Former Deputy Attorney General, State of New York
Former Assistant U.S. Attorney, Southern District of New York
New York City Bar (Former Secretary of Committee on Corrections)
Chambers USA: Litigation: White-Collar Crime & Government Investigations 2013
Best Lawyers in America 2013
New York Super Lawyers 2012
US Legal 500: Litigation: White Collar Criminal Defense 2012-2013
Dietrich L. Snell is a Partner in the Litigation Department and deputy head of the Corporate Defense & Investigations Group. Dieter has a wide range of experience in criminal and civil enforcement and regulatory matters pertaining to the financial services, corporate, environmental, not-for-profit, and public sectors. His experience includes the representation of:
Dieter has both federal and state level prosecutorial and investigative experience, having served as both an Assistant U.S. Attorney and New York Deputy Attorney General. He also was Senior Counsel to the National Commission on Terrorist Attacks Upon the United States (“the 9/11 Commission”).
As the New York Deputy Attorney General, Dieter was responsible for the investigation, litigation and regulatory activities performed by the Division of Public Advocacy under former Attorney General Eliot Spitzer. He handled a range of complex cases and investigations involving bid rigging and other deceptive business practices by major participants in the insurance industry, securities law violations stemming from market timing activities within the mutual fund industry, and conflicts of interest between research and investment banking functions of major Wall Street firms and the negotiation of a settlement between those firms and federal, state, and industry regulators. He also handled enforcement actions against power plants for violation of the Clean Air Act and actions challenging related Environmental Protection Agency rulemaking, federal court litigation over preemption claims by the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency regarding enforcement of the federal Fair Housing Act, and state law prohibiting discrimination in lending and coordination of relief efforts by charitable institutions following the September 11 terrorist attacks.
Before joining the New York Attorney General’s office, Dieter served for 11 years as Assistant U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of New York, notably handling the successful prosecution of World Trade Center bomber Ramzi Yousef for Yousef’s role in the 1994-95 plot to destroy 12 passenger jets in midair, as well as cases involving securities and commodities, bank and computer fraud, narcotics, money laundering, and racketeering offenses. As Deputy Chief Appellate Attorney, he supervised the preparation and submission of briefs to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit.
In his role as Senior Counsel to the 9/11 Commission, Dieter led the team assigned to investigate the plot that culminated in the September 11 attacks. He negotiated with the law enforcement, intelligence and diplomatic communities regarding access to documents, evidence, and witnesses; reviewed voluminous classified and unclassified materials; conducted witness interviews; advised commission members and assisted them at public hearings; and drafted and edited substantial portions of The 9/11 Commission Report.