Steve Olson
Partner
Steve Olson is a partner in O’Melveny's Los Angeles office and a member of the White Collar Defense and Corporate Investigations Practice. Steve has extensive jury trial experience and regularly represents public companies and individuals in criminal and civil investigations and prosecutions by government enforcement agencies. He also advises audit committees and independent directors of public companies in connection with complex and sensitive internal investigations.
Prior to joining O’Melveny & Myers, Steve served as an Assistant U.S. Attorney in the Major Frauds Section of the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Central District of California. In that position, he concentrated on prosecuting securities and investment fraud cases.
Steve has been named a "Rising Star" and a “Super Lawyer” in surveys conducted by Law & Politics Media Inc. and published in
Los Angeles magazine.
Illustrative Professional Experience
- Representing public companies and individuals in securities fraud investigations by the SEC and related agencies
- Representing corporate and individual targets/defendants, witnesses, and victims in federal and state criminal investigations and prosecutions concerning a variety of subjects including violations of securities laws, the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA), and trade secret laws
- Representing audit committees, independent directors, companies, and partnerships in conducting internal investigations involving a variety of subjects, including violations of securities laws and the FCPA and allegations of conflicts of interest
Illustrative Professional Experience — U.S. Attorney’s Office
- U.S. v. Reed Slatkin, et al.: Prosecuted one of the largest Ponzi schemes in U.S. history, a $590 million investment fraud scheme perpetrated by the financial co-founder of EarthLink
- U.S. v. Aldo Tarallo, Kjell Hovik, et al.: Prosecuted a securities fraud trial concerning the fraudulent sale of pre-IPO stock in healthcare-related companies
- U.S. v. John Thomas, et al.: Conducted an investment fraud and money-laundering trial concerning the sale of high-yield bank notes
- U.S. v. Timothy Lyons, et al.: Conducted a widely publicized $11 million charitable solicitation fraud trial
Professional Activities
Law Clerk, Honorable Wm. Matthew Byrne, Jr., U.S. District Court, Central District of California
Board Member, Stanford University Alumni Association; Kidspace Children’s Museum; Federal Bar Association
Member, ABA Litigation Section Task Force on the Attorney-Client Privilege; Pacific Council on International Policy
Speaker, Various White Collar Crime and Business Litigation topics, including Multi-Front (criminal and civil) Litigation, FCPA, Responding to Subpoenas, Internal Investigations, Attorney-Client Privilege, and Theft of Trade Secrets
Instructor, U.S. Justice Department-sponsored courses for law enforcement agents on conducting investment fraud prosecutions