Constantine P. Lizas, former Lead Counsel at the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation for Bank Secrecy and Anti-Money Laundering and former trial counsel at the U.S. Department of Justice, is joining Harris Beach PLLC as partner. Constantine will apply his knowledge and experience with BSA/AML and federal financial regulatory matters as part of the Harris Beach Government Compliance and Investigations and Financial Institutions and Capital Markets teams.
As a Harris Beach partner, Constantine advises financial institutions in emerging regulatory and legal issues involving anti-money laundering programs, blockchain, digital currency and cannabis-related banking issues. He is also experienced in advising companies and individuals facing government investigations and enforcement matters, with a special focus on regulatory issues involving federal banking agencies and the Financial Crimes Enforcement network or FinCEN.
At the FDIC, Constantine helped implement the Anti-Money Laundering Act of 2020, the most significant update to the government’s anti-money laundering legal framework since 2001. At the FDIC and DOJ, Constantine conducted several investigations into BSA/AML and related issues focused on large U.S. financial institutions.
“Constantine brings significant new capabilities to Harris Beach in support of our clients who need experienced counsel with often sensitive matters involving government legal and regulatory scrutiny,” said Chris Jagel, partner and chief executive officer of Harris Beach. “We advise organizations and individuals on corporate compliance, government ethics, lobbying compliance and white collar crime. We also provide general corporate, financing and transaction counsel to leading regional, national and international financial institutions. We’re pleased that Constantine is bringing his experience to expand the capabilities of our platform and we look forward to attracting additional talent to our team.”
Constantine earned his law degree from the Catholic University of America Columbus Law School in Washington and has a master’s degree in environmental health management from the University of Michigan. He has been recognized for special and meritorious achievements by the U.S. Department of Justice, the FBI and the FDIC.
About Harris Beach
Founded in 1856, Harris Beach and its subsidiaries provide legal and professional services to clients across New York state, as well as nationally and internationally. Harris Beach is among the country’s top law firms as ranked by The National Law Journal and ranks as a BTI Elite law firm based on in-depth interviews of more than 600 corporate counsel at the world’s largest and most influential companies. Clients include Fortune 100 corporations, privately-held companies, emerging businesses, public sector entities, not-for-profit organizations and individuals. Principal industries Harris Beach represents include cannabis, education, energy, financial, food and beverage, health care, insurance, manufacturing, medical and life sciences, real estate developers, science and technology, veterinary medicine, and state and local governments and authorities. Our more than 210 lawyers and consultants practice from offices throughout New York state in Albany, Buffalo, Ithaca, Long Island, New York City, Rochester, Saratoga Springs, Syracuse, and White Plains, as well as from offices in Washington, D.C., New Haven, Connecticut and Newark, New Jersey. For more information, go to www.harrisbeach.com.