About the Project Staff

Rich Zabel, Akin Gump

Partner

Richard B. Zabel focuses on white collar criminal defense, SEC investigations, corporate internal investigations, complex civil litigation and appeals. He has litigated and investigated cases involving securities and accounting fraud, complex insurance and reinsurance issues, international trade, customs fraud, Foreign Corrupt Practices Act violations and money laundering. He frequently represents investment funds before the SEC, the Department of Justice and state Attorney General Offices, as well as corporations and executives. He also has represented individuals in congressional investigations. Mr. Zabel litigated New York Yankees v. Mariano Rivera, which at the time was the largest-dollar-amount baseball arbitration in the history of Major League Baseball.

Before joining Akin Gump, Mr. Zabel served for eight years as a federal prosecutor in the U.S. Attorney's Office for the Southern District of New York. During his tenure there, he prosecuted a variety of cases involving securities fraud, obstruction of justice, racketeering, firearms and narcotics charges, and argued numerous cases before the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 2nd Circuit. Trials in which he participated include United States v. Mitchell Brater and Michael Rosoff (involving securities fraud, obstruction of justice and perjury charges), United States v. Luis Felipe, a/k/a "King Blood," et al. (RICO conspiracy involving racketeering, acts of murder, kidnapping, extortion, narcotics trafficking and firearms violations) and United States v. John Gambino, et al. (RICO conspiracy involving members of the Gambino crime family, and murder, extortion, firearms and narcotics trafficking charges). Mr. Zabel was chief of the Narcotics Unit at the U.S. Attorney's Office and has received numerous awards, including the Attorney General's Award for Distinguished Service and the Department of Justice Director's Award for Superior Performance as an Assistant U.S. Attorney.

Mr. Zabel received his A.B. summa cum laude in 1983 from Princeton University, where he was a member of Phi Beta Kappa, and his J.D. in 1987 from Harvard Law School. He has taught as an adjunct professor of criminal law at the Fordham University School of Law. He is a member of the New York Bar, the Federal Bar Council and the New York Inn of Court.

Jim Benjamin, Akin Gump

Partner

James J. Benjamin Jr. represents clients in a wide variety of government and regulatory investigations and litigation. Mr. Benjamin has extensive experience with matters arising under the federal securities laws - including allegations of insider trading, accounting irregularities, market manipulation and foreign corrupt practices - and also has experience with matters involving RICO, money laundering, mail and wire fraud, obstruction of justice, bribery, customs fraud and health care fraud. He represents clients before U.S. Attorneys' Offices, the Securities and Exchange Commission, the New York State Attorney General, the New York Stock Exchange and other regulators. His clients have been associated with private investment funds, broker-dealers, public companies, accounting firms and health care institutions. He has conducted independent investigations on behalf of audit committees of public companies, and regularly advises private investment funds on compliance matters.

Mr. Benjamin also represents clients in complex civil litigation in state and federal courts, with a special focus on appellate work. He has represented clients in complex matters involving commercial real estate, breach of contract and civil securities litigation. He has conducted numerous jury trials and has briefed and argued many cases before federal and state appellate courts.

Before joining Akin Gump in early 2001, Mr. Benjamin served for more than five years as a federal prosecutor in the U.S. Attorney's Office for the Southern District of New York. During his tenure there, he served as deputy chief appellate attorney and as a member of the Securities and Commodities Fraud Task Force. As an assistant U.S. attorney, he received an award for superior performance from Attorney General Janet Reno in 2000. Before joining the U.S. Attorney's Office, Mr. Benjamin served as a law clerk at the U.S. Supreme Court for Justices Lewis F. Powell Jr. and John Paul Stevens. Before that, he worked for several years as an associate at a major Washington-based law firm and served as a law clerk for the Honorable J. Frederick Motz, a federal district judge in the District of Maryland.

Mr. Benjamin received his A.B. magna cum laude in 1987 from Dartmouth College, where he was a member of Phi Beta Kappa and was awarded the Colby Government Prize. He earned his J.D. in 1990 from the University of Virginia School of Law, where he was the research and projects editor of the Virginia Law Review and a member of the Order of the Coif. He is a member of the New York, Maryland and District of Columbia bars and is admitted to practice before numerous federal courts.

Human Rights First Project Staff:

Gabor Rona, Human Rights First
International Legal Director

As the International Legal Director of Human Rights First, Gabor Rona advises Human Rights First programs on questions of international law and coordinates international human rights litigation. He also represents Human Rights First with governments, intergovernmental and non-governmental organizations, the media and the public on matters of international human rights and international humanitarian law (the law of armed conflict).

Before coming to Human Rights First, Gabor was a Legal Advisor in the Legal Division of the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) in Geneva. At the ICRC he focused on the application of international humanitarian and human rights law in the context of counter-terrorism policies and practices. He represented the ICRC in intergovernmental, nongovernmental, academic and public forums and his articles on the topic have appeared in the Financial Times, the Fletcher Forum on World Affairs and the Chicago Journal of International Law, among other publications. In addition, he represented the ICRC in connection with the establishment of international and other criminal tribunals, including the International Criminal Court. He has also taught International Humanitarian Law and International Criminal Law in several academic settings, including the International Institute of Human Rights in Strasbourg, France and the University Centre for International Humanitarian Law in Geneva, Switzerland.