Sharon Bunzel focuses on the representation of corporate and individual targets, defendants, witnesses, and victims in criminal and regulatory investigations and prosecutions, as well as related civil actions. Sharon advises boards, audit committees, independent directors and executives in connection with complex and sensitive internal investigations, and designs and assists in implementation of compliance and remediation programs. Sharon has been named one of the Daily Journal’s top women litigators in California and a “Client Service All-Star” by BTI.
Sharon served as an Assistant US Attorney in the Northern District of California, overseeing long-term, complex investigations, and prosecuting large criminal organizations. She conducted several trials and numerous oral arguments before the US District Court and the Ninth US Circuit Court of Appeals. Sharon worked closely with federal, state, and local law enforcement agencies, and served a detail as Special Counsel to the Director of the Federal Bureau of Investigation.
Honors & Awards
- Recognized by Best Lawyers for Criminal Defense: White-Collar in San Francisco (2023)
- Recommended by The Legal 500 for Corporate Investigations and White-Collar Criminal Defense (2018)
- BTI “Client Service All-Star” (2014)
- Daily Journal “Top Women Litigators” (2010, 2012)
Admissions
Bar Admissions
Court Admissions
- US Court of Appeals, Ninth Circuit
- US District Court, Central, Eastern, and Northern Districts of California
Education
- Yale Law School, J.D., 1995: notes editor, Yale Law Journal; editor, Yale Journal of Law and Feminism
- Yale College, B.A., English and Theater Studies, 1992: magna cum laude; Phi Beta Kappa; distinction in both majors
Professional Activities
Speaker
- “Foreign Corrupt Practices Act Trends and Enforcement,” Securities Enforcement West 2018 (May 2018)
- “Turning the Tables on the Government: Fines, Forfeitures, Restitution,” National Association of Criminal Defense Counsel’s West Coast White Collar Crime Conference (2014)
- “Critical Risks Facing Technology Companies in 2013: Thoughts from Corporate Counsel & the SEC,” Stanford Rock Center Panel (Feb. 2013)
- “Internal Investigations & Compliance Issues for Technology Companies,” The Fourth National Institute on Internal Corporate Investigations and Forum for In-House Counsel (ABA, May 2012)
Publications
- “Obstruction of Justice Under Computer Associates: Legal, Tactical and Ethical Implications for Attorneys Conducting Internal Investigations,” Internal Investigations: Legal, Ethical & Strategic Issues (PLI 2006)
- “When It Is Against the Law Not to Confess: Securities Law Requirements to Disclose Illegal Conduct,” 1996 ABA White Collar Crime at F-1
- “The Probation Officer and the Federal Sentencing Guidelines: Strange Philosophical Bedfellows,” 104 Yale Law Journal 933 (1995)
- “Sitting in Judgment: The Sentencing of White Collar Criminals,” Yale Survey of Current Legal Issues 116 (Prototype Issue, June 1996)
Clerkships
- Honorable Fern M. Smith (N.D. Cal.)
Externships
- Honorable José A. Cabranes (D. Conn.)