Considerations for Defending Against Federal Civil Asset Forfeiture Action

In an article recently published in the New York Law Journal, C&G’s Jeffrey Lang and Luke Appling examine the Department of Justice’s federal civil forfeiture program, an important component of the DOJ’s strategy for disrupting criminal activity, including corporate fraud and other financial crimes, whereby property connected to unlawful activities is subject to seizure. Such forfeiture proceedings pose numerous threats to the property rights of everyone with an interest in the particular property, regardless of culpability. The article presents a focused discussion on the critical issues that property owners and their counsel ought to be aware of at the outset of such an action.