Brian E. Spears

Overview

Brian Spears founded the firm now known as Spears Manning & Martini in 2013 after years of public service as an Assistant United States Attorney and Senior Counsel for the investigation of the United Nation’s Oil-for-Food Program, and 10 years in private practice at two prominent Connecticut law firms. Brian’s practice focuses on government and internal investigations, white collar defense and civil litigation, drawing on his significant trial, appellate, and grand jury experience.

Most recently, Brian and Spears Manning & Martini lawyers Leslie Cahill and Ivan Ladd Smith secured a Rule 29 judgment of acquittal on behalf of the lead defendant in a widely reported criminal antitrust case of national significance involving allegations of unlawful “no poach” restrictions among suppliers of aerospace engineers. Brian also secured a formal declination from the Department of Justice FCPA Unit for an institutional client under the DOJ’s Corporate Enforcement Policy.

Brian developed his passion for investigations and trial work at a law firm headed by the late Jacob “Jack” Zeldes, one of Connecticut’s most renowned trial lawyers. After gaining valuable criminal and civil trial experience in private practice, in 1998, Brian joined the United States Attorney’s Office for the District of Connecticut, where he served for more than 6 years as an Assistant United States Attorney. As a federal prosecutor, Brian handled a variety of cases and investigations, including in the areas of securities fraud, health care fraud, money laundering, racketeering, public corruption, tax and environmental law.

In 2006, Brian was asked to serve as Senior Counsel of an independent investigation led by Paul Volcker, former chairman of the Federal Reserve, that focused on how the Iraqi government under Saddam Hussein abused the United Nation’s Oil-for-Food Program. Brian reviewed the activities of the U.N. Secretary General’s office and deposed then-Secretary General Kofi Annan. After serving on the Volcker Oil-for-Food investigation, in 2006, Brian re-entered private practice as a shareholder at a prominent Connecticut law firm, where he chaired the firm’s government investigations and white-collar defense practice, before founding Spears Manning & Martini in 2013.

In 2023, Brian was inducted into the American College of Trial Lawyers, reflecting his dedication to trial advocacy and his jury trial work in a wide range of criminal and civil cases involving allegations of, for example, foreign corruption, antitrust violations, securities fraud, insider trading, money laundering and commercial disputes.

Brian regularly represents clients before the Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit and has argued more than 20 criminal and civil appeals.

See Practice for a description of cases Brian has handled.

Brian has been a featured speaker at conferences for the American Bar Association, Connecticut Bar Association, and the National Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers on topics ranging from internal investigations, trial practice, evidence, antitrust enforcement, and the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act.

Brian is listed in Chambers USA in the category of Litigation: White Collar Crime and Government Investigations. Brian is also featured in The Best Lawyers in America in the category of White Collar Criminal Defense, and has been recognized by Super Lawyers as a top-rated attorney in the area of White Collar Crime.

Brian is a member of the Executive Committee of the Federal Practice Section of the Connecticut Bar Association. Previously, Brian served the District of Connecticut on the CJA Standing Committee, the Local Rules Committee, and the U.S. Magistrate Judge Selection Committee.

Brian is a magna cum laude graduate of Quinnipiac University School of Law, where he was the editor-in-chief of the Law Review. Brian served as President of the Quinnipiac University School of Law Alumni Association. For nearly 10 years, Brian served on the Board of Trustees for Quinnipiac University.

Immediately following law school, Brian clerked for the Honorable Barry Schaller of the Connecticut Appellate Court, followed by a second clerkship in 1993 with the Honorable Warren W. Eginton, the longest serving United States District Judge for the District of Connecticut.