Lauren Schorr Potter is a Partner in Patterson Belknap’s Litigation department and a member of its White Collar Defense and Investigations team. Lauren’s practice includes representation of individuals, universities, sports leagues, and companies in sensitive, complicated and high-stakes criminal and regulatory matters, and internal investigations. Lauren also represents companies in complex financial litigation. Lauren has represented corporations and individuals in matters involving allegations of accounting fraud, cryptocurrency-related fraud, health care and medical device fraud, bribery, misuse of funds, money laundering, FDA-related violations, and violations of the False Claims Act.
In 2024, Lauren was named to The New York Law Journal's "Rising Stars" list. In 2022-2026, Benchmark Litigation named Lauren to its annual “40 & Under” list. She was also recognized by the publication as a “Future Star” in 2023-2026.
Prior to joining the firm, Lauren served for more than six years as an Assistant United States Attorney in the United States Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of New York. As a co-chief of the Violent and Organized Crime Unit, Lauren supervised more than 25 Assistant United States Attorneys in investigations, prosecutions, and trials involving racketeering (RICO), organized crime, sex trafficking, and gang-related and drug-related violence, among other offenses. Lauren worked closely with federal and state agencies, including the FBI, HSI, ATF, and the NYPD, coordinating substantial cross-agency investigations. Notable cases Lauren supervised include the prosecution of a fashion mogul on racketeering and trafficking charges, and the prosecution of an individual on extortion and money laundering charges in connection with his victimization of a group of college students.
As a federal prosecutor in the Public Corruption and Violent and Organized Crime Units, Lauren investigated and prosecuted a range of cases including matters involving bribery, wire fraud, health care fraud, and racketeering. Among other cases, Lauren handled the prosecutions of law enforcement officials, a former prosecutor, and others for their roles in bribery schemes; an individual involved in a multimillion-dollar Ponzi scheme; and dozens of gang members for violent crimes in New York City. Her extensive litigation experience includes leading six federal criminal trials and arguing several appeals before the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit.
Before joining the U.S. Attorney's Office, Lauren was an associate at an international law firm in New York, where she handled white collar and commercial litigation matters. Lauren previously served as a law clerk to the Hon. Ronnie Abrams of the United States District Court for the Southern District of New York and the Hon. Legrome D. Davis of the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania.
