Brian D. Burton

• Counsel for a major financial institution regarding fraudulent transfer investigations and customer arbitrations.
• Defended a multinational company in a $100 million “reverse” False Claims Act inquiry by the Department of Justice.
• Represented an executive of a global reinsurance company as part of a trial team in a federal securities fraud trial and for the client’s successful appeal to the Second Circuit. U.S. v. Ferguson, 653 F.3d. 61 (2d Cir. 2011).
• Represented corporate clients in employee/independent contractor misclassification investigations by state departments of labor, as well as trust fund recovery penalty (TFRP) matters before the IRS.
• Counsel in a complex reorganization matter before the U.S. Tax Court that tested the limits of “function versus form” in corporate structure.
• Secured an injunction in aid of arbitration for a major New York-based not-for-profit in a breach of commercial contract case. The injunction was affirmed on appeal by the New York State Appellate Division. New York Rowing Assn. v. Peter Jay Sharp Boathouse, Inc., 939 N.Y.S.2d 41 (1st Dept. 2012). The decision is cited in legal treatises on arbitration in New York State, including Carmody-Wait, 2d, Cyclopedia of New York Practice with Forms (2015) and New York Jurisprudence, 2d ed, “Arbitration and Award” (2015).

Brian Burton focuses his practice on complex commercial and corporate litigation and arbitration, drawing on his experience handling financial services litigation, civil litigation, tax controversy, white collar defense and regulatory compliance matters.

Brian has served as counsel in high-profile civil litigation in New York state and federal courts, as well as white collar defense matters, and routinely responds to government investigations and engages in settlement negotiations with the DOJ, SEC, and the New York Attorney General’s Office. He has served as counsel to financial institutions in a wide array of litigation and regulatory compliance matters. Brian was previously the chair of a prominent New York tax controversy practice, where he represented corporate taxpayers in a broad range of tax litigation cases before the U.S. Tax Court and the District Courts for the Southern and Eastern Districts of New York. In this capacity, Brian served as counsel to businesses in numerous investigations conducted by the IRS and state taxation authorities.

Brian was named a “Rising Star” by Law360.

Bar Admissions

• New York
• District of Columbia

Education

• University of Pennsylvania (J.D., 2006)
• State University of New York at Binghamton (B.A., 2003)

Memberships