Roberto Braceras, a partner in the firm’s Litigation Department, specializes in white collar criminal defense, securities fraud, and complex commercial and products liability litigation. Mr. Braceras, a former federal prosecutor, has tried jury and non-jury cases in both state and federal court. He also has defended a variety of investigations before the United States Securities and Exchange Commission and self-regulatory organizations.
PROFESSIONAL ACTIVITIES
Mr. Braceras is a former member (appointed by former Governor Mitt Romney) of the Massachusetts Ballot Law Commission and the Massachusetts Judicial Nominating Commission. He served, at the request of the U.S. District Court, as a member of a Federal Magistrate Merit Selection Panel and on the executive committee of the District Court’s Pro Bono Program. In addition, Mr. Braceras is an active member of the Boston Bar Association, and he serves as Chairman of the Zoning Board of Appeals in the town in which he lives.
MEDIA
Mr. Braceras has written and lectured on issues related to white collar criminal defense, securities fraud, and the False Claims Act. He is the author of “The False Claims Act and Universities: From Fraud to Compliance,” Treatise On College and University Law, published in 2009 by Massachusetts Continuing Legal Education; “Late Trading and Market Timing,” The Review of Securities & Commodities Regulation (April 2004; also cited in GOA Report: Mutual Fund Trading Abuses, May 2005); “Market Timing and Late Trading: Criminalization or Regulation?,” an ABA-CLE publication on white collar crime (March 2004); “‘Corruptly Persuading’ The Obstruction of Justice,” White Collar Crime Reporter (May 2002); and “Circuit Grapples with ‘Honest Services’ Fraud,” New York Law Journal (July 2002).
Mr. Braceras has been a featured speaker at the U.S. District Court, Boston “Federal Bench Meets Bar” presentation (October 2005); Hispanic National Bar Association Annual Convention, New York (panel on internal investigations, October 2004); 18th Annual ABA National Institute on White Collar Crime, Miami (panel on securities enforcement, March 2004); and 3rd Annual Minority Corporate Counsel Association CLE Expo, Chicago (panel on white collar investigations, March 2004).
PROFESSIONAL EXPERIENCE
Prior to joining Goodwin Procter, Mr. Braceras worked as a trial attorney for the U.S. Department of Justice in the Criminal Division, Fraud Section. During his tenure with the Department of Justice, he investigated and prosecuted various complex federal crimes, including telemarketing fraud, money laundering, wire fraud, and Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA) offenses. While with the Justice Department, Mr. Braceras represented the United States in Mexico City in discussions with the Mexican government concerning extradition issues. He also prosecuted violent crimes with the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Columbia and bank fraud cases with the New England Bank Fraud Task Force.
Immediately following law school, Mr. Braceras served as a law clerk to the Honorable Nathaniel M. Gorton of the U.S. District Court for the District of Massachusetts.
BAR AND COURT ADMISSIONS
Mr. Braceras is admitted to practice in the state and federal courts of Massachusetts and before the New York Supreme Court, and the U.S. District Courts for the Southern District of New York, the District of New Jersey and the District of Connecticut, as well as the U.S. Courts of Appeal for the First and Third Circuits.
RECOGNITION
In 2007, Mr. Braceras was selected by the Boston Business Journal as one of the top 40 business leaders in Massachusetts under the age of 40. He was presented with a Special Achievement Award for his superior performance as a Department of Justice Trial Attorney by the Attorney General in 1997.