Peter B. Axelrod is an Of Counsel in the Investigations and White Collar Defense practice at Paul Hastings and is based in the New York office. His practice focuses on white-collar criminal defense and internal investigations, with an emphasis on cross-border matters.

Prior to joining Paul Hastings, Mr. Axelrod gained extensive experience at the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) as a prosecutor and government liaison running and coordinating complex, high-profile, international investigations. In his last DOJ position, Mr. Axelrod served in Paris as the U.S. Department of Justice Attaché to France and Monaco, where he handled bilateral criminal justice matters with a focus on national security, the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA) and sanctions violations, cybercrime and complex frauds. As the Attaché, Mr. Axelrod handled all requests involving the U.S. and France for extradition and to obtain evidence in criminal matters. 

As an Assistant United States Attorney before that, Mr. Axelrod prosecuted a range of cases, including national security matters, economic espionage, securities fraud, wire fraud, tax evasion, money laundering, human trafficking, obstruction of justice, and perjury. 

Mr. Axelrod twice received Attorney General Awards for his trial work, including:

• In 2015, the Attorney General’s Award for Excellence in Furthering the Interests of U.S. National Security for the first jury conviction under the Economic Espionage Act for economic espionage related to theft and sale of U.S. trade secrets to Chinese state-owned entities.
• In 2009, the Attorney General’s Award for Distinguished Service for the first prosecution of foreign political leader (the former Prime Minister of Ukraine) for laundering the proceeds of foreign crimes through U.S. financial institutions.

Mr. Axelrod earned his J.D. degree from Stanford Law School in 1997, where he served as an associate editor of the Stanford Law Review. He earned his B.A. degree, summa cum laude and Phi Beta Kappa, from the University of Pennsylvania in 1992. He speaks French fluently. Mr. Axelrod is admitted in California, District of Columbia, and New York.