Clifford Chance
Daniel Silver focuses on regulatory enforcement and white collar criminal defense matters. Dan represents individuals, investment funds, banks and other corporate entities in matters before the Department of Justice, the Securities and Exchange Commission, and other federal and state enforcement agencies. Dan also counsels clients on risk mitigation strategies with respect to cybersecurity, anti-corruption, sanctions and anti-money laundering issues.
Prior to joining Clifford Chance, Dan spent ten years as a federal prosecutor, serving in several senior leadership positions and as Chief of the National Security and Cybercrime Section within the United States Attorney's Office for the Eastern District of New York. In the U.S. Attorney's Office, Dan supervised a team of more than one hundred federal prosecutors, personally led complex cross-border investigations, conducted more than a dozen jury trials, and argued numerous appeals.
Daniel is a member of our Corporate Culture and Cyber Security Risk teams.
- Successfully represented former Alstom executive charged with Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA) violations. The case involved extensive pretrial litigation regarding the extraterritorial scope of the FCPA, and resulted in a seminal 2nd Circuit decision rejecting the government's interlocutory appeal and holding that foreign individuals and entities not directly subject to the FCPA could not be liable under a conspiracy or aiding-and-abetting theory. Following a jury trial, the District Court granted our motion for a judgment of acquittal on all FCPA charges, holding that the government had failed to prove that the defendant (a non US citizen who worked for a French company in Paris) was within the scope of the FCPA.
- Represented large Nordic financial institution in connection with cross-border multi-agency investigation relating to allegations of money laundering and AML compliance deficiencies. Conducted internal investigation involving nearly one hundred witness interviews and culminating in comprehensive public report detailing findings.
- Successfully represented underwriters' counsel in SEC investigation of multi-billion dollar bond offering. After Wells submission, the SEC declined to recommend an enforcement action.
- Conducted internal investigation for global bank in connection with $50 million fraud. In addition to leading the internal investigation, referred the matter to federal law enforcement authorities which resulted in the indictment and successful prosecution of the perpetrator of the fraud.
- Represented principal of alternative investment fund manager in connection with DOJ securities fraud grand jury investigation.
- Represented public multinational consumer goods company in connection with two substantial data breaches. Advised the client regarding notification and remediation process, as well as in response to multiple inquiries from data privacy regulators in the U.S. and several foreign jurisdictions.
- Counselled numerous clients, including private equity funds and other asset managers, regarding data privacy and cybersecurity incident response and compliance.
- Successfully represented CEO of automotive engineering company in connection with DOJ Antitrust Division price-fixing investigation. DOJ granted written declination following conclusion of investigation.
- Represented real estate firm in connection with cybersecurity breach resulting in substantial monetary loss. Advised client on interaction with federal law enforcement authorities, insurance coverage analysis, and civil dispute with affected counterparty.
- Advised multinational telecom firm in connection with allegations of corruption at a subsidiary.
News and client work
Contact details
Career and qualifications
- Brown University (BA, Public Policy) 1999
- New York University, School of Law (JD) 2002
- Law Clerk to the Honorable Cheryl Pollak, U.S. Magistrate Judge, Eastern District of New York 2003-2004
- Law Clerk to the Honorable Harold Baer, Jr., U.S. District Court Judge, Southern District of New York 2005-2006
- Joined Clifford Chance as a Partner 2016
Professional bodies
- Federal Bar Council, Criminal Law Committee
- 2025 Lawdragon 500 Leading Litigators in America
Awards and citations
- Ranked as a Leading Litigator in America
Lawdragon 500 2022: White Collar, Investigations - Dan Silver is an extremely smart and thoughtful counsellor on white-collar and sanctions matters.
Legal 500, 2022 – United States: Dispute Resolution Corporate investigations and white-collar criminal defense: advice to corporates – Tier 3 Corporate investigations and white-collar criminal defense: advice to individuals – Tier 3 - Daniel Silver is recognized for his work defending individuals and corporations facing criminal prosecution and investigation, offering expertise in areas such as AML and cybersecurity concerns. "He is very sophisticated and a pleasure to deal with."
Chambers USA 2022: Litigation: White-Collar Crime & Government Investigations: The Elite (New York) – Band 3 - Daniel Silver is recognized for his work defending individuals and corporations facing criminal prosecution and investigation, offering expertise in areas such as AML and cybersecurity concerns.
"An excellent white-collar attorney with particular knowledge in banking violations and sanctions." "He is a tactically brilliant attorney who sees both the big picture and is on top of the details." "He is tremendous - cool, calm, levelheaded, practical and unflappable."
Chambers USA 2021 – Litigation: White-Collar Crime & Government Investigations (New York) - Stimson Medal, New York City Bar Association
- Director's Award for Outstanding Counterintelligence Investigation, Federal Bureau of Investigation