Experience translated into practical decisions.
Charles H. Bennett is senior counsel for complex litigation, financial investigations, asset forfeiture and cross-border disputes. His practice is built for matters in which the civil case, government inquiry, financial restrictions and commercial consequences cannot be separated. Before private practice, he served as a senior federal prosecutor handling money-laundering, forfeiture and financial-evidence matters. That background gives him a practical understanding of how investigators build transaction narratives—and where attribution, timing, ownership or intent may remain unproven.
Charles begins by securing the record and defining the decision that cannot wait. He maps court deadlines, agency process, assets, counterparties, custodians, jurisdictions and communications. Payment evidence is reviewed with contracts, shipping, customer data, access records and witness knowledge. He is direct about weaknesses, but he does not allow an allegation, risk label or account action to substitute for proof.
A dispute becomes manageable when the team identifies the controlling legal theory, reconstructs the record and chooses the forum with full awareness of collateral risk.
How Charles works
Every engagement begins with a defined scope, conflicts clearance and a communication protocol. The team identifies urgent deadlines, relevant authorities, decision-makers, systems, custodians and jurisdictions. Confirmed facts are separated from reasonable inferences and unresolved questions. That discipline is maintained in board materials, government submissions, transaction documents and litigation positions.
Charles works with the firm’s financial-crime, sanctions, litigation, cybersecurity, transaction and government-affairs lawyers when the matter crosses disciplines. A single transaction may be viewed differently under a contract, sanctions authority, the Bank Secrecy Act, an export rule or a court standard. Workstreams are coordinated without blurring privilege, local-law responsibility or the distinct decisions required in each forum.
Focus areas
- Federal litigation and emergency relief
- Money-laundering and asset-forfeiture disputes
- Internal and independent investigations
- Cross-border discovery and evidence strategy
- Commercial disputes involving regulated institutions
- Witness, expert and trial preparation
Representative experience
Representative experience includes urgent response to government or counterparty action, privileged reconstruction of transactions and communications, preparation of witnesses and senior decision-makers, and development of precise written submissions. Client confidentiality is maintained throughout every engagement, and prior experience does not guarantee a future result.
A matter may begin when a client receives simultaneous questions from a government authority, financial institution and business partner. Charles organizes the request set, preserves the evidence, identifies the governing standards and sequences responses so one explanation does not compromise another forum. Where forensic, accounting, technical or foreign-law expertise is required, the expert question and reporting line are defined before work begins.
A related assignment may begin when diligence or an internal alert identifies a control or ownership issue before a transaction closes. The team determines what is known, what must be tested, which conditions can address the concern and which risks alter the business decision. The result is documented in language that boards, operators and counsel can use.
Education and professional background
Education: Yale Law School, J.D. Prior public service: Senior federal prosecutor for money laundering and asset forfeiture. Professional focus: Complex litigation, financial investigations, forfeiture and cross-border disputes.
Use the firm’s central confidential intake page for engagement inquiries. Individual phone numbers are not published. Do not send classified information, suspicious activity reports, identity documents or privileged files until the firm confirms an engagement and provides secure transfer instructions.
