Paul H. Schoeman

Among his most notable matters, Paul secured an acquittal of a former Deutsche Bank Alex. Brown investment representative on all charges of conspiring to deprive the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) of billions of tax dollars through the use of allegedly abusive tax shelters, after a jury trial in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York. He also secured the acquittal of the former deputy speaker of the New York State Assembly, Clarence Norman Jr., on all charges of grand larceny and the filing of false instruments after a jury trial in New York State Supreme Court.

Paul originally joined Kramer Levin in 2003. He left in 2007 to serve as the chief assistant U.S. attorney for the Eastern District of New York, and then rejoined the firm in 2009. As chief assistant, Paul supervised the office’s Criminal and Civil divisions. Before joining Kramer Levin, Paul served as an assistant U.S. attorney, first as a line assistant and subsequently as the deputy chief of the General Crimes section. He represented the United States as lead counsel in a wide variety of significant federal criminal prosecutions, and conducted numerous jury trials involving securities fraud, labor racketeering, tax evasion, identity theft and narcotics trafficking. He received a 2003 Director’s Award for Superior Performance as an assistant U.S. attorney.

Paul is a fellow of the American College of Trial Lawyers, a distinction granted to only the top trial lawyers in the country. He has been recognized by Chambers USA and Legal 500 as one of the leading white-collar criminal defense lawyers in the United States. In recent years, Chambers USA has described Paul as “an insightful, pragmatic and gifted trial attorney” who “regularly defend[s] clients in matters involving alleged fraud, money laundering and FCPA violations,” calling him “fantastic in court and a terrific cross-examiner of witnesses,” “an excellent negotiator and really great strategist,” “analytically brilliant,” “a consummate legal tactician,” and “extremely engaged.” Chambers sources describe Paul as someone who is “incredibly levelheaded and thoughtful in how he approaches his work.” “down-to-earth and has a perfect touch with delicate and sensitive situations,” “wonderful to work with,” an “extraordinary lawyer who is able to cut through to the heart of an issue extremely efficiently,” and who has “a very steady hand with very high-quality judgment.” “He finds common ground in a way that is very effective for his client, and he is very reasonable in every conversation.” Legal 500 recently described him as an “excellent lawyer” and stated that he and his colleagues “throw themselves between the government and their clients, fighting for justice every step of the way.”