September 29, 2011

Dervan assists white collar crime defense training

by Pete Rosenbery

CARBONDALE, Ill.  -- An assistant professor at the Southern Illinois University School of Law will be part of an innovative training institution for criminal defense lawyers that will begin early next year in Florida.

Lucian E. Dervan is on the advisory committee of the National Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers (NACDL) White Collar Criminal Defense College at Stetson.  The program will offer lawyers in the field of white-collar criminal defense an opportunity to gain a “very unique type of hands-on interactive experience” by gaining key advocacy skills and substantive learning on white-collar laws during a five-day boot camp, Dervan said.

The program is set for March in Gulfport, Fla. 

Participants will walk through a white collar investigation and prosecution from beginning to end, engaging in mock interviews and trial scenarios, with the goal that attorneys leave the program “with new skills and knowledge that will allow them to better represent and more effectively advocate for their clients,” Dervan said.

“It is a great honor for (Dervan) to be selected to serve on the advisory committee and also as a faculty member for this training,” Dean Cynthia L. Fountaine said.  “It’s a great example of how engaged our faculty members are in their fields of expertise.  This is a tremendous benefit to our students, not only because of the relevance that it brings into the classroom, but also because of the networking opportunities that it creates.”

Dervan teaches in the area of criminal law, including international criminal law, drawing upon his experiences as a white-collar criminal defense attorney and his research in the field.  Dervan said it is an honor to be chosen, and “demonstrates once again the strength of the Southern Illinois University School of Law as a leader in so many areas.”

“We have a plethora of faculty members who are national and international experts in their fields and I think we offer remarkable opportunities for students, both inside and outside the classroom, as a result,” he said.

Program participants will initially focus on responding to government investigations, including how to challenge search warrants, investigate case facts, respond to grand jury subpoenas, deal with parallel legal proceedings and make presentations and proffers to government attorneys, Dervan said.  The remainder of the program will focus on plea offers, pre-trial release, trial preparation, pretrial motions and trial skills, and include issues regarding the media and how to effectively respond to media inquiries, he said.

Prior to joining the SIU School of Law, Dervan spent several years in private practice, including as a member of the King & Spalding Special Matters and Government Investigations team.  Former U.S. Attorney General Griffin B. Bell established the group in 1989 to represent corporations and individuals in complex federal and state criminal investigations and to conduct internal corporate investigations and Congressional investigations, as well as in related civil and regulatory proceedings. 

Other former members of the Special Matters Team have included former Acting Deputy Attorney General Gary G. Grindler, former Deputy Attorney General Larry D. Thompson and Eleanor Hill, former staff director of the Joint Congressional Inquiry on the Sept. 11, 2001 terrorist attacks. As a part of his work on the team, Dervan participated in investigations regarding potential terrorist-financing operations, launched corporate internal investigations, represented corporations during government investigations and prepared for trials involving corporations and individuals.