawyers, Rising Star, General Litigation, 2018-2022
- Jenner & Block Mentorship Award, 2020
Community
- Illinois Prison Project, Board of Directors
- Leadership Greater Chicago, Signature Fellow, 2022
- Berkeley Law Alumni Group, Chicago, Co-Chair
- Yale Club of Chicago, Regional Director; Alumni Schools Committee, Yale University Admissions Office